September 18th, 2024, BNSF 7115, 9128 and Ferromex 4050 lead an northbound train through Tehachapi Loop on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Keene, California. According to Wikipedia: The Tehachapi Loop is a 3,779-foot-long (0.72 mi; 1.15 km) spiral, or helix, on the Union Pacific Railroad Mojave Subdivision through Tehachapi Pass, of the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, south-central California. The line connects Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley to Mojave in the Mojave Desert. Rising at a steady two-percent grade, the track gains 77 feet (23 m) in elevation and makes a 1,210-foot-diameter (370 m) circle. Any train that is more than 3,800 feet (1,200 m) long—about 56 boxcars—passes over itself going around the loop. At the bottom of the loop, the track passes through Tunnel 9, the ninth tunnel built as the railroad was extended from Bakersfield. The line averages about 36 freight trains each day. Passenger trains such as Amtrak's San Joaquin are banned from the loop, although the Coast Starlight can use it as a detour. Its frequent trains and scenic setting make the Tehachapi Loop popular with railfans. In 1998, it was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It is also designated as California Historical Landmark #508. One of the engineering feats of its day, the Loop was built by Southern Pacific Railroad to ease the grade over Tehachapi Pass. Construction began in 1874, and the line opened in 1876. Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 100. #railroad #railroads #train, #trains #railway #railway #steamtrains #railtransport #railroadengines #picturesoftrains #picturesofrailways #besttrainphotograph #bestphoto #photographyoftrains #bestsoldpicture #JimPearsonPhotography #trainsfromtheair #trainsfromadrone #TehachapiLoop

BNSF 7115, 9128 and Ferromex 4050 lead an northbound train through Tehachapi Loop

September 18th, 2024, BNSF 7115, 9128 and Ferromex 4050 lead an northbound train through Tehachapi Loop on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Keene, California.

According to Wikipedia: The Tehachapi Loop is a 3,779-foot-long (0.72 mi; 1.15 km) spiral, or helix, on the Union Pacific Railroad Mojave Subdivision through Tehachapi Pass, of the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, south-central California. The line connects Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley to Mojave in the Mojave Desert.

Rising at a steady two-percent grade, the track gains 77 feet (23 m) in elevation and makes a 1,210-foot-diameter (370 m) circle. Any train that is more than 3,800 feet (1,200 m) long—about 56 boxcars—passes over itself going around the loop. At the bottom of the loop, the track passes through Tunnel 9, the ninth tunnel built as the railroad was extended from Bakersfield.

The line averages about 36 freight trains each day. Passenger trains such as Amtrak’s San Joaquin are banned from the loop, although the Coast Starlight can use it as a detour. Its frequent trains and scenic setting make the Tehachapi Loop popular with railfans. In 1998, it was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It is also designated as California Historical Landmark #508.

One of the engineering feats of its day, the Loop was built by Southern Pacific Railroad to ease the grade over Tehachapi Pass. Construction began in 1874, and the line opened in 1876.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 100.

A westbound Union Pacific freight heads downhill through the Cajon Pass in southern California, as they cross over Hwy 138 on September 20th, 2024, on the BNSF Cajon Subdivision. According to Wikipedia: Cajon Pass is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault, it has an elevation of 3,777 ft (1,151 m). Located in the Mojave Desert, the pass is an important link from the Greater San Bernardino Area to the Victor Valley, and northeast to Las Vegas. The Cajon Pass area is on the Pacific Crest Trail. Cajon Pass is at the head of Horsethief Canyon, traversed by California State Route 138 (SR 138) and railroad tracks owned by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. Improvements in 1972 reduced the railroad's maximum elevation from about 3,829 to 3,777 feet while reducing curvature. Interstate 15 does not traverse Cajon Pass, but rather the nearby Cajon Summit. The entire area, Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit, is often referred to as Cajon Pass, but a distinction is made between Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit. The California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, was the first railroad through Cajon Pass. The line through the pass was built in the early 1880s to connect the present-day cities of Barstow and San Diego. Today the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway (the successor to the Santa Fe) use the pass to reach Los Angeles and San Bernardino as part of the Southern Transcon. Due to the many trains, scenery and easy access, it is a popular location for railfans, and many photographs of trains on Cajon Pass appear in books and magazines. The Union Pacific Railroad owns one track through the pass, on the previous Southern Pacific Railroad Palmdale cutoff, opened in 1967. The BNSF Railway owns two tracks and began to operate a third main track in the summer of 2008. The railroads share track rights through the pass ever since the Union Pacific gained track rights on the Santa Fe portion negotiated under the original Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 130. #railroad #railroads #train, #trains #railway #railway #steamtrains #railtransport #railroadengines #picturesoftrains #picturesofrailways #besttrainphotograph #bestphoto #photographyoftrains #bestsoldpicture #JimPearsonPhotography #trainsfromtheair #trainsfromadrone #CajonPass

A Union Pacific freight heads downhill through the Cajon Pass in southern California

September 20th, 2024, Union Pacific Power lead an freight downhill through the Cajon Pass, as they cross the dry wash east of Hwy 138 in southern California. on September 20th, 2024.

According to Wikipedia: Cajon Pass is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault, it has an elevation of 3,777 ft (1,151 m). Located in the Mojave Desert, the pass is an important link from the Greater San Bernardino Area to the Victor Valley, and northeast to Las Vegas. The Cajon Pass area is on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Cajon Pass is at the head of Horsethief Canyon, traversed by California State Route 138 (SR 138) and railroad tracks owned by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. Improvements in 1972 reduced the railroad’s maximum elevation from about 3,829 to 3,777 feet while reducing curvature. Interstate 15 does not traverse Cajon Pass, but rather the nearby Cajon Summit. The entire area, Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit, is often referred to as Cajon Pass, but a distinction is made between Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit.

The Union Pacific Railroad owns one track through the pass, on the previous Southern Pacific Railroad Palmdale cutoff, opened in 1967. The BNSF Railway owns two tracks and began to operate a third main track in the summer of 2008. The railroads share track rights through the pass ever since the Union Pacific gained track rights on the Santa Fe portion negotiated under the original Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 130.

Union Pacific 6808 and 2659 lead Norfolk Southern 224 over the K&I bridge out of Louisville, Kentucky as they head west over the Ohio River into New Albany, Indiana on the NS Southern East District on April 15th, 2023. According to Wikipedia: The Kentucky & Indiana Bridge is one of the first multi modal bridges to cross the Ohio River. It is for both railway and common roadway purposes together. By federal, state, and local law railway and streetcar, wagon-way, and pedestrian modes of travel were intended by the City of New Albany, City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, State of Indiana, the United States Congress, and the bridge owners. The K & I Bridge connects Louisville, Kentucky to New Albany, Indiana. Constructed from 1881 to 1885 by the Kentucky and Indiana Bridge Company, the original K&I Bridge opened in 1886. It included a single standard gauge track and two wagon ways, allowing wagons and other animal powered vehicles to cross the Ohio River by a method other than ferry for the first time. At the time motorized vehicles were virtually nonexistent. The K&I Bridge company also owned a ferry boat operation during both the 1st and 2nd bridge; eventually that operation was sold as the bridge's success largely outmoded boat usage. In 1910 the bridge company was renamed the Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Railroad Co. From 1910 to 1912, a new, heavier bridge was built on new piers just upstream from the original one, after which the old bridge was demolished. The new bridge was double tracked to handle increasingly heavier train and now automobile traffic, eventually receiving the U.S. 31W designation. The bridge also featured a rotating swing span opening for the passage of ships in high water. The bridge was only opened four times, twice for testing in 1913 and 1915, then in 1916 for the passage of the steamer "Tarascon" and in 1920 for passage of the Australian convict ship "Success". In 1948 it refused opening of the span for passage of the steamer "Gordon C. Greene" citing inconvenience and costs of cutting power and communication lines, an action for which K&I and LG&E both paid damages to that ship's company. In 1955 the K&I sought and received permission to permanently tie down the swing span from the Corps of Engineers. In 1952, the creosoted wood block roadways of the second bridge were eliminated and replaced by a steel gridwork roadway. On February 1, 1979, an overweight dump truck caused a small segment of the steel grate roadway on the bridge to sag about 1 foot (0.30 m). A quick survey promised to reopen the roadway, but automotive traffic was banned thereafter by the railroad. Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2500 sec, ISO 130. #trainphotography #railroadphotography #trains #railways #dronephotography #trainphotographer #railroadphotographer #jimpearsonphotography #kentuckytrains #mavic3classic #drones #trainsfromtheair #trainsfromadrone #KandIbridge #LouisvilleKy #NSsoutherneast #norfolksouthern

Union Pacific 6808 and 2659 lead Norfolk Southern 224 over the K&I bridge out of Louisville, Kentucky

Union Pacific 6808 and 2659 lead Norfolk Southern 224 over the K&I bridge out of Louisville, Kentucky as they head west over the Ohio River into New Albany, Indiana on the NS Southern East District on April 15th, 2023.

According to Wikipedia: The Kentucky & Indiana Bridge is one of the first multi modal bridges to cross the Ohio River. It is for both railway and common roadway purposes together. By federal, state, and local law railway and streetcar, wagon-way, and pedestrian modes of travel were intended by the City of New Albany, City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, State of Indiana, the United States Congress, and the bridge owners.

The K & I Bridge connects Louisville, Kentucky to New Albany, Indiana. Constructed from 1881 to 1885 by the Kentucky and Indiana Bridge Company, the original K&I Bridge opened in 1886. It included a single standard gauge track and two wagon ways, allowing wagons and other animal powered vehicles to cross the Ohio River by a method other than ferry for the first time. At the time motorized vehicles were virtually nonexistent.

The K&I Bridge company also owned a ferry boat operation during both the 1st and 2nd bridge; eventually that operation was sold as the bridge’s success largely outmoded boat usage.

In 1910 the bridge company was renamed the Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Railroad Co. From 1910 to 1912, a new, heavier bridge was built on new piers just upstream from the original one, after which the old bridge was demolished. The new bridge was double tracked to handle increasingly heavier train and now automobile traffic, eventually receiving the U.S. 31W designation.

The bridge also featured a rotating swing span opening for the passage of ships in high water. The bridge was only opened four times, twice for testing in 1913 and 1915, then in 1916 for the passage of the steamer “Tarascon” and in 1920 for passage of the Australian convict ship “Success”. In 1948 it refused opening of the span for passage of the steamer “Gordon C. Greene” citing inconvenience and costs of cutting power and communication lines, an action for which K&I and LG&E both paid damages to that ship’s company. In 1955 the K&I sought and received permission to permanently tie down the swing span from the Corps of Engineers. In 1952, the creosoted wood block roadways of the second bridge were eliminated and replaced by a steel gridwork roadway.

On February 1, 1979, an overweight dump truck caused a small segment of the steel grate roadway on the bridge to sag about 1 foot (0.30 m). A quick survey promised to reopen the roadway, but automotive traffic was banned thereafter by the railroad.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2500 sec, ISO 130.

November 13, 2019 - Union Pacific's Race Across the Southwest was on the move again as UP 4014 Big Boy departs Prescott, Arkansas on its way north on the UP Little Rock Subdivision on a beautiful and cold fall morning. As you can tell the cold weather went a long way in producing beautiful plumes of steam!! Did you know: The Big Boy and its tender is only 100 feet shorter than a Boeing 747! It takes a sedan, a school bus, and a diesel engine to match the length of the Big Boy and its tender. With a height of 16 feet 4 inches, and a length of 132 feet, it falls short of the 232 foot Boeing 747 only by 100 feet! Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70 @48mm, f/8, 1/1000, ISO 125. #trainphotography #railroadphotography #trains #railways #trainphotographer #railroadphotographer #jimpearsonphotography #unionpacificbigboy #up4014 #steamtrain

November 13, 2019 – Union Pacific’s UP 4014 Big Boy departs Prescott, Arkansas

November 13, 2019 – Union Pacific’s Race Across the Southwest was on the move again as UP 4014 Big Boy departs Prescott, Arkansas on its way north on the UP Little Rock Subdivision on a beautiful and cold fall morning. As you can tell the cold weather went a long way in producing beautiful plumes of steam!!

Did you know: The Big Boy and its tender is only 100 feet shorter than a Boeing 747! It takes a sedan, a school bus, and a diesel engine to match the length of the Big Boy and its tender. With a height of 16 feet 4 inches, and a length of 132 feet, it falls short of the 232 foot Boeing 747 only by 100 feet!

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70 @48mm, f/8, 1/1000, ISO 125.

November 13, 2019 - Union Pacific 4014 passes a northbound BNSF tank Train as it heads back through the Locust Street Yard after turning its train on the Van Buren Wye at Little Rock, Arkansas. They turned the train for its display Thursday in Little Rock and Friday morning it will continue its move as it heads for its next overnight stop in Van Buren, Arkansas. Union Pacific has billed this move as The Great Race Across the Southwest as the train is making a circle around the southwest over a six week or so period hitting Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Tech Info: Fuji XT1, Nikon 18mm, 1/450sec, f/7.1, ISO 200. #fuji #UP4014 #UPSteam #bigboy #unionpacific

November 13, 2019 – Union Pacific 4014 passes a northbound BNSF tank Train at Little Rock, AR

November 13, 2019 – Union Pacific 4014 passes a northbound BNSF tank Train as it heads back through the Locust Street Yard after turning its train on the Van Buren Wye at Little Rock, Arkansas. They turned the train for its display Thursday in Little Rock and Friday morning it will continue its move as it heads for its next overnight stop in Van Buren, Arkansas.

Union Pacific has billed this move as The Great Race Across the Southwest as the train is making a circle around the southwest over a six week or so period hitting Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Tech Info: Fuji XT1, Nikon 18mm, 1/450sec, f/7.1, ISO 200.

November 13, 2019 - Union Pacific's 4014 Big Boy pulls it's train north out of Union Station at Little Rock, Arkansas on a cold fall afternoon. Union Pacific has billed this move as The Great Race Across the Southwest as the train is making a circle around the southwest over a six week or so period hitting Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. According to Wikipedia: Union Pacific 4014 is a four-cylinder simple articulated 4-8-8-4 Big Boy-type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. Built in 1941 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, No. 4014 is the only operating Big Boy of the eight that remain in existence. The locomotive operated in revenue service until 1959. It was donated to the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society in late 1961 and thereafter displayed in Fairplex in Pomona, California. In 2013, Union Pacific re-acquired the locomotive and launched a restoration project at their Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming.[citation needed] In 2019, No. 4014 was operated for the first time after it sat dormant for almost six decades. Part of Union Pacific's heritage fleet, it now operates in excursion service, in addition to hauling revenue freight during ferry moves. Tech Info: Fuji XT1, Nikon 18mm, 1/350sec, f/7.1, ISO 200. #fuji #UP4014 #UPSteam #unionpacificbigboy #bigboy #unionpacificrailroad

November 13, 2019 – Union Pacific’s 4014 Big Boy pulls it’s train north out of Union Station at Little Rock, Arkansas

November 13, 2019 – Union Pacific’s 4014 Big Boy pulls it’s train north out of Union Station at Little Rock, Arkansas on a cold fall afternoon.

Union Pacific has billed this move as The Great Race Across the Southwest as the train is making a circle around the southwest over a six week or so period hitting Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

According to Wikipedia: Union Pacific 4014 is a four-cylinder simple articulated 4-8-8-4 Big Boy-type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. Built in 1941 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, No. 4014 is the only operating Big Boy of the eight that remain in existence.

The locomotive operated in revenue service until 1959. It was donated to the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society in late 1961 and thereafter displayed in Fairplex in Pomona, California. In 2013, Union Pacific re-acquired the locomotive and launched a restoration project at their Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming.[citation needed] In 2019, No. 4014 was operated for the first time after it sat dormant for almost six decades. Part of Union Pacific’s heritage fleet, it now operates in excursion service, in addition to hauling revenue freight during ferry moves.

Tech Info: Fuji XT1, Nikon 18mm, 1/350sec, f/7.1, ISO 200.

Film Wednesday – Five Santa Fe Warbonnet units lead a loaded intermodal as it approaches one of the many tunnels in the Tehachapi mountains of California that was shot sometime in the mid 1990’s. According to Wikipedia: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at various times, it operated an airline, the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway, and the Santa Fe Railroad tugboats.[2] Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The AT&SF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer's "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", written for the film The Harvey Girls (1946). The railroad officially ceased independent operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway. Tech Info: Camera, Nikon F3, Kodachrome Slide Film, no other data recorded #slidescan #filmphotography #trains #railroads #jimpearsonphotography

Film Wednesday – Five Santa Fe Warbonnet units lead a loaded intermodal in the Tehachapi mountains of California

Film Wednesday – Five Santa Fe Warbonnet units lead a loaded intermodal as it approaches one of the many tunnels in the Tehachapi mountains of California that was shot sometime in the mid 1990’s.

According to Wikipedia: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.

The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at various times, it operated an airline, the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway, and the Santa Fe Railroad tugboats.[2] Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The AT&SF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer’s “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe”, written for the film The Harvey Girls (1946).

The railroad officially ceased independent operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

Tech Info: Camera, Nikon F3, Kodachrome Slide Film, no other data recorded

Union Pacific 6660 lead a loaded coke train south on the Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) line at the location known as Monarch, at Madisonville, Ky on December 26th, 2024. This location is where the PAL crosses over the CSX Henderson Subdivision where I've been trying to catch two trains at for several years. This was a close one as the train I posted earlier and this one were only about 15 minutes apart! Persistence will pay off and the shot will happen!! Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 140. #railroad #railroads #train, #trains #railway #railway #steamtrains #railtransport #railroadengines #picturesoftrains #picturesofrailways #besttrainphotograph #bestphoto #photographyoftrains #bestsoldpicture #JimPearsonPhotography #trainsfromtheair #trainsfromadrone

Union Pacific 6660 lead a loaded coke train south on the Paducah and Louisville Railway at Madisonville, Ky

Union Pacific 6660 lead a loaded coke train south on the Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) line at the location known as Monarch, at Madisonville, Ky on December 26th, 2024. This location is where the PAL crosses over the CSX Henderson Subdivision where I’ve been trying to catch two trains at for several years.

This was a close one as the train I posted earlier and this one were only about 15 minutes apart! Persistence will pay off and the shot will happen!!

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 140.

December 28th, 2024 – Episode 104 – Saturday Edited Video from Jim Pearson Photography

In this week’s video I caught Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CSX and the Paducah and Louisville Railway from the ground and air for your viewing pleasure! Sit back, turn up the sound, expand to full screen and enjoy the trains!! Please like, share, subscribe and thanks for watching! Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to Subscribe and Ring the Notification Bell so you won’t miss any of my future videos! Have a blessed day everyone!!

Film Wednesday – Union Pacific 9491 leads a lash-up of six locomotives as they strain to pull their mixed freight up the famous Cajon Pass in southern California, in this film scan from a 6x17cm slide that was shot sometime in the early 1990’s. According to Wikipedia: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at various times, it operated an airline, the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway, and the Santa Fe Railroad tugboats. Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The AT&SF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer's "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", written for the film The Harvey Girls (1946). The railroad officially ceased independent operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway. Tech Info: Camera, Fuji 6x17, Kodachrome Slide Film, no other data recorded, Scanned with an Epson Perfection V700 PHOTO scanner. #slidescan #filmphotography #trains #railroads #jimpearsonphotography

Union Pacific 9491 leads a lash-up of six locomotives pulls a freight up the famous Cajon Pass in southern California

Film Wednesday – Union Pacific 9491 leads a lash-up of six locomotives as they strain to pull their mixed freight up the famous Cajon Pass in southern California, in this film scan from a 6x17cm slide that was shot sometime in the early 1990’s.

According to Wikipedia: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.

The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at various times, it operated an airline, the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway, and the Santa Fe Railroad tugboats. Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The AT&SF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer’s “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe”, written for the film The Harvey Girls (1946).

The railroad officially ceased independent operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

Tech Info: Camera, Fuji 6×17, Kodachrome Slide Film, no other data recorded, Scanned with an Epson Perfection V700 PHOTO scanner.

September 18th, 2024, BNSF 7115, 9128 and Ferromex 4050 lead an northbound train through Tehachapi Loop on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Keene, California. According to Wikipedia: The Tehachapi Loop is a 3,779-foot-long (0.72 mi; 1.15 km) spiral, or helix, on the Union Pacific Railroad Mojave Subdivision through Tehachapi Pass, of the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, south-central California. The line connects Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley to Mojave in the Mojave Desert. Rising at a steady two-percent grade, the track gains 77 feet (23 m) in elevation and makes a 1,210-foot-diameter (370 m) circle. Any train that is more than 3,800 feet (1,200 m) long—about 56 boxcars—passes over itself going around the loop. At the bottom of the loop, the track passes through Tunnel 9, the ninth tunnel built as the railroad was extended from Bakersfield. The line averages about 36 freight trains each day. Passenger trains such as Amtrak's San Joaquin are banned from the loop, although the Coast Starlight can use it as a detour. Its frequent trains and scenic setting make the Tehachapi Loop popular with railfans. In 1998, it was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It is also designated as California Historical Landmark #508. One of the engineering feats of its day, the Loop was built by Southern Pacific Railroad to ease the grade over Tehachapi Pass. Construction began in 1874, and the line opened in 1876. Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 100. #railroad #railroads #train, #trains #railway #railway #steamtrains #railtransport #railroadengines #picturesoftrains #picturesofrailways #besttrainphotograph #bestphoto #photographyoftrains #bestsoldpicture #JimPearsonPhotography #trainsfromtheair #trainsfromadrone #TehachapiLoop

BNSF 7115, 9128 and Ferromex 4050 lead an northbound train through Tehachapi Loop…

September 18th, 2024, BNSF 7115, 9128 and Ferromex 4050 lead an northbound train through Tehachapi Loop on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Keene, California.

According to Wikipedia: The Tehachapi Loop is a 3,779-foot-long (0.72 mi; 1.15 km) spiral, or helix, on the Union Pacific Railroad Mojave Subdivision through Tehachapi Pass, of the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, south-central California. The line connects Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley to Mojave in the Mojave Desert.

Rising at a steady two-percent grade, the track gains 77 feet (23 m) in elevation and makes a 1,210-foot-diameter (370 m) circle. Any train that is more than 3,800 feet (1,200 m) long—about 56 boxcars—passes over itself going around the loop. At the bottom of the loop, the track passes through Tunnel 9, the ninth tunnel built as the railroad was extended from Bakersfield.

The line averages about 36 freight trains each day. Passenger trains such as Amtrak’s San Joaquin are banned from the loop, although the Coast Starlight can use it as a detour. Its frequent trains and scenic setting make the Tehachapi Loop popular with railfans. In 1998, it was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It is also designated as California Historical Landmark #508.

One of the engineering feats of its day, the Loop was built by Southern Pacific Railroad to ease the grade over Tehachapi Pass. Construction began in 1874, and the line opened in 1876.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 100.

April, 1995 – Blast From The Past – It was a hot, dry day as a Piggyback with SF 838 leading met a northbound, piggyback at Caliente, California, as they make their way through the Tehachapi Mountains on the UP Mojave Subdivision toward Bakersfield, CA, while the conductor on the waiting train does a roll-by inspection. Thinking of visiting this area? Check out this page on the web! http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/maps/caliente.htm Tech Info: Nikon D200, Nikon 70-300 @300mm, Ektachrome Slide Film, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 100.

April, 1995 – Blast From The Past – It was a hot, dry day as a Piggyback with SF 838 leading…

April, 1995 – Blast From The Past – It was a hot, dry day as a Piggyback with SF 838 leading met a northbound, piggyback at Caliente, California, as they make their way through the Tehachapi Mountains on the UP Mojave Subdivision toward Bakersfield, CA, while the conductor on the waiting train does a roll-by inspection.

Thinking of visiting this area? Check out this page on the web!
http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/maps/caliente.htm

Tech Info: Nikon D200, Nikon 70-300 @300mm, Ektachrome Slide Film, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 100.

 

June 23, 2006 - Blast From The Past - It was a hot, dry day as a Piggyback with BNSF 5232 leading headed east, meeting a Mixed freight headed up by BNSF 4438 waiting to head west toward Bakersfield, in horseshoe curve in the valley at Caliente, California as they made their way through the Tehachapi Mountains on the UP Mojave Subdivision. Thinking of visiting this area? Check out this page on the web! http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/maps/caliente.htm Tech Info: Nikon D200, Nikon 70-300 @200mm, RAW, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 100.

June 23, 2006 – Blast From The Past – It was a hot, dry day as a Piggyback with BNSF 5232 leading…

June 23, 2006 – Blast From The Past – It was a hot, dry day as a Piggyback with BNSF 5232 leading headed east, meeting a Mixed freight headed up by BNSF 4438 waiting to head west toward Bakersfield, in horseshoe curve in the valley at Caliente, California as they made their way through the Tehachapi Mountains on the UP Mojave Subdivision.

Thinking of visiting this area? Check out this page on the web!
http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/maps/caliente.htm

Tech Info: Nikon D200, Nikon 70-300 @200mm, RAW, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 100.

Santa Fe 5404 leads 8 locomotives as they climb upgrade through the Tehachapi Pass in central California in during early 1995 passing a caboose parked in a house track. Unfortunately I can't remember off the top of my head where this spot is at or what it's called. Anyone know? According to Wikipedia: Tehachapi Pass (Kawaiisu: Tihachipia, meaning "hard climb") is a mountain pass crossing the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California. Traditionally, the pass marks the northeast end of the Tehachapi’s and the south end of the Sierra Nevada range. The route is a principal connector between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. The Native American Kitanemuk people used the pass as a trade route before the American settlement of the region in the 19th century. The main line of the former Southern Pacific Railroad opened though the pass in 1876;[4] the tracks are now owned by the Union Pacific Railroad and shared with BNSF Railway as the Mojave Subdivision. U.S. Route 466 was built in the 1930s, and the road is now State Route 58. The Pass is also the route of the planned California High-Speed Rail line. Tech Notes: Nikon F3 Film Camera, Nikon 300mm, f/stop and shutter speed not recorded #railroad #railroads #train #trains #bestphoto #railroadengines #picturesoftrains #picturesofrailway #bestphotograph #photographyoftrains #trainphotography #JimPearsonPhotography

Santa Fe 5404 leads 8 locomotives as they climb upgrade through the Tehachapi Pass…

Santa Fe 5404 leads 8 locomotives as they climb upgrade through the Tehachapi Pass in central California in during early 1995 passing a caboose parked in a house track. Unfortunately I can’t remember off the top of my head where this spot is at or what it’s called. Anyone know?

According to Wikipedia: Tehachapi Pass (Kawaiisu: Tihachipia, meaning “hard climb”) is a mountain pass crossing the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California. Traditionally, the pass marks the northeast end of the Tehachapi’s and the south end of the Sierra Nevada range.

The route is a principal connector between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. The Native American Kitanemuk people used the pass as a trade route before the American settlement of the region in the 19th century. The main line of the former Southern Pacific Railroad opened though the pass in 1876;[4] the tracks are now owned by the Union Pacific Railroad and shared with BNSF Railway as the Mojave Subdivision. U.S. Route 466 was built in the 1930s, and the road is now State Route 58. The Pass is also the route of the planned California High-Speed Rail line.

Tech Notes: Nikon F3 Film Camera, Nikon 300mm, f/stop and shutter speed not recorded

October 20, 2008 - The late evening light rakes across the base of Mormon Rocks as UP 5958 and 6266 (ex-Southern Pacific Unit) lead a west bound freight down the Cajon Pass in southern California. Local legend has it that the rocks were named for the Mormon pioneers who camped here after their descent from the pass ridgeline. Another legend calls the rocks the 'Chanting Rocks,' as when the wind would blow across the portholes in the rocks it was said the sound made was similar to a low chanting or singing. Nikon D300, Nikon 70-300 @ 300mm, 1/640, f/8, ISO 200, RAW.

October 20, 2008 – The late evening light rakes across the base of Mormon Rocks…

October 20, 2008 – The late evening light rakes across the base of Mormon Rocks as UP 5958 and 6266 (ex-Southern Pacific Unit) lead a west bound freight down the Cajon Pass in southern California.

Local legend has it that the rocks were named for the Mormon pioneers who camped here after their descent from the pass ridgeline. Another legend calls the rocks the ‘Chanting Rocks,’ as when the wind would blow across the portholes in the rocks it was said the sound made was similar to a low chanting or singing.

Nikon D300, Nikon 70-300 @ 300mm, 1/640, f/8, ISO 200, RAW.