Western Railroad Discussion > New BNSF 8300's along the Cajon and Needles Subs

I'm a bit late, but back on Monday I was alerted to four new BNSF ES44c4's heading to Los Angeles by a post here by TO user Vernthecat. Wasting no time after reading the post, my father and I rushed up to Helendale, only for the four units to blast by us seconds after we arrived. We chased it back to Frost, where we met up with fellow railfan OYW (His excellent shots can be found here: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3752739) around a half hour before the new c4's came by over the flyover. Heading down to Martinez, we again got skunked, this time by an Eastbound pulling up on track 1 at the end of triple track. Waiting for both trains to clear, we went over to Summit, expecting the train to be clear to Cajon, but another westbound ahead of it stalled it at Silverwood just long enough for us to catch it one last time curving around track 3 at Stein's Hill, just as the sun was about to set into a cloud bank (I can tell you, I've had some close calls light-wise as a railfan but this one made the top of the list). We broke off the chase there and headed for home, ready to go out onto the Needles Subdivision the next day.

Thanks to information garnered via a friend on Facebook, I had advance knowledge of another pair of farily new 8300's leading a westbound S-ALTOIG across the Needles Subdivision later in the day and, with no other eastbounds in the immediate vicintity, my dad and I headed up to Afton Canyon for a little while, catching an Eastbound LATC to Canal Street intermodal (I'm guessing it was a repo, all of the containers had UMAX reporting marks and seemed empty) before heading out to Essex on the Needles Sub. After 2 hours of sitting around, the S-ALTOIG finally blasted through with the two fresh 8300's on the point, followed by a ratty DASH 9-44CW with graffitti on both sides. The train was making better time than NS 8102 did last February, and we only got ahead of the train at Amboy. There however, the grade stiffens on the run up to Ash Hill, so we were able to get it at plently of locations, including Bagdad, Siberia, East Ash Hill, and Ludlow, before ending our chase.

If you want to check out the full video from Monday and Tuesday, it's on my YouTube channel, Railfanjunction.

Cheers,
Zach
http://www.z-trains.com
Railfanjunction on YouTube



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/15 19:01 by z-trains.

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I LOVE all of your videos. I look forward to each new one that comes out. You have a VERY nice talent for capturing trains without getting too "artsy fartsy". PLEASE make a new video when the new BNSF tier 4 locomotives come to California. I'll be waiting with great anticipation.

I can hear the wheels slipping and the load dropping from here! Nice units, but they are garbage!

If these units are such garbage, why is BNSF buying so many?

Posted from iPhone

Alexmarissa Wrote:
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> If these units are such garbage, why is BNSF
> buying so many?
>
> Posted from iPhone

Corporate ignorance.

What is the status of EMD's version of the 6-axle unit with 4 powered axles?

Posted from iPhone

Nice video!!

I agree with ns1000, great video!

obsessedfoamer Wrote:
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> I can hear the wheels slipping and the load
> dropping from here! Nice units, but they are
> garbage!

If the train ahead was a westbound stalled/stopped at Silverwood it seems unlikely that it would have actually stalled since it would be headed downgrade.  

Glad it worked out for you!

Excellent videos......thanks for sharing...

obsessedfoamer Wrote:
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> I can hear the wheels slipping and the load
> dropping from here! Nice units, but they are
> garbage!

I like it when the center axle drops when using dynamics to come to a stop.

Ted S-P

All your films are a true demonstration of the passion you have for the trains and for these extraordinary landscapes. Moreover you have a great insight into the always find the right spots to film trains. How can we forget your Mojave Magic!
congratulations