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Adventures on the San Jacinto Branch Over The Years 5/11/2002

Flimsies had an announcement of an excursion from the Orange Empire Railway Museum at Perris to San Jacinto so I bought a ticket and drove to Perris that morning. Our train consisted of the museum's RSD-1 015, a Union Pacific cupola caboose, two flat bench cars, a Southern Pacific bay window caboose, a Santa Fe cupola caboose, another flat bench car, a Southern Pacific cupola caboose, one more flat bench car and another Santa Fe cupola caboose. The journey would run up to the junction with the Santa Fe San Jacinto Branch then return.

We departed on time by reversing to the junction of the San Jacinto line as I rode in the cupola of the Union Pacific caboose then passed the museum's collection of equipment before leaving the property at Oil Junction and went through the southern neighbourhoods of Perris with every grade crossing having flag protection provided by museum volunteers. We reversed past the junction switch and after it was switched, we pulled forward then proceeded southeast on a perfectly straight piece of track, travelling past the former location of Ellis and a few minutes later, ducked under Interstate 215 then out across the Perris Valley to Ethanac, before passing the wide open location where the train for the television show "Wild West" was sitting on the railroad. The scene looked as though it could be recreated today.

We made our way along the south side of Double Butte before turning left and running below this large physical feature then ran through some rock outcroppings prior to going through Winchester. A few minutes later, we turned to the northeast, passing the airport and the former siding location of Egan before we turned to enter Hemet, where Park Hill was to the west and through the haze, Mount San Jacinto could be seen. Everyone was out waving at our train as our arrival was a significant event and we reached our destination of the former location of the Hemet depot, where everyone detrained and the locomotive ran around the train before we returned. I enjoyed Hemet during the layover and on the return journey, rode in the cupola of a Santa Fe caboose. I really enjoyed this trip and wanted to take my friend Jeff Hartmann on this line someday.

Six months later after that successful excursion, the museum advertised a second trip, for which I purchased tickets for Jeff and myself. That first trip was so well-received that the museum had to have four different trains to accommodate all the riders, which would use almost all of the museum's cars. We were assigned to the first section, that once on the San Jacinto line, was pulled by the former Southern Pacific S-4 1474. What was interesting was looking behind, you could always see a headlight and on the two curves, three trains on one and four on the other. This solution was most ingenious.

Running behind all of the trains was former United States Air Force 45 ton switcher 41, which solved the issue of there being no siding for any motive power to run around their respective trains. The solution was for 41 to pull the last train back to Perris and each of the other train's engines would pull the train that they had followed back. 1474, our locomotive, would then run light back to Perris. Since we were on the first train out, we then were on the last train to run back, being pulled by RSD-1 015, thus giving us the longest time in Hemet. The trip was a lot of fun and I enjoyed this second excursion as much as the first. My hat was off to the Orange Empire Railway Museum for running such a great excursion.

I always wanted to ride the San Jacinto District to Highgrove after the November 1994 excursion and one day when I received my Flimsies, there in the Coming Events section was a listing for a Perris-to-Highgrove excursion. The purpose of the trip was really to ferry equipment to Highgrove to be taken over to the Riverside Orange Blossom Festival at Metrolink's Riverside station, which would also have Santa Fe 4-8-4 3751, on display. The excursion would be run with all the display equipment at the front and the engine would cut off and run around the train to pull the consist back to Perris. Santa Fe would then have a switcher pull the display equipment onto the mainline for the short journey to the Metrolink station.

I drove out to the Orange Empire Railway Museum and picked up my ticket in the bookstore. The train was pulled by two Santa Fe GP35's and everyone boarded with me riding in a Southern Pacific bay window caboose. We departed on time and proceeded north through the museum's grounds past the locomotives in their collection then exited through the gate at Oil Junction before going through the neighbourhoods of southern Perris. There were flagmen at all the crossings to protect them as we passed through. We ran onto the San Jacinto District before passing through downtown Perris, past the 1892 depot then running along the base of a hill and out of town as we paralleled Interstate 215.

We travelled north going under Nuevo Road and passed local industries before going through Val Verde. It was a clear morning with Mount San Jacinto to the east, Mount San Gorgonio to the northeast and Mount Baldy to the north. We proceeded along at a nice speed and to the east across the freeway was March Air Force Base, then we passed Riverside National Cemetery before ducking under Van Buren Avenue. The remains of what used to be Riverside International Raceway (now part of the City of Moreno) was across the freeway before we reached the junction of Interstate 215 and Highway 60. We ran through Alessandro before going under the combined roadway into a narrow canyon that took us off the Perris surface down the grade towards Highgrove.

Our journey continued into Box Springs Canyon, with trees along the creek and the hills covered with boulders, prior to winding along downgrade before the canyon opened up with UC Riverside to the west and a great view down into the valley below. We rolled along the west slope of Belvedere Heights, making several tight turns before a sweeping turn then passed homes' back gardens where people were out waving at our train. We then crossed the Southern Pacific (formerly Pacific Electric) and ran along the east side of a major industry before our arrival at Highgrove. The equipment for the Orange Blossom Festival was cut off before the power ran around the train and we returned up the grade and had an enjoyable ride back to Perris.

Jeff Hartmann and I, along with Jeff's parents Jon and Edna, rode a special Metrolink train to the Riverside Orange Blossom Festival. We looked at the railroad displays, which included Santa Fe 4-8-4 3751 then walked down the Santa Fe mainline to the Riverside Live Steamers before returning to the station for the journey back to Santa Ana.

I saw this trip on Railroadnews.net and since this would be new mileage for Jeff, bought tickets over the phone. He picked me up on the day of the trip and off we went to Perris, where I collected the tickets at the bookstore and we rode an open car behind Santa Fe FP45 98 and MRS-1 1956. It was an excellent experience both ways and truckers blew their horns at our train. The descent down the Box Spring grade was as exciting as the first time, then, at the Southern Pacific crossing, the rails had been removed from this former Pacific Electric line at a private grade crossing. We arrived at Highgrove and detrained while the power was taken back to the next siding up the line to be rearranged. Jeff bought us some sodas after we walked over to the PE line and saw the Union Pacific power that had been trapped since the washout of the bridge over the Santa Ana River had isolated them.

Santa Fe FP45 98, ex. BNSF 98, exx. ATSF 5998, exxx. ATSF 102, exxxx. ATSF 5998, exxxxx. ATSF 5948, nee ATSF 108, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1967. This was the last FP45 bought by the railway and was the first of two to be re-painted in Superfleet red and silver livery in 1989. This locomotive was pushing on the rear for the return trip, with MRS-1 1956 on the point.

My face was toasted and I think open car covers such as those found on the Verde Valley Railroad, should be used on the OERM trips. We arrived back at the depot about half-an-hour late, ending another great Highgrove excursion.

Jeff drove us back home and we stopped at Pepperland Records in Orange where I was going to get the new Rush "Vapor Trails" album. Mike, the owner, commented about my red face and when I said that I was on a Perris-to-Highgrove train, a female customer told us that she had been driving on Interstate 215 and saw the train. Now that was amazing!

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