I had to drive from Stockton to LA last week, so instead of taking the fast route via I 5, I took Hwy 99, so I could parallel the UP main to Bakersfield. Overtook a couple road trains and met a NB local and stack train. Driving along the RR and the “possibility” of another train around the next bend, made the drive a lot more interesting.
Once past Bakersfield on Hwy 58, I turned off on Edison Rd and cut over to the mainline again. A few miles South, close to Sandcut, I caught up w/ a SB / EB UP stacktrain. About 4000 ft long, w 2 units on the head and a DPU pusher. I paced w/ him down to around Ilmon, where the road splits from the tracks. There was a BNSF manifest train waiting in the siding between Bena and Ilmon, that would follow the stacktrain after he cleared. That little area around Ilmon was really pretty, Nice tight canyon area with some good curvature in the tracks. In my prior 2 trips to the area, I didn’t get a chance to see that area.
From there, I headed up and over to Caliente to try to leapfrog ahead of the stacktrain. On the way over, I passed 2 tarantulas that were out for a stroll on the road. That was quite a site for this midwestern boy who doesn’t see spiders of that side, except in a zoo.
At Caliente, the head-end of the UP stacktrain was into the horseshoe and I watched him climb out of the valley, the hopped ahead of him to Bealville. It was just amazing how the rails were singing a hundred yards in front of the train as he climbed through Bealville. To the east of Bealville, it is absolutely remarkable how steep the climb is thorugh the tunnels until they disappear from sight around the bend well above Bealville.
From there, I jumped ahead to Walong. It was a bit of a wait for them to catch up, but got to see the