Western Railroad Discussion > Schnabel Train on the Cima Sub

Here's a "quick" chase of the Schnabel train on Union Pacific's Cima Sub on Wednesday. I put quotes around "quick" because the train averaged just above 6 mph between Yermo and where I was at Afton Canyon.

I hastily concocted a plan late morning on Tuesday to try to intercept the Schnabel Train carrying the reactor vessel out of San Onofre nuclear power plant. I was motivated after seeing the great TO coverages of the move in SoCal earlier this week. When I departed home, I was unaware of the fact that the train was going to overnight in Yermo, with a tentative departure around 6:30 am Wednesday morning. I found that out just a few hours before, by reading this thread (thanks for starting it):

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5032206

I missed the departure at Yermo, which probably was close to 6:30 am, but with the slow pace of the train, I easily spotted it about 5 miles east of Yermo. I found a crossing to reach the other side of the tracks between Toomey and Manix (Harvard Rd.) and got my first clip there, to make sure I documented it, in case I suffered major foamer failures later on. After that, I ventured into Afton Canyon and got the second clip.

The temperature reached 111 degrees Farenheit in the Mojave National Preserve.

I've already acclimated to warmer weather, so it was no big deal waiting ~2 hours for the train at Kelso. Took some naps in the car, windows down, A/C off, but dry heat in the shade is not that bad. I did make a food stop at Baker earlier, and took in lots of fluids, which helped.

In the third clip, I got the Schnabel Train departing Kelso, with the famous depot in the background.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/20 06:33 by cchan006.

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I got a few more video clips before heading home, catching the Schnabel Train climbing Cima Hill.

There was a crew change at Kelso, done on the west side of the crossing. While that was going on, there was a westbound stacker that met the Schnabel train, first clip. General rule during the move was to keep the Schnabel train on the main, and put meeting trains on the sidings, and one of the trains had to be stopped.

I got a pacing clip, then put the foamer rental cars in the foreground on the last clip. There were 2 other groups (4 railfans besides me) that followed the train on the Cima Sub, with maybe 1-2 other groups that came and went. While I broke off the chase to head home, they continued to chase the Schnabel train up Cima Hill, and beyond. The black pick up truck that paced the train in the clip belonged to a UP Special Agent.

That's it for the report.

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Thanks for your efforts to get these photos and videos of this extraordinary vehicle in use.

Hardcore chase Charles! Excellent job, even that UP power looks far better than most. 

Greatly appreciate your posting.....Arlen

mighty fine videos.  thanks for making the effort to post them............

66

Imagine!  Pacing at 15 mph!

Have fun, be safe, 

Bruce "Doc" Jones  Sierra Madre CA

DocJones Wrote:
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> Imagine!  Pacing at 15 mph!
>
> Have fun, be safe, 
>
> Bruce "Doc" Jones  Sierra Madre CA

When it goes that fast.

Thanks for posting these...

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. BTW - how did you get both sides of the train at Kelso????

Have fun, be safe,

Bruce "Doc" Jones  Sierra Madre CA

Great videos, Charles.  Really gave the feel of being there, and good choice to include the foamers and vehicles in the last clip.

Rich

Very nicely done, Charles!  Thanks for posting.
GK

Awesome stuff Charles!

SouthWest RailCams
CA, NM, CO, TX, AZ
https://SouthWestRailCams.com

How much did the cargo weight?

Bob Wilcox
Charlottesville, VA
My Flickr Shots

bobwilcox Wrote:
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> How much did the cargo weight?

The Las Vegas Review-Journal article linked in the link below said 770 tons, and there was discussion in a Schnabel thread several days ago, whether it was 770,000 tons or pounds or whatever, and 760 tons was mentioned. Seems logical to be in that range.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5034428

FYI, unit conversion is 1 U.S. ton = 2000 lbs, and I mention it, because some confuse that with the 1 metric ton = 1000 kg conversion.

DocJones Wrote:
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> Imagine!  Pacing at 15 mph!
>
> Have fun, be safe, 
>
> Bruce "Doc" Jones  Sierra Madre CA

I did that once, and got pulled over for DUI!

Great stuff!, And completely different!
How do they keep from falling asleep at such a speed? :-)
Congrats on VOTD, and thanks for posting this!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

Did the train unload in Las Vegas, or did it go into Utah?