Three Dash 9s await a descending BNSF train at Caliente
The same train at Tunnel 3
And approaching the loop at Tunnel 9
A UP downhill train pauses at Cable for no apparent reason.
The "earthworm" - a heavy loaded unit grain - spirals off the loop with three locos on the point, three more midtrain and two at the back.
Crossing the grain at Woodford
The UP downhill makes it to Bealville
Where we see a couple of BNSF uphill trains - a bare table train...
...and a manifest.
The worm train coming down through former and current tunnels 6 through 3. This is a long train!
Slithering uphill at Sandcut
Heading for Bakersfield near Edison. If you look really closely, you can see the middle helper set also
The sole non yellow unit on a UP train for this trip is a FURX SD40
Warbonnets! Three read and silver units wind their way through the tunnels between Cable and Marcel
At Cable, an uphill autorack train passes rear helpers on a BNSF manifest.
A crappy shot, but I had to get one more of this baby
Heading east across Tehachapi Creek, a colourful mix of power approaches the loop
And is seen again crossing over itself at Tunnel 9
And again passing Foamer Central
And yet again heading up towards Marcel. Four lazy shots from one spot. Are we sick of this train yet?
More clean Dash 9s on a baretable train
A brief interruption to the clicking as this 4 foot long fellow slides by 8 feet away. Say hello to him if you're up at tunnel10
Still, I didn't come all this way to take pictures of snakes. Foamer Central vanishes thanks to some friendly trees. After quietly keeping me company for a while, the snake seemed to have vanished after I looked up from the viewfinder, so it was time to highball out of there. That narrow track out through the grass never seemed so long...!
At Cable, a UP stack train
Followed closely by this BNSF uphill. A long cool spring has left the grasses greener and flowers out longer than usual this year
A pig train exits Tunnel 10 with the regulation combo of four Dash 9s.
More Dash 9s at Tunnel 3
Finally some variety, as Bealville hosts a colourful mix of BNSF power - Warbonnet Dash 9, two BN SD40-2s, a BN SD60M, another warbonnet, and three pumpkins, including a B40-8
Can't let that get away... approaching tunnel 1
And at Sandcut
There's never a dull moment in these parts
After about 5 hours, things get rolling again. The cause of the chaos, BNSF 970, is finally underway and pulls uphill through Woodford past a train that will sit here another three hours while the uphill trains clear.
The culprit seen again leaving tunnel 10
Another in a stream of uphill trains slugs up through Woodford
In fading light, a UP train at Woodford
The sun goes down on another day in Traingeek Paradise
Just after 9am, a shortish train runs down through the Allard horseshoe
And crosses an uphill train which includes a B40-8 as the second unit and a bluebonnet snoot SD40-2
The same train continues uphill through Bealville with brown noser 8601 visible in second place.
Cable at 11:00 hosts a downhill coil train with another B40-8 sandwiched between Dash 9s
Which slows and crosses another BNSF train, whose single stacks reveal the coil train's locos
Approaching Tehachapi
Two for the price of one
And lastly near Monolith
An SD40-2 rebuilt from an SD40 in a helper set at Summit. Dig those funky ditch lights
More grubby UP locos at Cable
Ohhh, a clean one for the road.