Western Railroad Discussion > UP 1996 in SoCal Last Saturday

I guess this might be a "prequel" to SP8595's great report few days ago:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5540418

I happened to be in SoCal last weekend to visit friends, with no real foaming plans. I had problems with Internet connection at the hotel, and chose heritageunits.com to troubleshoot it. The nearest WiFi router went down for some reason, but there was a distance router that my laptop could connect off and on.

There was a post 2 hours old, that a coal train with UP 1996 leading was departing Long Beach. My thanks go to the heritageunits.com contributors.

I was about 1.5 hours away from a possible intercept point, in the area of West Colton Yard. So I was risking  being 1.5 - 3.5 hours late to meet the train.

I've been chasing trains in SoCal for about 15 years now, with plenty of experience under my belt. So I wasn't too anxious. That meant I expected a coal train leaving Long Beach to be empties, and would eventually head to LA&SL (Cima Sub) via BNSF Cajon Sub. It could go either Los Angees Sub (join BNSF at Riverside), or Alhambra Sub (join BNSF at the Colton "Diamonds"), so I chose a logical spot where I wouldn't miss the train (if I wasn't late).

From chasing the UP 1989 many years ago, I expected trains to crawl out of Long Beach before reaching Colton, and I was right. After I arrived in the Colton area, I went to a nearby Starbucks (for WiFi), and saw an update on heritageunits.com that the train had just passed Pomona.

I went to grab a sandwich, and ate in the restaurant, confident that I was going to nab the UP 1996 after the meal.

(Video will be described in the next post)

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

That was a Heavy Duty video... Thanks for the effort!

First location I met the UP 1996 (symbol posted on heritageunits.com was CLBWE9) was at the Colton "Diamonds." It's in quotes, because the ex-SP two track main has become single track, as the UP trains now run above on the double-track flyover. I have great memories of catching trains here at the Diamonds, including BNSF's MJACBAR.

I drove toward Baseline for the next intercept, found a location, but got blocked by a westbound. I drove north (railroad east) and I found a gap between the train congestion and got the UP 1996 between 2 parked trains. This is the area where I met SP8595 and his dad few years ago, while chasing GE Tier 4 leaders up and down Cajon Pass.

I went to another "past" railfan spot, Devore. The crossing there used to be a popular spot to catch trains, but the new Glen Helen Parkway overpass eliminated the need for the crossing, and the area is now fenced off... so I used the overpass to nab the UP 1996 there. Overcast skies meant lighting wasn't too critical, as the shadows didn't ruin the video.

I chose to drive on Cajon Blvd. (Route 66) to try my luck, instead of taking the freeway for an intercept at Sullivans Curve. Luck presented itself as a faded Warbonnet near Blue Cut, and UP 1996 meets it there.

I was unlikely going to make it to Sullivans Curve, so I went to Hill 582 to nab UP 1996 one more time. A westbound BNSF stacker was descending on Track 3, so I documented that in the video - all the horns you hear are from the BNSF, not UP 1996.

That's it for a wordy, but quick report.

Great job, you certainly haven't lost your touch!

Thanks for the effort, great series. 
 

Awesome job and seeing that overpass from no.4 back in 07 I knew Devore was on the history list, that ruined that spot!

Posted from Android

Amazing scenes of places that have changed so much over the years. Thanks for the look.
—Mac

Thank you for sharing the great coverage of Cajon.

Posted from Android