Western Railroad Discussion > Tehachapi: One Week Ago Today

• At 12:59 am, Los Angeles Union Station's main waiting room looks quiet and peaceful.  But even at this early hour, there were quite a few passengers here waiting for the Amtrak bus to take them to Bakersfield and a connection to the Gold Runner trains to northern California.  There were also a fair number of workmen repairing things and buffing the shine on that spectacular floor … and a few unhoused folks trying to find a warm place to spend the night, although the many security members were kept busy escorting them back onto the street.  Other than a fewer number of seats here, this room still looks almost exactly as it did when this magnificent station opened in May 1939.  And it was a nice place to spend nearly two hours waiting for that bus to Bakersfield.  (Los Angeles, California – February 19, 2026)
• It is 4:48 am and Amtrak train 711, a westbound Gold Runner (formerly the San Joaquin), has already loaded most of its passengers as it nears its 4:58 am departure for Oakland from Bakersfield.  This morning's train consists of CDTX F59PHI 2003 pulling five California Department of Transportation-owned "California Cars": CDTX coach 8017 Tuolumne River, coach 8015 Salinas River, diner 8808 Coachella Valley, coach 8009 Santa Ana River and cab/baggage/coach 6961 Point Arguello.  It is due to arrive at Oakland's Jack London Square Station at 11:13 am.  (Bakersfield, California – February 19, 2026)
• Amtrak train 711, a westbound Gold Runner, departs Bakersfield at 4:57 am to head to Oakland Jack London Square Station, in the San Francisco Bay Area.  California Department of Transportation (CDTX) F59PH 2003 is leading this five car train.  (Bakersfield, California – February 19, 2026)

Craig Walker photographs

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• The engineer for Amtrak Gold Runner 701 climbs into the cab of CDTX F59PH 2004 at 6:25 am.  This train, consisting primarily of Siemens passenger cars (but with an older M-K built cab-coach on the rear), will depart for Sacramento at 6:58 am.  (Bakersfield, California – February 19, 2026)
• This Union Pacific Intermodal train has just completed a winding journey across the Tehachapi Mountains, and for the next 12 miles (19.3 km) will head down tangent (straight) trackage to Bakersfield, in the San Joaquin Valley.  The location on the UP’s Mojave Sub that the rear half of this train is still winding around; the last curve, as it were, here at Sandcut – one of the most clearly defined transitions from Mountain terrain to flat lands that I can think of.  This train, powered by UP ET44AC 2588 and ES44AC 5322 up front, with AC4400CW 6493 and ES44AC 7825 on the rear, is crossing from one main to the other just before crossing Nuemarkel Road, the first paved grade crossing for ten miles (16.1 km), in Caliente where the grade steepens more dramatically.  There is no rain here in the San Joaquin Valley at the moment, but up in the Tehachapi Mountains it is raining steadily, with snow in the town of Tehachapi, the summit of this mountain crossing.  (Arvin, California – February 19, 2025)
• On a cold, rainy day in the Tehachapi Mountains (along with snow at the summit), BNSF Railway High Priority Merchandise train H-BARSTO1-18A, heading from Barstow CA to Stockton CA, descends the Union Pacific's Mojave Sub through the location of Bealville.  BNSF ES44C4 6954, ES44C4 7019, AC4400CW 5699 and Dash 9-44CW 5187 are powering this train.  Those horses are used to passing freight trains, but they don't seem to be enjoying the rain.  And I suppose the hailstorm that hit here a half-hour later really thrilled those equines!  (Bealville, California – February 19, 2026)

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• Entering 151-year-old Tunnel 2 (built in 1875, lined in concrete in 1917) is BNSF train G-MNXKIN5-11A, consisting of 100 covered hoppers hauling grain from Mina, South Dakota, to Kings Park, in California's agricultural San Joaquin Valley (headed, possibly, to the Pitman Family Farms elevator complex in east Hanford).  Just entering the tunnel is BNSF ES44C4 6647, pulling this train with ES44AC 6185, and with a big assist from midtrain DPUs ES44C4 6734, Dash 9-44CW 1069 and ES44AC 6016.  (Tunnel 2, Allard, California – February 19, 2026)
• Threading its way through the Tehachapi Mountains is BNSF Guaranteed Service Intermodal train Q-NBYLAC4-18A.  However, this is this train's second attempt at conquering the Tehachapis!
  
  This Los Angeles-bound train, which originated in North Bay (Richmond CA), first arrived at Caliente, 2 or 3 miles downgrade from here, at 9:56 this morning.  After meeting a westbound, this eastbound waited as they had reported a problem (although listening on the scanner, we could not ascertain what the issue was).  About 90 minutes later, we were uphill at Tunnel 2, near Allard, and were surprised at 11:35 am to see a crewman walking out of the tunnel, alongside the mainline, followed by  intermodal cars backing through the tunnel behind him.  When the train's power, ES44DC 7656 and Dash 9-44CW 1090, popped out of the tunnel, we were surprised to see that it was the train we'd seen previously at Caliente.
  
  After driving to various locations on this line looking for other trains, we returned to Tunnel 2 and, at 3:20 pm, this hard-luck train arrived,  grinding up the hill once again.  68 cars later, the train's rear appeared, this time with three more diesels helping:  ES44C4 8346, ES44DC 7522 and ES44C4 3278.  And this time there was enough power to get this relatively short intermodal train moving with no issues.  We thought…
  
  At 4:08 pm we ended up at Bealville – nearly 30 minutes later and just four miles from Caliente (so, about two miles from Tunnel 2) – and now this train was sitting again, this time at a red signal.  After another half hour or so, we heard on the scanner that a broken rail had been reported at Cliff, three miles ahead.  No wonder they were stopped, as were several other trains.  After determining that traffic could move through Cliff Siding, and avoid the mainline, BNSF train Q-NBYLAC4-18A was moving once again, the first train to pass through Cliff after the broken rail was detected – at 4:08 pm … just over five hours after it first arrived at Caliente, a mere 8 miles (12.87 km) back!
  
  Power problems and a broken rail … what a way to run a railroad!  (Tunnel 2, Allard, California – February 19, 2026)​

Craig Walker photographs ... more to come later ...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/26 08:04 by CrossTieWalker.

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Great pics despite the gloomy weather.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Excellent coverage!  Thanks for all the info on each of your images.

texchief1

Nice coverage of the passenger service (and the freights), haven't seen that much on the Gold Runner service.  That was quite a consist on the one which departed, does the ridership warrant that many cars?  Also, what is the protocol as to when the AMTK high liners are used, and the other, apparently dedicated, cars are on?

Thanks for a great series.

You captured a rare moment when that UP intermodal train was crossing over from the westbound main to the eastbound at Sandcut.  I've always wanted to see that happen when the old searchlights and cantilever tower was there--super rare to see that old signal light up for a crossover.

CrossTieWalker Wrote:

> Entering 118-year-old Tunnel 2 (built in 1917) is BNSF train G-MNXKIN5-11A ...

Tunnel 2 was built in 1875.  1917 was when it was lined with concrete.



 

Thanks for this correction, John!

Craig

coach Wrote:
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> You captured a rare moment when that UP intermodal
> train was crossing over from the westbound main to
> the eastbound at Sandcut.  

It seemed odd as there was nothing heading east (uphill) out of Bakersfield.

Craig

texchief1 Wrote:
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> Thanks for all the info on each of your images.

You mean someone actually stayed awake to read all that?  You had that much NoDoze?

Thanks,

Craig

 

dendavis Wrote:
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> That was quite a consist on the one which departed,
> does the ridership warrant that many cars?  

It should as the train heads north (railroad west), as they will pick up quite a few passengers in other towns and cities (such as Fresno, Modesto and Stockton.

> Also, what is the protocol as to when the AMTK
> high liners are used, and the other, apparently dedicated, cars are on?

I'm the wrong one to ask, but the next train, also with an F59PHI, out has the Siemens cars (but also a California Car double-deck cab-coach!), and it going to Sacramento.

The third train parked there was going to leave even later, and head for Oakland.  It had a Siemens locomotive and, I believe, Siemens cars (they were hard to see), and also a California Car double-deck cab-coach on the rear (which will lead on the trip back).

Craig

Like the moody, non-standard shots on Tehachapi!

Excellent report Craig!

Thanks for the interesting post......