Will be going to Calif next week. Will drive by Tehachappi on the way to Death Valley/Las Vegas. Is there a good palce you can stop and see some trains? What is the frequncy during the week?
Thanks for any help.
Stew MacMillan
between the central valley and the desert town of mojave is a road where you can get a glimpse of southern pacific tracks climbing out of the valley. part way up is the tehachapi loop where the tracks loop once in a helix to gain elevation. very long trains climb this grade and they will loop over themselves.
mojave is a railroad town, and is the staging area for all those trains coming up out of the central valley. from there they go everywhere east and south. the main yard is righjt next to the main highway and it seems like all train companies are represented.
farther up the road (u.s. 395), you will turn right at olancha or lone pine to get to death valley. if you go north another fifteen miles from lone pine to independence you will find in a park on the north end of town where the “slim princess” lies refurbished. it used to power the carson & colorado r.r. which later became the southern pacific’s only narrow gauge line. the right of way can be glimpsed (the tracks have been pulled recently) all along this owens valley. sixty miles north of lone pine (6 miles north of bishop) is the “museum town” of laws which contains the remaining artifacts of the carson & colorado.
death valley had it’s own railroad that got relocated as mines played out and new ones were developed. it’s largest component was the tonopah and tidewater railroad that consisted of all used equipment and hand me downs. be careful running around in that desert; it’s habitforming and likely to turn you into a weird guy. look around, you’ll see what i mean.
I like Caliente better then the loop itself as you can get closer to the trains. If you are going from there to Vegas go down route 58 to Barstow then east on Main St then east on I40 to Daggett (7 miles) as that will give you a rail show to remember for quite a while. Probably see 6/8 trains in a hour. After Daggett go nortth on Daggett-Yermo Road about 2 miles to I15 which takes you straight to Vegas. In Vegas go to Wyoming Ave to get good shots of the Stratosphere & the UPRR
You can check out Daggett by clicking on the below link & then clicking on any of the California galleries,
http://vgalleries.com/members/railfan1/The+Trainfan.vrg
[:o)]
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Originally posted by chipstew
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The Denney’s in Mojave! its at the end of the yard and it’s where all the loco’s hook up for the trip to Bakersfield.
Yes if you go under the Hwy you can reach the juncture of the UPRR & BNSF in Mojave also. [:)]
[quote]
Originally posted by yohandiesel7
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There is not much staged at Mojave anymore. Most stuff just rolls right on through.