Western Railroad Discussion > Some San Jacinto Branch Action (M JACBAR)

During my recent stint in Southern California, I made it a point to chase the M-JACBAR on its morning trip from March Field to Barstow. This train usually sports 5 or 6 units consists of AT&SF high-horsepower 4 axle engines. I had spotted the local with an all Bluebonnet and Warbonnet consist, lead by a spartan cab GP60. But by the time I got around to chasing it, pumpkins had worked their way back into the consist. Also, unfortunately cloudy weather persisted on the two days that I managed to chase the train.

Anyway;...

-Nate
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1. The M JACBAR begins the steep descent through Box Spring Canyon.

2. Classic Santa Fe colors leading - without any orange.

3. Making its way through the big curve below Box Spring.

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4. On another day, all ATSF leads the train through the big curve on Box Spring grade.

5. A telephoto view of the curve (notice the train around the curve to the right). Quite a few BNSF signal crews and surveyors were out on this morning.

6. Descending toward Highgrove, above downtown Riverside.

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7. Reaching a reprieve in the grade, the JACBAR passes over the ex-SP Riverside Branch near Lillycup.

8. There aren't too many places left in SoCal where you can still see warbonnets amongst orange groves. One small such grove remains in Riverside as the local approaches the distant signal to Highgrove - and the San Bernardino Sub mainline.

9. The Distant signal protecting the SP diamond is still a wood and lantern semaphore - permanently displaying a distant approach.

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10. On the mainline, the JACBAR passes the venerable ATSF era cantelever signals at West Colton. Only a few such cantelevers are left along ex-Santa Fe rails in Southern California.

11. The JACBAR charging up main 1 on Cajon. It's pretty rare anymore to see yellow and blue leading a train up cajon.

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Nice photos, natemuhl!

The "San Jac" is always an interesting train! I was in Cajon Pass back on 19 December, 2008 and caught the San Jacinto to Barstow, CA train headed up toward the summit. It had a B40-8W, GP60, GP60M, GP60M, B40-8W lash-up and 99 cars.


SantaFeRuss

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One wonders what all of this will look like once Metrolink starts working on the line. I am sure there will be significant track improvements but how much can be done to the Box Springs area and what speeds Metrolink Will be able to maintain through there! Time will tell!!!

I remember Southern California as a kid with lots of brush covering the hills, and stands of it head high and very difficult to walk through. You would see live oak, box elder and sycamore trees also filling the canyons. Five decades of wildfires have pretty much eradicated that. The terrain doesn't look much different now from the overgrazed landscape south of the border. A slope such as the one in photo three would have been full of curious delights such as Lemonade Berry, Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry, California Lilac, Manzanita, Indian Tobacco, Mormon Tea and Monkey Flower, not to mention jack rabbits, horned toads, blue-bellied lizards, tarantulas, coyotes, snakes and an infrequent bear, bob cat or cougar. Now the only souvenirs you might bring home with you are the foxtails in your socks.

On the bright side, it is far easier to get a clean shot of the train than it used to be.

Fred Harrison
Central Point, OR
CORPpower/JSS/EORS

What time does the southbound JACBAR arrive at Highgrove? Does it still run everyday?

Watts local

wattslocal Wrote:
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> What time does the southbound JACBAR arrive at
> Highgrove? Does it still run everyday?

That'd be the M-BARJAC.

From last night's discussion:
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1868395

Great coverage! I see the "end result" of the BARJAC when I drive out to Orange Empire on Saturday. I've noticed surveyor stakes near "March Field" and have wondered whether they're part of the Metrolink project. Some of those curves may get straightened a bit--that's what Metrolink did between Saugus and Vincent on the Antelope Valley Line. There was also some discussion about routing ML over the old SP local track for better access to Riverside.

I seriously doubt that they'll be able to eliminate any curves between the SP crossing and Box Springs at the top of the grade.

As for Metrolink, I'll bet that they'll do something like the Sprinter down in Escondido - Oceanside.
Handles the grades and curves with no problem and they're quieter then a regular Metrolink train.

Probably would be much easier to get past the NIMBY's.

Love the photos in this thread! It's funny I've run into JACBAR many times without trying, then on my last visit to SoCal, I missed it by just a few minutes.

Attached is a photo of my first JACBAR encounter 2 years ago. Note the two GP60B's in the consist.

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