QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas All this talk about West Colton/Cajon/Dagget has got me set on taking a trip up there this weekend. I used to hit one or all of these places at least once a month. One time in between jobs I even camped at Summit for 3 weeks. But after I left the area in 99', I have only managed to get there once a year or so. I missed hanging out around there. But now that I'm back in so. Cal. I feel I am home again.
Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR Austin TX Sub
QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas Spbed, Thanks for the advice, I've never railfanned riverside per say, But I have friends in that area and have done inadvertant railfanning while visiting them. It's just too close to "better" spots for me. Where do you live if you don't mind my asking?
QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas Yea, let me know when it gets closer to sept. You shure are knowlegable about this area for a right coaster.
QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas Spbed, Interesting. Not much different than my beginnings. I would grab my scanner,camera and california railfan timetable then pick a line out of town and follow it till i felt like turning around. This is how I first came to know the SP sunset, ATSF to needles,UP to Afton canyon & Vegas. I already knew most of the North South lines in california. In the last 15 Years I've railfanned everything west of the continental divide. But as far as the other side goes I only know what I've read about in the mags or on the forums. Where are you planning to go on your trips?
QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas Spbed, Do you have a scanner right now? If so what mk/mdl ? If not I have some advice. I have been out to Evanston,Wy a few times. Got to spend 2 weeks exploreing east/west of there. I liked the Weber canyon and Echo areas. I highly recomend hitting Ogden and checking out there museum. They have a turbine,DDA40X, and GP9 on display outside under cover. They also have a couple really cool layouts. I don't know about your plans to go out on the lake. I've swam in it before and it's very shallow. You can walk miles into the lake and still stand up. I don't think I've ever seen a boat,let alone a power boat on the lake. But I could be wrong. No worries though, you can still get shots of the causway. I can't give directions, but you can get fairly close on the west end. I think when I was out there I followed the tracks all the way from Wells,Nv. Make shure you carry survival supply if you venture in the desert. Any way sounds like fun. I would like to check out the Meadow Valley Wash area myself. I've done Salt Lake to Vegas but had to bypass this spot cause I was running out of time. The El Paso -Vaughn trip sounds like fun to. I've never been east of El Paso. Always wanted to check out Vaughn, I have set out with the intentions of going there twice. The closest I got was Windslow. Too much to see along the way. I sometimes wish I had a Radar gun too. The fastest train I ever saw was a helper move. I'd say they were going 90. My e-mail is now set up, but I don't check it that often. It's chad@cvhsa.com
QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas Spbed, Interesting you should mention the Pacific Northwest. I lived in Stevenson,Wa. from 1999 till 2003. That's between Multnomah Falls and Hood River, but on the Washington side of the river (on the north side of the Bridge of the Gods). I traveled between the Dalles and Portland/Vancouver on an almost daily basis. If you think following the UP line is cool, You would love the BN side. There are long streaches where SR14 is so close to the mainline you can almost reach out ad touch the train. The only thing seperating the Hwy & tracks is a 2' tall x 1' wide rock wall. And this is 50-60 MPH running. You can't beat that for pacing. I have hundreds of pix but I'm still old school shooting 35mm slides so have no way of posting them. About the lake/boat. I dont know if how far out you can walk on the west side (causway). There are spots that are <20' deep in that area. And when I tried to access the east end of the causway I couldn't because it was private property (gov prop I think). When you get a scanner I advise you to find one that has 100+ channel capacity. That way you can program all the AAR railroad assigned frequencys and shouldn't heve to mess with that again. I also highly recommend getting a magnetic rooftop ant. cut for 160 Mhz , much better reception (they are advertised in the train mags & I think a forum member here sells them also) . I personaly like to use an external speeker in the car. It gives a much better bass rich sound and is louder. Alot easier to hear in a car at speed with the window down.But that's just my personal preferance. I think my trip is postponed till next weekend. I have to go to a training siminar this weekend. Darn!!![:(] [8D] [8D] [8D] [8D]
QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas spbed, I have a story I wrote around 1992 about a chase I had with a Santa Fe 199 train from needles to Kramer jct. (30mi w of Barstow) a total of about 240 miles, I LOST. I wrote it with the intentions of submitting it to Pacific Railnews or Trains. I never did submit it but I still have it. I'll see if I can find it and post it. And I just got the green light from my boss for next weekend.[:p][:D][8D][^][^][^][^]
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