I am going to be in the LA area and am going to Tehachappi thanks to Chad Thomas directions but I am also interested in getting a shot or two of trains along the coast if that is possible. Any help will be appreciated.
Dale Sutor
You have been in here for a year and this is your first post? Come on now, don’t be shy Dale.[;)]
Where are you comming from? A drive from Ventura up to San Luis Obispo will take you along the coast. There are pleanty of places along there. There are 8-10 through freights a day plus 8 Pacific surfliners and the 2 Starlights.
I am coming from LAX. Thought I would do that the first day then head for the hills for a couple of days. Someone said there is some to see long beach port. Is that true?
If your into urban railfanning. I guess it’s worth a visit. I like to get out of town myself.
For the coast route I would definetly suggest going north for some train shots than going south, mostly because its less crowded. Best place is north on 101, just past Ventura, take the first off ramp, that will take you to the old road, now chuck full of camped RVers on weekends but the tracks run parallel right next to the road through a more or less open area, great spot to get some shots. Or just go to the Santa Barbara station, when there are no trains theres downtown SB which is a great place to spend the day anyway. Have lunch at our favorite restaruant “Left Turn at Albequerque” nice Tex-Mex place!
I would have to agree with Chad and also say that not only can you go north but south isn’t all that bad too. It all depends on how much driving you want to do. I recommend The SanDiegan Route. There are some good shots down by San Onofre.
If you want a lot of action, head over to the Fullerton Station where you can sit down by the tracks and have a cup of coffee and watch all the BNSF and Surfliners come through.
Of course Cajon pass is a must see for any visiting railfan. I would recomend a loop starting at Pepper st overpass in West Colton. Then Colton crossing. Then up to the pass (Cajon). Then at Victorville take old 66 up to Barstow (follows the BNSF). Mabee go out to Dagget where they really fly. Then take 58 west to Mojave following the BNSF, and up to Tehachapi. Then head back to Mojave and down 14 to Palmdale. then just after Palmdale take Soledad Canyon road (follows the ex SP Metrolink line). Soledad takes you back to the 14 and on into LA, or you could head up I-5 a few miles north of the 14/5 interchange then take the 126 through Filmore to Ventura then go up the coast. Vic had a good suggestion with Santa Barbera & the beach. (BTW-I lived in Oxnard when I was a kid and spent a lot of time on that beach). Then you could take the Pacific Coast highway back to LA. There are no trains there but it is a nice drive.
Chad, that would be a great trip–If you had a couple of days. Look at your trip last weekend that I was suppose to join you for: it took two days. I just hope Dale has that kind of time. Heck, maybe you and I should try it? The great thing is if he does all of this in one day; he won’t have to wait long for a train–traffic is always a plus around here.
I just re-read Dale’s post and I think that since he is going to go to Tehachapi anyway, then heck, I would do the trip that you just menchioned if I was him, but I would stop in at the San Bernardino Station between Colton and Cajon Pass. Stop for a picture or two, it would be worth it. I think it is off of 2nd Street from the 215.
Yea, I should clairify. I didn’t mean do that whole trip in one day. I would get a room in Barstow. I stayed at one there saturday night. It was a double and only cost $45 on the weekend. It was a nice room too with cable and continental breakfast. There are also rooms in Mojave with track views.
And San Bernadino station is another good spot.
Zak, Do you remember the old shops? I used to like to check it out on the way home from Cajon. That was a sad loss. I’ll never forget the time there were a bunch of C30-7s stored on the east end by the 215 and I took a chance and climbed up into the cab of one and checked it out. There was also some SD45s being cut up too. I knew the shops days were numbered so I took a bunch of pics. And it was fittingly a cloudy dark day. The last time I was there (before it was torn down) my dad was with me and we found the SF 3751 parked in the corner of one of the shop buildings. That was the only time I have seen 3751.
I remember the shops (I used to live in Berdoo). When exactly did they tear them down?
Well I’m chronologicly challenged so I can’t say for sure but I would say about 92-93.
I also lived in San Berdoo for a short time in 98’ on 5th st west of the 30. I was between jobs and broke and I ended up camping up in Cajon for 2 months after that. It’s hard to get motivated to find a job when your hanging out in the pass with all those trains to watch.[;)]
Actually I think that West Riverside (7 miles from Colton) where the UPRR & BNSF merge/unmerge would be a better starting place. (Commerce St). You get EB/WB BNSFers at speed like at Daggett & you get EB UPRR almost at speed coming off the merge point. You can also get excellant pix of the trains taking the crossovers there.
Go away troll.
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[8D] To one and all Thanks for all this information. I will have 2 days to do the loop described and also I will have a day to look south.
Be sure to stop by hill 582 and sign the register.
Is the West Riverside location west of I-215 and north of 60? Mapquest is no help finding Commerce st. I found West colton overpass.
Chad, what is this register that you are talking about? I’ve never heard about this sort of thing. Tell me more…