Analog Wednesday – I’ve recently added a like new Mamiya C330 Professional 2 ¼ square film camera to my camera bag and on Wednesday’s I’ll be sharing images I’ve shot with it. This shot is from September 24th, 2024, of a Westbound Union Pacific freight with six units leading through Mormon Rocks as it heads downhill in Cajon Pass, CA.
Tech Info: Mamiya C330 Professional, Ilford HP5 Film, Mamiya 80mm, f/4, 1/250, ISO 400.
September 18th, 2024, BNSF 7115, 9128 and Ferromex 4050 lead an westbound train next to tunnel 10, as they wait for an eastbound intermodal to clear 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.
I didn’t have a clue that Union Pacific 1989, Rio Grande Heritage Unit, was leading this eastbound freight until it appeared from behind Mormon Rocks in the Cajon Pass on September 24th, 2024.
I was set up on the BNSF double track below the UP line as there was another BNSF train approaching there. I had to scramble and switch from the video I was planning to shoot and pull up my D810 with the 70-300mm on it to grab this and a couple other shots before it disappeared behind brush and hillside. I would have much rather had it coming out of Mormon Rocks, but it wasn’t meant to be, I guess.
According to the Union Pacific Website: Incorporating historic colors and graphic elements of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, No. 1989 pays tribute to the men and women of the railroad who “went everywhere the hard way.”
Founded by Gen. William J. Palmer, a Union veteran of the Civil War, the Rio Grande started building a narrow-gauge line south from Denver in 1871 toward Mexico. At its peak mileage in 1917, the Rio Grande was operating nearly 6,000 miles of track.
On-line coal, bridge traffic with friendly connections, and the opening of the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel in 1928 that dramatically shortened its Denver-Salt Lake Route, the Rio Grande became known for its competitive spirit and mountain scenery. The “Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River,” known as the Royal Gorge, was one of the highlights on the route through the Rockies when The Denver & Rio Grande was known as the Scenic Line of the World.
Rio Grande Industries purchased Southern Pacific Lines on Sept. 12, 1988, and combined the systems on Oct. 13, 1988, operating under the name Southern Pacific. Union Pacific and Southern Pacific merged on Sept. 11, 1996.
According to Wikipedia: 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: Nikon D810, RAW, Nikon 70-300 @ 175mm, f/5.3, 1/800, ISO 100.
A Union Pacific freight makes its way west down the Cajon Pass as it approaches the Mormon Rocks area in Cajon Pass, 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 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, 1/2000, ISO 100.
In this Saturday’s Infrared photo I caught BNSF 7904, 7853 and 2167 leading an eastbound train through the famous Tehachapi Loop on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Keene, California, on September 18th, 2024.
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: Fuji XT1 converted to Infrared, RAW, Nikon 24-70, @24mm, f/4, 1/1000, ISO 100.
This week we catch action on the BNSF and UP action on the UP Mojave Subdivision between Tehachapi and Keene, California, including the world-famous Tehachapi Loop! Sit back, turn up the sound, expand to full screen and enjoy the trains!! Please like, share, subscribe and thanks for watching!
September 20th, 2024, Today I had the good fortune of catching a three way meet between a Union Pacific Freight, a BNSF freight and a BNSF rock train at the Summit of Cajon Pass in southern California and the BNSF Cajon Subdivision as Hwy 138 and the tracks head into stormy weather.
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, 1/1250, ISO 100.
September 18th, 2024, Union Pacific 5533 leads an westbound intermodal train as they exit tunnel 10 at Tehachapi Loop on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Keene, California.
I’m thankful that I had and brought my drone on this trip as access to trackside at the loop has been cut off! I was last here 7 years ago and then you could get to where you could shoot trackside, but now there’s viewing platform about ¾ mile away. Being able to fly the drone allowed me many spectacular views that I’ve never been able to get in the past.
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, 1/800, ISO 100.
September 18th, 2024, BNSF 7115, 9128 and Ferromex 4050 lead an westbound train as they wait for an eastbound intermodal to clear Tehachapi Loop on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Keene, California.
I’m thankful that I had and brought my drone on this trip as access to trackside at the loop has been cut off! I was last here 7 years ago and then you could get to where you could shoot trackside, but now there’s viewing platform about ¾ mile away. Being able to fly the drone allowed me many spectacular views that I’ve never been able to get in the past.
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, 1/2000, ISO 100.
September 18th, 2024, Union Pacific 7995 leads a westbound freight past the cement plant in Tehachapi, California, on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision on a beautiful summer evening.
Tech Info: Nikon D810, RAW, Nikon 70-300 @ 300mm, f/5.6, 1/640, ISO 110.
September 18th, 2024, Union Pacific 8179 leads a eastbound autorack past the museum depot in downtown Tehachapi, California, on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision.
According to Wikipedia: The Tehachapi Railroad Depot was a railroad station in Tehachapi, California. The Southern Pacific Railroad built the line through the area in 1876. The depot was built in 1904 after the original station building was destroyed in a fire. the railroad founded the town of Tehachapi and drew the residents of nearby Tehichipa to the new settlement. The depot served a significant section of railroad, as it was located near the Tehachapi Loop and was one of the most active rural stations during World War II. The station later served as a warehouse and a railroad office.
This railroad that crossed the Tehachapi Summit and came through Tehachapi was the second transcontinental railroad. The museum has a collection of old railroad tools and signals, photos and newspaper articles, lanterns, and dining cart china. Much of this came from the family of Bill Stokoe, a retired railroad worker who passed away in 1999.
In 2008, the depot burned down; it was rebuilt in 2009 and now serves as the Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum with historic railroad artifacts.
The original depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 20, 1999. Although the original depot no longer exists, it remains on the National Register.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 110.
September 18th, 2024, A BNSF eastbound train works its way through the horseshoe curve on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Caliente, California, starting their climb through the Tehachapi Pass.
According to Wikipedia: Established in the 1870s, Caliente was originally named Allens Camp for a cattle rancher and settler named Gabriel Allen. Later, the name Agua Caliente, coming from hot springs in the area, was proposed and may have been used. This name conflicted with the community of the same name in Sonoma County. With the railroad’s arrival in 1875, the shortened name Caliente was adopted.
Caliente prospered during Southern Pacific Railroad’s construction of Tehachapi Pass line. For a time, the Telegraph Stage Line and the Cerro Gordo Freighting Co. also ran through Caliente and its full-time population grew to 200. There were approximately 60 buildings, including 20 or more saloons.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 100.
September 18th, 2024, A BNSF westbound train passes another westbound that is waiting to continue its move east 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 160.
September 18th, 2024, BNSF 8057, NS 8068 and BNSF 5177 lead an eastbound train through the famous Tehachapi Loop on the Union Pacific Mojave Subdivision at Keene, California.
I’m thankful that I had and brought my drone on this trip as access to trackside at the loop has been cut off! I was last here 7 years ago and then you could get to where you could shoot trackside, but now there’s viewing platform about ¾ mile away. Being able to fly the drone allowed me many spectacular views that I’ve never been able to get in the past.
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. ts 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.
Union Pacific locomotives 5340 and 7630 lead a intermodal past one of many old corn cribs that dart the landscape along the UP Villa Grove Subdivision as they head north at Sidney, Illinois on August 17th, 2024.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 240.
Union Pacific locomotives 5340 and 7630 lead a intermodal past one of many old barns that dart the landscape along the UP Villa Grove Subdivision as they head north at Sidney, Illinois on August 17th, 2024.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 240.
May 1, 2005 – Blast From The Past – The conductor on a Union Pacific freight walks past the American Flag on his engine in the yard at Salem, Illinois.
According to the Union Pacific Website: When we added the flag to our locomotives more than a decade ago – at the suggestion of an employee after 9/11 – we followed the tradition of having the Union (the blue field of stars) lead the way, such that on the right-hand side of the vehicle (“passenger side”), the flag would appear reversed.
Further, the flag was painted to convey the motion of forward movement as if it were billowing with the speed of the locomotive. Having the Union forward on both sides is the overwhelming choice anytime the flag is portrayed on a transport vehicle, from NASA space shuttles to Air Force One.
Tech Info: Nikon D100, Nikon 70-300mm @ 80mm, f/14, 1/400, ISO 400.
Union Pacific 5760 and 9788 lead Norfolk Southern 224 through the location known as Revilo, at Sterns, Ky, through a light rain as they head northbound on the CNO&TP 2nd District.
According to American-rails.com, It used to be called the Rathole Division when it was the Southern Railway and is often remembered as a road with relatively flat and tangent main lines due to the region in which it operated. However, the system did feature its share of steep, circuitous main lines such as Saluda Grade in western North Carolina and its famed “Rathole Division” through Kentucky and Tennessee that reached as far north as Cincinnati.
Technically, this stretch of the Southern main line was known as the 2nd District of subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific (CNO&TP), which was plagued for years by numerous tunnels resulting in its famous nickname by the crews which operated over it.
Over the years the Southern worked to daylight or bypass these obstacles as the route saw significant freight tonnage, a task finally completed during the 1960s. Today, the Rathole remains an important artery in Norfolk Southern’s vast network.
Tech Info: Nikon D810, RAW, Nikon 70-300 @ 95mm, f/5, 1/400, ISO 64.
May 5, 1989 – The crew from a eastbound Santa Fe freight prepare to do a roll-by inspection on a passenger train being led by Union Pacific X8444 at Blue Cut in southern California’s Cajon Pass on their way west to the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Los Angeles Union Station, with E-unit 951 trailing. This was the first Southern California appearance of a Union Pacific steam locomotive since 1956.
Tech Info: Nikon F3, Nikon 80-200mm, Kodachrome Slide, other data not recorded.
Union Pacific 4014, the Big Boy heads north on UP’s Hoxie Subdivision at Jacksonville, Arkansas as part of its 2021-month long tour around the United States on August 27th, 2021!
Here engineer Ed Dickens keeps an eye on the tracks ahead as it approaches the N JP Wright Loop Road crossing, perhaps scanning for the legendary the Loop Road Monster (Bigfoot) which has been sighted in this rural area in the past, but there wasn’t any sight of him during the big boys run through the area! I guess bigfoot doesn’t like steam trains nearly as much as the throngs of railfans that chased it!
UP 4014 is an articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive that was manufactured by the American Locomotive Company. There were a total 25 of these giants built and of the eight remaining locomotives this is the only operational one.
The Big Boy was on a month-long tour around the Midwest through, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming before arriving home in Cheyenne, Wyoming on September 7th, 2021.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm @ 210mm, f/5.3, 1/1600, ISO 280.
Engineer Ed Dickens, left, conductor and others on the right on Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 crew keep an eye on the tracks ahead as they round the curve after crossing the Kaskaskia River bridge on the UP Chester Subdivision at Brewerville, Illinois, as they make the way to St. Louis, MO, the last stop on this leg of their journey on August 28th, 2021
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm @ 195mm, f/5.3, 1/1600, ISO 160.