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This is an Osprey sea-eagle at home in NY. This picture has no functional purpose being on this page and is provided purelyfor decorative purposes. |
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Meanwhile, back to the story... Fresh from a sleepless night at the non-air-conditioned Bel-Air in Mojave, I attack the Warren curve to find a flat baretable
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Ahh, that's more like it. real trains, Brucie |
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Spinning electricity |
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A BNSF freight passes the Mojave airport, the retirement home for old airliners
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A long wait sees shadows encroach on my shot at Clear Creek |
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A following BNSF stacker threads down through Allard to Tunnel 2. Note the height that is eaten up by the Allard horseshoe at right. This is quite the grade. |
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Same train, better picture |
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And lastly running through Caliente |
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Next morning, it's Warren time again |
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U2 trees |
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The morning baretable |
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Whoops |
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Yummystacks |
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Descending through the heat haze |
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Some colour in the desert |
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Long trains looking short |
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Strange bird at Mojave - the new Saab 9-3?
Makes mental note to reset camera after taking trains. 1/60th handheld with approx 900mm isn't a surefire recipe for sharp pictures |
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A short UP train threads its way down the Clear Creek ravine |
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Finally, the shot that was requested |
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Bumming a ride |
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Aces High- a pair of UPs head out of Tunnel 3 with a long train comprising one tie wagon. Overpowered methinks. |
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Departing Bealville |
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Caliente Narrows |
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Shooting at tunnel 2 in the company of Bob ('Tehachap' of Trainorders) |
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The new bridge near Bena. I thought this section between Bena and Illmon had been double tracked by now. The roadbed looks formed. |
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High flying fugitive tumbleweed finally caught |
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Sandcut Evening |
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A UP train heads past the neat old SP cantilever signal mast |
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A different take on Warren the next morning, but alas no downhills in the hours I was there |
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... So we'll just cheat and snap these pushers instead. |
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Big Bird
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Another take on Tunnel 2 |
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S bend between Bena and Illmon. Maybe this was the better angle... |
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Meeting His Excellency the lost SdnLdr Hopley |
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Intermodal test shot |
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Bobbing for oil near Edison next morning on the way back from Taft |
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We climb a steep hill and wait. And wait. And wait. S bend between Bena and Illmon. All that work and the other angle was probably better... |
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Ex LMS Dash 8 pusher at Bealville |
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The final morning at Tehachapi sees this uphill dropping down temporarily at Sandcut |
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Crappier version of the above |
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Bursting from one of the Tehachapi creek tunnels |
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UP pigs at Cable |
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A return to Warren, this time knowing there are a couple of trains on their way |
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And again. UP galore |
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Rounding the loop |
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A last run up to the loop sees this UP train heading down through Woodford |
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Final fling at the backside of the loop |
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And then it's off to points east |
Barstow Yard
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Pumpkin head |
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It was about here I discovered that my 85mm lens was completely buggered... |
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Grain moving about the yard in large steel vessels |
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Shunters. I mean Switchers |
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Autoracks |
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Barstow Sunset. I surely do like this one. |
Cajon Pass
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I spent a couple of hours on Cajon Pass on the way back from my very first visit to Tehachapi in 1988. I don't think I even got the slides developed. But now with an almost open mind, I'm prepared to give Cajon another go. We find a nice spot and wait. Bah, all the trains are on the wrong track |
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Or going the wrong way |
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GP60M on a downhill |
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UP pushers on a BNSF train |
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View from the summit in the company of a couple of Brits |
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Helpers on the above train |
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The immediately following train on the third track |
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The George Bush Senior loco. The George W Bush loco will have his name spelt wrong |
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After the departure of Brent, I umm and ahh for a while about heading back to Tehachapi. During this time nothing much happens. After 40 minutes I start up the car and decide to head off. About four seconds later, a headlight appears in the distance and it ends up on the right track, thus saving me about a hundred dollars in gas money. |
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And then one more uphill before boredom sets in again and I head to LAX for a date with three Margaritas. Sorry. I just can't get into Cajon... |
