Update as of Wednesday, August 24, 2016
While Highway 138 was completely open, the road to the Cajon McDonalds was still closed, and so was the upper Cajon Blvd. by Cleghorn Road.
The BNSF train in the above view was moving RIGHTWARD, eastbound, and was on MAIN 3. While K.P. was in the Pass only for a little while, ALL the trains he saw were on Main 3, with the deductive conclusion that possibly Mains 1 and 2 were closed.
Just a few minutes earlier K.P. was near the northbound I-15 off ramp at Highway 138, and a Main 3 eastbound was seen rightward. The hills are seen to be charred.
The Chevon station and McDonalds are closed, and blocked off. The McDonald’s parking lot had a lot of vehicles in it, most likely from repair workers.
The CHP weigh station (southbound side) had all burnt down and is just a low heap of metal now. It is out of sight behind the trees of the lower right.
K.P. hopes the roadways to the McDonalds and the upper Cajon Blvd. open soon. When the latter does open, one item of special interest will be checked out. In that last above view, the BNSF security modules are nowhere to be seen. It is unknown if they are hiding in the view or if they burned down, but this day while above them on the freeway they were NOT seen, whereas many times before they were easily seen.
The above was a morning visit. However, K.P. was again in the Pass early Wednesday evening. Cajon Blvd. was still closed at Cleghorn Road. Overall, the evening visit was a disappointment, but a few loose ends were taken care of. Exactly what BNSF bridges burned is more of a mystery now. A report will be posted in a day or two.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
K.P., your efforts to document the aftermath of this major, historic fire with both pictures and your boots/tires-on-the-scene assessment are very much appreciated. While the close-ups of the bridges highlight where specific damage took place, your views looking west and east from atop the cut at Summit are the money shots. Trains mag would do well to include them in whatever coverage they give this in their next issue.
The Canyon Area plus an Old SP Bridge
Part I (of I-IV)
Railroad “south” of Highway 138 is the UP (ex-SP) Canyon siding, with CP SP469 CANYON (M.P. 469.3) at its north end. That CP was photographed, looking railroad south. A trailer was onsite (right), typically used by the signal dept. As viewed from the side (not photographable), things looked different, but K.P. couldn’t put his finger on it. A BNSF “J. B. Hunt” double-stacker passes in the background.
The fire burnt right up to the CP with the tracks and a dirt road acting as a fire block, but winds often made the fire jump over such blocks.
A northbound UP came, unbeknown to K.P., he pressed the shutter button right as the lead unit passed through the shadow of the microwave tower, which was unscathed by the fire.
The power soon goes into and through the Mormon Rocks area, and burn areas are here and there.
A UP eastbound passes on the BNSF. There was a lot on UP traffic for some reason. Note the burn area above right of photo center.
Continued in Part II
Part II (of I-IV)
In the Alray area, another eastbound passes on BNSF Main 1 (of 2). Note the walling (center left). A nice railroad employee (truck on far right) said the walling had been there for a while … So, K.P. now has questions about the new walling on the other side. Was the walling fire related, or just coincidental?
That double-stack was ANOTHER UP!
Continued in Part III
Part III (of I-IV)
Looking over to the SP Bridge …
That railroader said the UP was (will be) putting concrete on top of the bridge. That would explain the temporary woodwork (top).
A strange sight was a more stable outhouse type arrangement (assumedly) than customary (the portable) ones.
Continued in Part IV
Part IV (of I-IV)
Views from underneath, the bridge is definitely an old one, circa 1966-67 when the 78 mile Palmdale Cutoff was put in by Southern Pacific.
From a news photo of the bridge, apparently the I-beams got so hot in the superfast moving brush fire they partially collapsed and the bridge lowered, but the concrete the I-beams are set into look old suggesting otherwise, though the I-beans themselves look new.
The upper part of Cajon Blvd. (that goes through the Swarthout area where the fire originated, where Blue Cut is located) was still close yesterday afternoon. Until K.P. can get access to that area it is difficult to known exactly what BNSF meant by losing three bridges. The bridge UP lost (repairable) was in the Alray area, but it is questionable if BNSF lost theirs in the Alray area or somewhere else in Cajon Pass.
This will end this series.
Great photos KP ..
Note in the shot of CP Canyon that there is a portable generator and the commercial power lines are being rebuilt.
By the McDonald’s
On Friday afternoon, August 26, 2016, K.P. again visited the area, and found Cajon Blvd. still closed. However, the road leading to the McDonald’s fast food location was now open, but the restaurant itself was closed and the roped off parking lot full of repair worker’s vehicles. A double-stack on BNSF Main 1 is seen in the background (rightward).
Look at all the debris taken out of McDonald’s in the full container in the photos' center!
In the Pass seemingly everywhere were workers on clean-up or repair projects.
Maybe tomorrow or the next day the public will be able to drive on the presently closed Cajon Blvd.
KP- Are you a photographer by trade?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Finally, Access to Blue Cut!
On Saturday, August 27, 2016 upper Cajon Blvd. was found to be open. Traversing through the area, the hills were greatly burned. A BNSF eastbound showed up in that burnt area environment.
In that above photo, a chopper is seen hovering. It was flying electric utility poles from a nearby staging area to various locations on the mountainside where such poles had been burnt.
Railfans watch the show of trains passing. But, a helicopter flying poles around by the tracks was a show in itself!
Expect more photos and a findings report in a few days.
Murphy Siding (8-26):
For 40 years I’ve worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) taking spy photos currently with an annual salary of $25 million. Are you jealous? Just kidding …
Seriously, the answer to your question is NO. Why do you ask?
Take care,
K.P.
Barstow Rick linked on KP's Cajon Pass thread to a Trainmaster site from Switzerland and their Cajon Pass Page has a lot of excellent post-fire shots here. Apparently Hill 582 was spared, though the fires got close.
K. P. Harrier From a news photo of the bridge, apparently the I-beams got so hot in the superfast moving brush fire they partially collapsed and the bridge lowered, but the concrete the I-beams are set into look old suggesting otherwise, though the I-beans themselves look new.
I don't think that any of the steel bridge components were affected by the fire. What happened was that the wooden deck above the steel girders burnt away. The remaining parts of the deck, and the ballast, fell through the girders leaving the track unsupported. The track had always been the same distance above the girders. Now the deck is back, the bridge is much the same as it was before the fire. But the main span girders never moved.
M636C
I'm no expert on the behavior of concrete in fires, but I would opine that if the fire got hot enough to cause the steel to sag, there would have been spalling of the concrete as well.
I could be wrong, and probably am.
Brush fires tend to be hot, but briefly so as the available fuel burns away. So odds are the steel and concrete were essentially unaffected, but there was enough fire there to set the wooden portions of the structure afire, as noted.
Nonetheless, the sight of the rails sagging over the bridge was certainly impressive.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
The Blue Cut-Cajon Area …
… Finally Opens
Part “A” (of A-C)
After a prolonged closure, the Blue Cut area (as well as the Cajon area) finally opened to the public Saturday, August 27, 2016.
Near where the fire started, some areas are green while others (like the back hills) are thoroughly burnt.
The eastbound (rightward) train in the view is the same one as in the teaser announcement for this series.
The cut hills on both sides of the BNSF Transcon show burns.
That above power then goes by the clearly burned area.
Continued in Part B
Part “B” (of A-C)
Non-railroad workers and equipment are scattered over the burnt hills. UP’s Palmdale Cutoff is seen climbing the burned sloopes.
A helicopter was continually flying electric utility poles to burnt pole sites.
Continued in Part C
Part “C” (of A-C)
At Cajon, the security module(s) (or whatever they are) survived. They look different now, and have a fence around them.
A westbound comes by, and goes by burned roadway railings and posts.
The whole area is considerably burnt, and more workers that trainmen litter the hills replacing lines, equipment, and carnage from the fire.
This will conclude the series.
KP when the winter rains forecast comes out give us an update on the possibility of mud slides in this burnt out area.
A Few Things Left
It took a long time (since the fire on August 16, 2016), but the McDonald’s eating place is now open again, as reported in the “Cajon Pass Triple-Tracking Updates” thread.
K.P. visited the Blue Cut area of Cajon Pass late yesterday afternoon, Sunday, December 4, 2016, and found that the Swarthout Road safety railings still have not been repaired yet.
The poles and electrical wires spanning them have been repair for some time. But, the Swarthout Road safety railings apparently are not a high priority, and their future repair lingers on.
It’s Happening -- And Christmas …
… Cheer is Out the Door
On Saturday, December 24, 2016 rains in Cajon Pass bought the inevitable consequences of the Blue Cut fire from last summer. Between UP’s Canyon and Keenbrook there was mud on the tracks in a number of places. By the time K.P. was able to get onsite, the afternoon sun was lowering, and photo-lighting was not good.
BNSF’s line had some problems too, as K.P. saw track equipment on their line. Unfortunately, in an effort to get an unobstructed view of the track equipment, other areas were attempted, but no place was found, and a return to the above photos location was made. However, the BNSF track equipment had moved to another nearby location and was not seen. The best that could be had was a photo of a BNSF eastbound slowly moving through a slow order as it approached Blue Cut.
The workers from both UP and BNSF may have thought they would have time off because of the holiday, but those rains brought those plans to a halt.
Rains seem to be doing some good in the pass, as a lot of green grass is sprouting amongst the black sticks of the bushes torched last year. Some areas seemed still to be a bit barren, but signs are encouraging.
On another note, lots of track equipment hanging around Tehachapi this afternoon and a lot more green flatcars strung out on a siding just west of the highway 58 overpass over Tehachapi Blvd. Some equipment coming back through town from the west after sunset, a ballast regulator and a tamper coming through and honking their horns like crazy on the way to the siding.
Reports that fire has allowed mud slide to close route ?
blue streak 1 Reports that fire has allowed mud slide to close route ?
Status of the Pass around Highway 138
Dated: Monday, January 23, 2017
A status investigation took place around sunset to about twilight. I-15 was moving freely, but as ChuckCobleigh reported several hours ago, Highway 138 was close north of the freeway.
It is unlikely that officer was a railfan, but if he was, that would have been a neat assignment, looking down on a bunch of trains passing for some hours.
Trains were moving freely on the BNSF and UP lines. The status of the tracks south of Highway 138 (Cleghorn and Kenwood exits, and Cajon Blvd. between them) was NOT checked out.
Reportedly WEST of I-15 Highway 138 was closed for a while yesterday account of flooding and landslides, but no evidence of it was seen today.
The snowline was above the intersecting of I-15 and Highway 138. Around the 4000-foot marker (now gone because of the highway widening) was stopped at and snow documented. Richard Steinheimer in a Cajon Pass write-up in TRAINS decades ago mentioned that marker.
Above, a number of cars (photo middle background) had stopped and kids were playing in the snow.
While I-15 was closed yesterday account of a landslide, trains seemed to be relatively free-flowing in Cajon Pass and not affected much by snow and the Blue Cut Fire rainwater runoff.
The Aftereffect of the Blue Cut Fire of Last Year
New Riprap (Boulders)
A few weeks ago the local rains wreaked havoc with the railroads in the Keenbrook-Blue Cut area because of all the brush being burned away. Both the BNSF (with LA&SL trackage rights) and UP (ex-SP) Palmdale Cutoff had washouts. The most severe was in the old, long gone pre-CTC AT&SF Keenbrook siding area, where apparently in a joint effort both BNSF and UP set a conspicuous amount of riprap. Photos taken Monday, January 30, 2017.
The specific area:
That cantilever signal in the third photo down is barely seen in the fourth photo’s left.
Continued in “While We Are in Cajon Pass”
While We Are in Cajon Pass
On the UP Palmdale Cutoff, the north end of the Canyon siding, the CTC equipment got singed (“singed,” not destroyed), including the three wooden poled microwave tower for CTC communications.
That tower was very recently replaced with a metal one.
This will end this update posting.
What about the "Sunset Route"? I realize that it may not be an easy connection for BNSF, but might it be of some use?
from the Far East of the Sunset Route
(In the shadow of the Huey P Long bridge)
Looks like KP's photos are now hidden behind the Photobucket paywall.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD Looks like KP's photos are now hidden behind the Photobucket paywall.
Balt,
I find it unconscionable that Photo Bucket would spring such a nasty surprise on those who have used them in good faith for years. Corporate greed? Cost of maintaining the service? I do not have the answer to either question but IMO they dropped the MOAB's on those who took them at their word and depended on them to provide photos that could be linked to.
If it was in the name of profit I find it abominable. It appears to be pure 'bait and switch'.
I don't know Kalmbach's opinion on this but I think they may be disappointed. I can only hope they have enough space on their server for photos to be directly uploaded and stored there. It would provide continuity to threads such a K.P. have provided. Without photos that all participants can see Photo Bucket, in their greed, has destroyed a great thread on this forum.
Norm
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