Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF at Kleinfelter, Calif., East Entrance Into the Mojave Desert

Kleinfelter is 8 miles west of Needles one mile north of I-40 on Route 66. The 1-plus percent grade which begins in Needles keeps many westbounds pulling at a slow crawl up to Goffs where the grade levels off and the huge expanse of the Mojave Desert opens. Today was a visit to Kleinfelter to enjoy the hot sun, high winds, and a fairly busy flow of train traffic. A location about 1 mile west of Kleinfelter looked like a good spot for scene shots and broad sides of interesting freight cars which might happen by. The top photo shows a westbound doublestack having rounded the curve at the roadside fruit stand and clump of forest there pulling uphill at a respectable rate of speed. The last car of the train can be seen far below on the left margin. The Sacramento Mountains, a huge wilderness area, dominates the background. The signal bridge is relatively new, constructed when the third track went into service within the past year. The third main is on the left with the bright colored ballast.....The bottom photo shows a westbound autorack train also rounding the curve through Kleinfelter. The train on the right is awaiting clearance to progress east into Needles. A few more trains are parked ahead of it also awaiting clearance into Needles for a crew change, then to head east through Kingman, Ariz., to wherever. Anyway, railfanning is easy here. Just stay cool and drink a lot of water as 100-degree temperatures are just a week or so away...Robert C. Del Grosso     

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I was at this very spot this past winter, and it amazed me how many eastbound trains were stopped / parked waiting to get thru Needles!  Miles of them!  You'd think BNSF would get on it and get rid of that big problem--the legendary transcon needs more fluidity in this area, maybe even 4 tracks.  This new 3rd track is a big, big plus.

coach Wrote:
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> I was at this very spot this past winter, and it
> amazed me how many eastbound trains were stopped /
> parked waiting to get thru Needles!  Miles of
> them!  You'd think BNSF would get on it and get
> rid of that big problem--the legendary transcon
> needs more fluidity in this area, maybe even 4
> tracks.  This new 3rd track is a big, big plus.

Lol......just extending the parking lot?!?!

I like Pic 1!!

Pic 1 is exceptional!  That should be a BNSF calendar photo. 
And some people think the desert is boring, or lacks color.  Would be fun to spend the whole day there and watch the colors change.  I have been past here a number of times, but always its been late in the day such that I've rushed past, trying to get at least as far as Kingman and find a "civilized" (by Kingman standards) hotel room. Now I think I need to get back out there and see all the changes that have been made. 
Thanks for posting. 

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/24 20:01 by hotrail.

Great image in that first photo.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR