Santa Fe 3751 at Fullerton RR Days today and tomorrow

[Jack_S]

Unfortunately I didn't know this was going to happen until it already had. So I missed the 80 MPH Friday pass through Fullerton accompanied by a brand new BNSF Dash 9 in sparkling new livery. I'll miss the return trip tomorrow also.

I was unable to stand long enough to go through any of the locos and cars, but I may go back tomorrow early enough to have no waiting. I am not sure I am capable of climbing up into the 3751, but I will try. The Dash 9 has a ramp. Lots of good model RR exhibits, books, clothing, etc. Food and music too, and various RR history groups. Fullerton is doing a good job of making the restored Santa Fe depot an added attraction to their already pleasant and popular downtown area. It's a great place to watch trains and BNSF put on a show today with many high speed freights right in the middle of the day.

Jack

[chad thomas]

For those that don't know there is a Fullerton webcam at: http://www.railcams.com/webcampix/webcam1/webcam1.html
Mabee some of our web-cam junkies might catch some steam action.
Perhaps they will even add some new shots of 3751 to their highlights.

[Jack_S]

So, on Sunday I went over to Fullerton at about 9:15 AM in the hope that the lines to go through the engines and cars on display would be shorter. The ones on the 3 month-old BNSF Dash 9 were short enough for me so I went through it and got a good look and some pics. The BNSF rep in the cab was good at his PR job: very pleasant and, as far as I could tell, knowledgeable.

Then you walk up to the end of the siding and come back the other way thru an nicely kept old Pullman with several Roomettes, a family suite made from two larger rooms linked, and some, to me, "normal" Pullman berths. The next car is had a somewhat short dome level with only one stair up. The rest had been coach seating, but the owners are in the process of rebuilding as a lounge-dining car on the lower level. If I remember correctly they are the same people who own the "Overland Trail" private car.

Next was a privately owned caboose that was an interesting lesson in how much RR operations have really changed over the decades.

When I first arrived that day the line at the Santa Fe 3751 steamer was too long. After a good look at the climb to the cab I decided I didn't want to wait a long time on my bad legs and back, only to be presented with a climb I might not be able to make.

So I watched the freights rumble through and talked to some other fans and left around 10:30.

Here's the kicker. We took all the women in the family to a Mother's Day dinner in Monclair that evening. On the way back from this, on the 91 Freeway, my wife and I would pass about a mile south of the Fullerton station. RR Days was over at 5 PM and the 3751 crew had told me they would take it back to LA as soon as they could after that time. It was about 8:10 PM as I approached the Lemon Street offramp. I thought the 3751 was long gone, but you never know, so I got off and headed for the station. Just as I started under the BNSF bridge in the gathering duxk, the Dash 9 and the 3751 ripped westward on the main line, making the promised runby of the station. ***! 10 minutes earlier and I would have been there! 3751 left a huge black cloud hanging over the tracks punctuated by her whistle. As I pulled into the station, railfans were pouring out to their cars and heading home.

Jack

[Anonymous]

I waited in Commerce from 5:20 to 7:30, scared to try and venture east and miss it. Finally, I gave up, thinking maybe they were taking it to San Bernadino (there had been mention of an Educational Outreach program in San Bernadino for the next day some time earlier).