Western Railroad Discussion > Up by the Riverside

Had a pretty good day on Sunday 1/17 taking train pictures along the BNSF San Bernardino Sub (ex-ATSF Third District) within the rather expansive city limits of Riverside, CA.  I didn't really have a plan for the day other than getting a few shots of searchlight signals and maybe catching the Union Pacific LOB40 local when it trespasses onto BNSF rails to switch a couple of lumber yards. 

1) I figured I would start the morning at the Arlington crossovers just west of the Adams St. grade crossing, still protected by mast-mounted searchlights in both directions.  Metrolink provides four schedules westbounds between dawn and 10 a.m., and BNSF is usually good for a morning eastbound or two.  What I didn't expect was a westbound light power set consisting of three 4-axle units with Santa Fe-painted GP60 #190 on the rear.  I would see this same set heading back eastbound about four hours later, also light power.

2) Also caught a "real" eastbound train in the form of BNSF 6060 east.  As you can see, BNSF tends to run left-handed here.

3) Up at Riverside proper (or technically the eastbound control signals at West Riverside), the LOB40 came off home rails and entered the BNSF just before 10 a.m. behind GP60 1064 and GP38-2 663. Both are LA area veterans and have the marks to prove it.
 

---

---

---

4) The LOB40 switches Reliable Wholesale Lumber near the Iowa St. overpass on the east side of Riverside.

5) The power ran around its cars and prepared to head west to work the Champion Lumber Co. at Chicago Ave., then make a break for home rails.  This view looks east from the Iowa St. overpass.  Highgrove is just around the corner to the left, and the track curving off to the right is used by Metrolink trains bound for Perris, CA.

6) Back at the EBCS West Riverside, LOB40 is bracketed by a pair of searchlights.  A track gang was working on the approaches to the UP bridge over highway 91 just to the left, and had track-and-time for most of the day, giving it up only for this local and one other westbound while I was there. 

---

---

---

7) BNSF, however, was quite generous with trains, particularly westbounds, for which I was very grateful.  On a whim, I decided to climb up Pachappa Hill just south of the UP/BNSF junction, a vantage point that favors westbounds and a telephoto lens.  The peak of the hill is 1,175 feet above sea level, but with Riverside proper at about 830 feet, the hill itself only rises around 300 feet above its surroundings.  In five hours, I saw 10 BNSF trains including seven westbounds, but this train, BNSF 7729 west, was the only manifest I saw.  This is the broad view from the top of the hill, showing the BNSF train curving off to the east side as the UP line diverges to the west, with the wall of mountains that trains penetrate via Cajon Pass in the distance.  Up here, a person can see westbounds approaching as soon as they turn the corner at Highgrove about four rail miles away, and while it's hard to see in this pulled-back view, the next westbound is already approaching.  Start from furthest right red section of that red and gray apartment complex and go straight up beyond the first couple of overpasses, and you'll see the white containers of BNSF 7095 west on that same portion of tangent track where I shot the LOB40 in photo 5.  

8) Before the westbound stacks got to me, though, an eastbound stacker rolled through the junction.  Its DPU passed the head end of BNSF 7095 west at the downtown Riverside Metrolink station.

9) I shared a photo of the one westbound UP stack train I saw in another thread ( https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5178612,5178656#5178656 ), so we'll skip that one.  The last train I caught on the hill was BNSF 7463 west with a train of marine boxes.

---

---

---

10) The Ivy St. overpass just east of Pachappa Hill offers a slightly lower elevated perspective on BNSF 5641 west that gets downtown Riverside in the background.

11) Heading for home, I still had some light left, so I decided to try for a westbound at the signal bridge at Harrison St. It's still within the Riverside city limits, but only just, and while the scene isn't the best in the world, the signal heads are still searchlights at least.  I've tried getting late evening westbounds here before without much luck, and I was a little worried that I had exhausted the day's supply of westbounds yet again.  BNSF evidently had run out of trains to run, but they did manage to put together a four unit light power set and get it to Harrison St. just before the sun set.

12) Four minutes later, as the sun ducks behind the hills, here comes Metrolink train 858 from Oceanside to round out the day's shooting.

Thanks for looking!

---

---

---

Wow! What a fantastic series of shots! Is Riverside better for railfanning freight compared to Fullerton? 

TIA, Steve

Steve Andrews
Ames, IA

Great presentation and photography, Evan.

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

Beautiful photos! I’ve lived in this area for many years and commuted out of Riverside station for two years on my daily trek to Anaheim Hills, but I’ve never seen it from your perspective. Thanks for posting.
Jim Kreider

Fabulous collection of photos. Thanks for sharing. chris uk

steveandrews Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow! What a fantastic series of shots! Is
> Riverside better for railfanning freight compared
> to Fullerton? 
>
> TIA, Steve


No Amtrak Surfliners, but you do get the added spice of the occasional UP freight or BNSF's San Diego auto or manifest trains.

Mr. MRL

That's a great bunch from a number of different angles.
JB

Fantastic series! Love the shots from the top of the hill. Don't believe that I have ever seen pictures taken from that vantage point before!

Good stuf, Evan, thanks for posting.  Particularly liked the shots from the hill.  Now, the question remains: Why are the only GP60's painted BNSF non-Santa Fe engines?  None of the Santa Fe's have gotten orange.  I was told by a BNSF type that the lessor wanted them in that scheme.  I was widely ridiculed for that, saying the leases had expired.  The original ones probably have, but who's to say BNSF didn't just re-lease them instead of purchasing them.  Maybe someone can come up with an explanation.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Great series of photos Evan! Thanks for sharing....

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Great series Evan.

Kudos for climbing up Pachappa Hill. Though I've never been in that part of the LA Basin, I had noted that there was a large hill south of the UP/BNSF junction on Google Earth / Street View. I thought it would provide an interesting perspective for shooting down towards the junction, so thanks for providing a view from above.

Nice work. Only made a mad dash through that area a small number of times, interesting to see what's really in there.
t4p.

Well done!
Riverside may be the “most overlooked” rail photo locale in Southern California. The north-south orientation of the BNSF main line makes for terrific lighting, especially in the winter.

Posted from iPhone

Great set of photos from my new hometown, Evan.  The girder bridge from the former SP line still exists over University Avenue downtown, and seems to be incorporated into that new gray/red Mission Lofts apartment complex as an access road or pedestrian path.

Rich

Very nice set.  You had a good day.

Great series of captures and interesting narrative!  Thanks for posting.
GK

Awesome series!!