Western Railroad Discussion > San Timoteo Orange Groves

Back in January of 2014, jmf1910 and I did a quick weekend SoCal railfan trip. We visited Cajon92 and Tehachapi on Saturday, then chased the Mojave Flyer and visited Sullivan's Curve at Cajon Pass on Sunday morning:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3703022 (Tehachapi)
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3656530 (Sullivan's Curve)

San Timoteo Canyon (west end of Beaumont Hill) was next on the agenda. Since the sky was hazy, I took him to Smiley Heights for the orange grove angle which is normally against the light. Our luck continued and we got a meet between a westbound Z train (with the ArroWedge) and an eastbound stacker (first clip).

We chased the eastbounder to the Centennial Memorial Bridge (third clip). Before we got there, we got another meet near Hinda, second clip.

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

When the sun is shining, Smiley Heights can be a challenge, since I'd be shooting the train's shadow. During a SoCal visit sometime in 2013, I decided on a whim to find an orange grove angle with the light on my side. The westbound Z train I was chasing was told to stop between El Casco and Ordway by DS 44 due to congestion near Loma Linda, so that was my cue (first clip).

The Colton Flyover had recently opened, so I went to Rancho next, to catch the Z train going over. A westbound BNSF manifest showed up (second clip) but it arrived too early for a meet. You can see the headlights of the Z in the distance.

The video finishes with the Z coming down the flyover at Rancho, third clip. The UP/BNSF connector was not finished yet when I recorded the video.

That's all for now.

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

Those trailers on the last Z train really had me drooling!    Thanks for showing the whole thing!