Chasing Steel's Cajon Pass Railfan Map

In light of my recent attendance to Chasing Steel’s Cajon Pass Railfan Map (.PDF)a presentation given by Union Pacific’s Special Agent Mark Youngblood on the overall role of railroad police and, more specifically, the railroad right-of-ways through Cajon Pass,  which is within the San Bernardino National Forest, I have prepared a map of the pass that, hopefully, should shed some light on the access roads in the area that is open to the public.

The map is a mashup of various map sources showing topographical features, highways and local streets, railroad lines and location names, and the United States Forest Service roads throughout the area.  The USFS data came from their 2009 Motor Vehicle Use Map for the area.

The map is not meant to be a navigational tool, but rather a planning device to aid in route considerations and location accessibility.  Special Agent Youndblood recommends that railfans remain on the forest service roads only and those roads should be clearly marked with USFS signposts to indicate their use.  To view the most recent road/trail information visit these USFS SBNF web pages: 

• Forest Rules & Regulations
• Current Conditions - “Know Before you Go”
• Order No. 5, Roads and Trails, San Bernardino National Forest

I have also included the emergency numbers for the BNSF, Union Pacific, and Amtrak on the map.  I would recommend that you program those numbers into your cellphone so they are handy at a moments notice.  Please report any unsafe conditions you see, such as: shifted loads, dragging equipment, derailed wheels, trespassers, or suspicious persons or activities.

NOTE:  There is one forest road that is hard to see on the map and that road is 3N53.  This is due to the fact that it parallels the Union Pacific track south of Hiland.  It can be used to access most areas of the forest and can be easily reached off of Highway 138, the Pearblossom Highway.

Please contact me for any map corrections, concerns, or comments.  Happy hunting!

Oh, the Lessons That I Have Learned!

Unreal, heck even surreal at times.

The last week has been one heck of a ride.  I thought I went out, as I have done countless times in the past, to enjoy a chase and beautiful scenery with Deb but it became so much more.  So what, it was a very long train, one the likes of I have never seen in thirty plus years of paying attention.  Turns out it was a monster.  But it was a monster in more than just size.  It’s very existence changed me and my world in unimaginable ways.  And yes, you are partly responsible for it too.  Let me explain.

The “chase” itself was typical.  The results, of course, weren’t.  I had not posted any of my videos from previous trips onto the web for others to consume.  This train was different and I know that there were people, fans and the general public alike, that would have liked to have been able to see it go by.  (I think we all enjoy watching a train pass - more on than later.)  So I intended, at the onset, to make sure to get a stationary video of the train passing.  If you have read my previous posts then you know that I took that opportunity at Fingal, CA.  I thought the video came out nice, despite the fact that I shot it in portrait mode instead of landscape, so I created an account on YouTube and posted the video so that fans and you might get to see the historic train.

It turns out that somehow the media got wind of the train and it’s monster length and that’s when things got crazy.    I was first contacted by NBC News in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday evening, January 13, 2010.  They had seen the video on YouTube and wanted to run it on the 11PM news that night.  Wow, that’s cool, I thought.  Heck, who wouldn’t want their video shown on a major news network?  Well, it turns out that railfans don’t.  I didn’t know that at the time.  

No sooner had I finished my phone call with the producer from NBC then I received an email from a reporter with the Los Angeles Times.  (Do these guys work in the same office or have some secret Twitter arrangement?)  He had seen the video and said it was the cleanest he saw and wanted to discuss it with me and perhaps link to it on the Times website.  It was a crazy few minutes for sure.

At least the Times reporter took the time to talk to me about the experience and how I came to shoot the video.  Clearly he wanted more than just a graphic to showcase HIS story.  He was interested in MY story, however, I was caught up in the moment and didn’t realize what was about to happen.

NBC aired the video, as they said they wanted to do, however, their “story, ” in my opinion was not complete reporting.  They opted to stress the wait time one would experience at a grade crossing and the politicians “concerns” over the train instead of the whole reason Union Pacific ran the test train or the significance of it.  I was dismayed.  I learned at the point that while I gave consent to NBC to use my video it was still their “story.”  I wished I had been given an opportunity to provide input to the story.

I subsequently found out that the LA Times had also run an article on the train that very same day by the very same reporter.  I became concerned.  I read the article and felt that the Times reporter, which also mentioned the “political” concerns predominately, did at least give both sides to the story and apparently was willing to do more research, hence the email to me.

After the NBC news segment aired, the “noise” about the test train and my video elevated.  You see, at this point I was being associated, since it was my video, with the viewpoint of the mass media on the subject and worth of the train.  This was not my intent.  In fact, my views are almost diametric to those of the “politicians” and some of the general public on the subject.

Here’s my stance:

• Railroads are VITAL to our nation’s economy and infrastructure.
• Railroads, and train crews specifically, DO NOT want to block crossings for any reasons, if at all possible.
• Emergency vehicles are being blocked every day in the US by even the smallest of trains today.  (I bet that motorists block more fire engines and paramedics than trains do annually.)
• Stopping distance of train is determined by tonnage and speed of the train NOT the LENGTH of a train.
• Railroads have a vested interested in ensuring that the trains they move over their lines are safe.  They do not want to create any situation that might cause a stoppage in movement of trains over their territories.  That would be bad for business.
• The railroads are in the railroad business.  Wouldn’t they know how and why to do this?  If increasing capacity and/or reducing costs is an end result, isn’t that good for shareholders and aren’t they becoming more economically viable which is good for us all?
• People are in that much of a hurry that they can’t wait a few more minutes at a grade crossing so that they can get on to the freeways which are already gridlocked?  The grade crossings are the joint responsibility of the municipalities in concert with railroad approval.  The city has the right to build an over/underpass if they deem it necessary.  The grade crossing complaints should go to the city councils not the railroads.  The railroads have been around for a very, very, very long time in comparison to local streets and such.  Also, don’t commuters already plan their routes based on traffic patterns and avoid certain stretches of surface streets or freeways at certain times of the day because of congestion already?
• There are concerns about the length of such a train when the crew has to walk the train to determine the extent of any issue should the need arise which caused the crew to stop the train.  Obviously this would need to be addressed.
• While there are also concerns about the reduction in number of crew starts and I respect those concerns but I am in no position of offer an opinion.  (Yep, that is perhaps a first!)

Based on the aforementioned points, it should be apparent why I had issues with the media propping up their stories with my footage.  In the railfan circles I learned of another individual who had his video used, in the exact same manner, by a competing station here in Los Angeles all without his consent!  

Now I began to worry about the end result of the LA Times inquiry about using my material and story in their next article about the “Monster Train.”  Historically, us railfans have been portrayed in the mainstream media as complete morons who never got over the model trains we had as kids.  I was determined to help shape this next article, if I could.

Fortunately, it turned out that the Times reporter, Rich Connell,  was a good reporter and did his investigation and followed where it led him.  Over the course of that week we had numerous emails and phone calls about the train and me.  Perhaps my nudging helped but I sense that it propably was not entirely necessary in this case.  

As a previous blog post indicates, I had no prior knowledge of Rich’s article “going to press.”  It appeared online first and then in the print edition the next day.  The only way I discovered it was the number of hits on my website went through the roof.  My heart skipped a beat.  (Which is not good due to a quadruple bypass and seven stents that adorn my life sustaining organ!)  The article was published.

I read the article.  Wow.  Very good.  Better than I thought it would be.  It was about me and my “adventure.”  Cool.  It did mention the “other” items but in a realistic and tempered way.  Outstanding!  What a relief.

I have to take my hat off to you Rich.  You wrote an insightful and good article.  And it is not just me saying so.  Read the comments on my Guestbook page or the posts on the main railroad board and you will see the “community” of railfans applaud the article.  You have done us proud.  Thank you Rich and thanks to Mark Boster for making me look half-way handsome!

So I learned this from it all:

• Understand the context in which your material will be presented.
• Politicians don’t know what they are talking about, mostly.
• There are good reporters out there who want to tell the WHOLE story and not just get ratings.
• My right side is my better side!

Overall I am grateful for it all because not only did I learn a lot about myself and the way the media functions, I also got to meet so many people like you.  I received a lot emails and comments during the last few days and I am overwhelmed by the positive comments and response, in general, to my efforts to host chasingsteel.com.  I appreciate the fact that you have taken your time to visit and read my rants, such at this.  I am also humbled by the stories you all have shared with me and the great things you have said to inspire me.

OK, I realize there is one more thing I learned:

There are a lot of good and constructive folks in this world.  Heck, even some of them are not railfans!  Who knew? ;-)

High Traffic Volumes...Wow!

I checked in on the site tonight to prepare a post that I have been working on all day and I saw the traffic levels were extremely high.  I mean crazy high!  Here is a view of what I saw:

After seeing this I was puzzled as to explain the recent upswing in hits.  Was it the UP Monster Train video that I shot?  Perhaps.  I looked at the list of refers and noticed that a portion of them were coming from the LA Times website!  They must have published the article I was interviewed for and I didn’t even know it!

Here is a screenshot of the web page.  Click on the photo to read the article.  I am impressed that the article was very accurate and kept the “noise” from the politicians about the train to a minimum.  Thanks to Rich and Mark, you guys rock!

Click this photo to read the entire story.

Audio Output from Hotbox Detector of the UP Monster Train

For those of you who are curious, here is an audio recording of the IDILBF-08 (UP’s Monster Train) going by the hotbox detector at MP 657.2 on the Yuma Subdivision. Never heard an axle count even close to this one before.

News Segment for NBC LA Channel 4 Featuring Our Video

In case you didn’t see it, here is the news segment that shows the UP Monster Train video that we allowed NBC to use.

Video of UP Monster Train (IDILBF-08) at Ontario, CA (Longest Union Pacific Train Ever)

Continued from previous post…

I began to have that moment where you reflect on the day’s events.  What if I had left earlier in the morning to get a better head start?  Perhaps I could have met the train further to the east.  Was there a better spot?  How did my photos turn out?

We decided to eat lunch trackside so Deb made sandwiches and I checked out the photos and videos from the various cameras we used throught the adventure.  Obviously some photos were crappy and some were OK.  A few were even good, but lunch was awesome.

I thought we were heading home from a challenging yet rewarding time chasing the monster train across the western edge of the Yuma Subdivision so I eased the pace as we got back on the Interstate 10 and headed west.  I even shut down my various train tracking devices and the GPS.  We drove home.

I expected to see the train stopped at the West Colton facility waiting for a crew change.  As we passed the Pepper Avenue overpass I could see all of the railfans hanging out.  “The train must not have made it to West Colton yet!”  I thought to myself.  Perhaps there is a chance to get one more photo opportunity!

We had to get home to drop off some guests that we had taken on the trip with us.  I took that opportunity to refresh the camera batteries and myself a bit.  I decided that we could run up to the Mountain Avenue overpass and shoot the train from that vantage point.  I just didn’t know for sure which subdivision it would be traveling on as it headed for Long Beach.  I suspected that it must be the Alhambra Subdivision.  The chase was back on.

I convinced my wife to saddle up one last time and we got into position at the Mountain Avenue overpass once I had confirmed that the train was in fact on the move now after the crew change in West Colton.

Here is my photo of the train as it blew by the overpass:

The IDILBF-08, UP Longest Train Ever Run, passes through Ontario, CA at the Mountain Avenue overpass.

Fortunately Deb agreed to go with me and she shot the following video:

Now the trip was over and I deemed it successful.  Not so much because I got the shots I had hoped for but rather for the experience and the good shots I did get!

Thanks Union Pacific!

Video of UP Monster Train (IDILBF-08) at Fingal, CA (Longest Union Pacific Train Ever)

Continued from previous post…

We slipped, slided, and slung our way through the parade of other railfans on US Highway 111 and raced to beat the train to the grade crossing located at our next turn on 62nd Avenue.  Well, I lost.  I was trapped at the crossing.  I waited for the beast to clear the crossing and then I headed north on Highway 86 towards Interstate 10 to head west.

My next preplanned photo spot was to be near the end of the Highway 62 and the tracks just west of Palm Springs, CA.  I missed the intended exit due to heavy traffic volumes which made me late to get in postion before the train arrived.  I motored on.

Thankfully the train began to slow as it began it’s ascent of Beaumont Hill west of Palm Springs.  That gave me the extra time I needed to try a few off-ramps and see if I could get into position in time.  Fortunately I was able to.  It ended up being a location known by the railroad as Fingal, CA.

We watched in amazement as the train struggled to climb out of the basin in which it currently traveled through.  We were captivated to see such an awesome sight.  So much so that I almost forgot to take photos.  At this point I had a spare video recorder handy so I placed it in position and turned it on just in time.  As the train approached our location I began snapping off frames.  Here are a couple of them:

Wow.  Again I was lost in watching this train climb the grade at 18MPH.  It took nearly ten minutes.  I lost track of the fact that I had set down the other video recorder.  I ran over to take a look at what it captured.

Here is the video that I edited to remove gaps and mind lapses:

The trip was over and I deemed it successful.  Not so much because I got the shots I had hoped for but rather for the experience.

Turns out it wasn’t over.  More to follow…