Western Railroad Discussion > More fun near Riverside, CA

Since January 1 was a Saturday, my employer gave us January 3 off instead.  Hoping that the railroad wouldn't be taking the 3rd off, I headed out to the territory along the Union Pacific west of Riverside, CA to try to check off a few items.  One was getting a train on the big concrete arch bridge across the Santa Ana River near the small yard at Arlington.  I didn't know if the LOB40 local based out of there would be working or if any freights would be running, but figured I could at least get the weekday-only Metrolink service crossing the bridge.

1. Martha McLean-anza Narrow Park and associated trails provide access to the bridge as well as vantage points to view the local at work.  The crew was just bringing GP60 1060 and GP38-2 663 to life as dawn was breaking.  The bridge is just out of the view to the right.  No, I don't like graffiti either.

2. Fortunately, graffiti is no match for glint-lighting.

3. Westbound Metrolink train 709 out of Riverside shoved across the bridge around 8:23 a.m. with a double helping of trainsets.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/22 21:15 by Evan_Werkema.

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4.I didn't know what LOB40's agenda was, so I stayed by the bridge hoping for more action.  As the morning wore on, I heard the local whistling off down the spur that once led to Rohr Aircraft and took off in pursuit.  Turns out they had one car to spot at AirGas just south of Jurupa Ave. (pronounced huh-ROO-pah).

5-6. Meandering through the industrial squalor returning to the yard.

 

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7. The local also had two bulkhead flats of steel loads for the Crest Steel facility west of the bridge.  The dispatcher advised that there would be one east and one west before he got the light, so I went back to the Santa Ana River bridge to catch UP 6808 east.

8-9. The local shoved across soon after and returned light units to tie up for the day.
 

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10.  I really should have stayed at the bridge until the lighting swung around a bit more, but while all this was going on, I could hear the horn of UP's Crestmore Local (LOB33?) off to the north.  The Crestmore comes out of Mira Loma yard on the main line and diverges onto a seven mile branch at Pedley.  The big cement plant at the end has been shuttered for years, but there are still a few other active rail customers remaining.  I had never done the Crestmore before, so I headed there next and found a pair of SD70M's (4433 and 4525) looking totally out of place on track that looks just right for geeps.

11-12. The job was about half done by the time I got to it.  It was already pointed southwest to head for home but still had some work to do at Riverside Milling.
 

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13-15. Heading back to Pedley, the branch skirts the edges of the Jurupa "Mountains" before turning south and passing under California Highway 60.
 

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16. Beyond "The 60," the branch parallels Jurupa Rd. the rest of the way to the junction at Pedley.

17. Swinging across the road on the west leg of the wye.

18. Back on the main and heading west for Mira Loma at CPC047.
 

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19-20. One last look at the snow-covered San Gabriel Mountains as the local arrives at Mira Loma.

Thanks for looking!
 

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Great set of photos, Evan.  You really got a lot out of a Monday here.  Particularly like the Crestmore photos.

Rich

Nice to see you getting trackside again.

Really nice bunch. A very productive day.
JB

Great series of pictures.

Jim  

Lots of nice shots in there!

RC Lundgren
Elgin, TX

Does the Santa Ana bridge have "Salt Lake Route" arrowhead logos molded in the concrete like the old bridge in Whittier?  

Very nice coverage of some of the LA locals. Always amazing to see SD70s on these. Heck, I was amazed when UP started to use SD40-2s!

Very enjoyable series!!

Larry

Good Coverage, fun to ride along.
Go

Nice photo series with a good narritive to go with the pictures.... Thanks for sharing!

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

Evan--I pretty much grew up in Riverside. I even vaguely remember the the PE freights travelling down Magnolia Ave returning to Riverside JCT. The first 8 photos on your thread today was referred to as Arlanza not Arlington! My Mother worked at Camp Anza during WWII and she called it Arlanza. At that time Arlington was several miles South by bus! I am not sure it was ever a formal name but that is what I was told by friends living near Jurupa and Van Buren when I was in High School. If you call up a Google map on your computer of Riverside you will see the word Arlanza in that area! FWIW

Lot of nice branchline variety, those Crestmore local shots are great!

JG

Excellent stuff, those SD70Ms wouldn't have been on the branch during my year at UCR, they'd be off to the right
in the mud! Branch has come a long way! 

Out 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/22 15:01 by callum_out.