Western Railroad Discussion > Chilly day on the east side of Cajon

Years ago, I penned a piece for one of the train mags extolling the photographic virtues of the east side of Cajon Pass, the area east of Summit. I mostly concentrated on operations of the then-Santa Fe, and UP.

So there was no arm-twisting required when a friend suggested we take advantage of the cold weather, spectacular morning light and clear skies to make a visit to Hivolt, a spot on the ex-SP Palmdale cutoff on the east side of the pass. We worked the spot for several hours, got the shot we came for and experimented with long lenses and interesting lighting on the nearby BNSF. The temperature hovered around the frreezing mark most of the morning, and with a steady breeze estimated at 20-25mph, we were glad we brought our winter clothes. All photos shot February 7, 2019.

1. UP northbound train on the ex-SP Palmdale Cutoff--"the" winter shot here--enters the big curve at Hivolt, so named for transmission lines radiating from the nearby Southern California Edison Lugo transmission substation. 

2. BNSF eastbound stack train, seen throught a 300mm telephoto, snakes through the big curve east of Martinez Spur, power in 2+2 configuration with two rear DPU's visible as the rear of the train passes thru the "Stalag 56" security fencing.

3. Rolling meet of BNSF freights on the triple-track east of Martinez Spur. On a busy morning you can really see how the triple-tracking has helped keep things moving on the BNSF side of Cajon.

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/19 05:43 by Alco251.

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A couple more shots from the same spot at Hivolt, along with a warning.

1. Northbound UP Palmdale Cutoff train, seen at 300mm in the "big mountain/little train" genre.

2. Southbound UP Palmdale Cutoff train at Hivolt. Not much of a shot here, but we managed a few frames.

3. Be careful. The kind of litter observed in the Hivolt vantage points indicates societal jetsam and flotsam from nearby high desert communities like this spot as much as railfans. Watch your step, and if you want to raifan the east side of Cajon, bring a friend for safety. Sad but true.

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Nice shots!

Randy Lundgren
Elgin, TX

Nice shots Dave. Years ago my biggest worries was stepping on a snake there...

RayH Wrote:
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> Nice shots Dave. Years ago my biggest worries was
> stepping on a snake there...

Different kind of snake these days...

   Shortly after the SP opened the Colton-Palmdale Cutoff, they constructed a spur that diverged off the main line a couple miles west (north, if you prefer) of the west switch at Hiland.  It went back in there some distance, and was used by Southern Cal Edison to unload transformers, and other heavy equipment.  Don't remember the exact milepost location of the switch, and whether or not its even still there.  It was listed in the "additional stations" in the SP timetable as Hivolt.

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO.

Switch and spur are gone.

Once SoCal Edison finished building that switching station there wasn't much need for rail service anymore.

Alco251 Wrote:
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> Switch and spur are gone.

Figured that. Thanks.  I worked as a trainman on the cutoff off and on for many years.

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO

Some photos and discussion on the Hivolt Spur here-  <https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2658093,2658421#msg-2658421&gt;

mapboy