Western Railroad Discussion > A Day in the Valley (San Joaquin, that is)

A few shots from a day spent between Merced and Lathrop a few weeks ago - mostly on BNSF, but caught a few on the UP.  
1)  Our first train of the day (about 10am) - northbound on the UP at Manteca.
2)  Southbound San Joaquin on BNSF passing a C-97 on display at Castle AFB Museum outside Merced.
3)  Northbound San Joaquin on BNSF north of Merced.
 

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4)  Southbound BNSF south of Denair.
5)  Northbound on BNSF crossing irrigation canal near Empire.
6)  Southbound San Joaquin at Riverbank.
 

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7)  Northbound San Joaquin at Riverbank.
8)  Northbound BNSF freight comes out of the siding to follow San Joaquin.
9)  Heading back to the Bay Area we heard the Tracy Hauler on the scanner leaving Tracy - caught him here at Lathrop. 
 

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Thanks for posting; I've ridden the San Joaquins now and then (mile after mile of running at track speed) but rarely get out trackside up that way. The Castle AFB museum is always an interesting thing to see while "flying" past.

That Riverbank yard looks pretty busy--there must be more industry around there than I realized.  Good to see.  BNSF always seems to have more business than UP in the valley.

Thanks for the pics...

Thanks for the pictures.  

Not train or railroad related:   I was unaware of the C97 on display.  This is the second one I know of and I always thought they were cool planes.  I don't
believe any are still flying, but can be corrected on that.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

As a child, I grew up in Reseda, CA. I lived under the downwind pattern of Rwy 16R/34L of Van Nuys Airport, and about 1/2 mile south of the ILS for Rwy 7 (now Rwy 8) of Burbank Airport. Up until 1970, the 146th Air Transport Wing (now the 146th Airlift Wing), CA ANG flew the C-97 "Guppy." After the "Guppy" the 146th started to fly and continue to fly to this day C-130s.

Those C-97s made a wonder low tone rumble of the P & W 4360s along with a high pitch whistling sound I think came from the drain holes at the tips of the propellers flying over my house is a sound that is etched into my soul.

I think the last C-97 was retired from the USAF/ANG in 1978.

Perhaps a civilian owned C-97 or two occasionally still flies somewhere on this Earth.

Nick - according to Wikipedia, there is one airworthy C-97 in New Jersey as part of a Berlin Airlift collection. 

okikuma Wrote:
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> Perhaps a civilian owned C-97 or two occasionally
> still flies somewhere on this Earth.

As of a couple years ago there was a couple of them flying fish out of Alaska.

Nice shots!

Randy Lundgren
Elgin, TX

That shot at the Castle museum made me smile. We stopped there a few times in family trips.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

atsf121 Wrote:
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> That shot at the Castle museum made me smile. We
> stopped there a few times in family trips.
>
> Nathan
>
> Posted from iPhone

Doesn't make me smile much because I went to a couple of schools there at Castle and I remember what a busy place it used to be.

dwatry Wrote:
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> Nick - according to Wikipedia, there is one
> airworthy C-97 in New Jersey as part of a Berlin
> Airlift collection. 

thanks for this.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

I did a little bit of searchig too on the net and found a Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter "Angel of Deliverance" still flying with the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation. There are several videos of this C-97 on YouTube.  For the most recent video, just enter " BAHF Boeing C-97 Start UP & Take Off June 4, 2019."

As a young Airman, I passed through Castle AFB several times during the late 1970s.

Several years ago, I flew from Van Nuys, CA to Mather Field (former Mather AFB) in the EAA B-17 "Aluminum Overast." Was able to log some fiight time in the right seat too. I then RON (remain overnight) there in Sacramento. To get back home, I purchased a one-way on the Amtrak San Joaquin from Sactown to Santa Clarita/Newhall. A bus to Stocton, San Joaquin to Bakersfield, bus to Newhall. About 8 hoiurs total time travel.
 

Here was my favorite plane at Castle - a Czech MiG-21!  I've always loved MiG-21s for some reason - they look like an alternative version of an F-105. 

Better get back to trains now! 

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Skip Holms told me years ago when he was on active duty, he had test and evaluated the MIG-21s that the DoD had "aquired." He said the MIG-21 is still a formadable advisary in the hands of a well trained fighter pilot. With upgraded modern avionics as the Indian Air Force has done with theirs, the airframe has become a "poor man's F-16."