It was time to go to Winterail 2007 in Stockton, California so as last year, I bought Chris Parker a ticket and would met him at Downtown Burbank early Friday morning. Anton Lazzaro and Jonathan Ortiz both wanted to go with us this year for their first Winterail. Chris would pick up Anton on his way to Burbank and Jonathan would ride Metrolink train to Fullerton with me. That was the plan, but as always "Everything works out if you let it!"
Metrolink 681 3/9/2007
I was up early to pack and eat before I drove to the Santa Ana station and parked in the northwest lot then walked over to the Santa Ana Boulvard grade crossing to access the east platform. The train arrived on time and we departed, starting this trip to Winterail. I had told Jonathan to meet me on the lower level of the cab car at Fullerton. We stopped at Orange and Anaheim, but then I had a feeling that something was wrong. Sure enough, there was no Jonathan at Fullerton. I walked the train but had no luck in finding him. We made our way to Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs before making the final sprint into Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, arriving on Track 8 and my train to Downtown Burbank would be on the same track. I waited in the pre-dawn coolness for that train to arrive.
It came in about fifteen minutes before departure time. I was relaxing when about a minute beforehand, I heard a familiar voice say, "Is Chris Guenzler here?" I said,"Here I am! and soon Anton was carrying one of my bags off the train and I asked "Did we hear from Jonathan?" Anton and I soon walked through the tunnel and out into the bus loading area where we found Chris Parker and a Chevrolet Impala. Chris told me that Jonathan was on the 60 Freeway about seven miles away. We drove over to the east entrance and pulled up to bus level to wait for Jonathan to arrive. I joked that I lost the rail mileage to Burbank and we all had good laugh about it.
Jonathan finally arrived and Chris went with him parking his car on level P3. It turned out that Jonathan had forgotten to fill his car with petrol and had to then miss the train at Fullerton. In addition, he had turned on the wrong road so it took longer to get to LAUPT. Soon they returned and we were all on the road on the way to Interstate 5 via Mission Boulevard, although the delay put us 45 minutes behind schedule. We had an enjoyable drive over the Grapevine and stopped for snacks and petrol at Lebec, where we found someone needing a ride to the U-Haul dealer on White Lane in Bakersfield so we drove him there.
Since we were now in this western part of Bakersfield, we decided to follow the BNSF line north towards Hanford then Anton spotted something and soon we were making a u-turn to investigate.
The Burger Depot on White Lane in Bakersfield which is ex. Amtrak 8117 1973, nee Santa Fe lunch-diner 1576, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950.
The drive through and exit lane.
The interior of this unique restaurant.
The menu above a window. We all returned to the car and our next stop was a petrol station for the barely-under-three dollars fuel. Back on the road again, we continued north to Shafter.
The Shafter Santa Fe station, built in 1917 and closed in 1978, now a museum.
Santa Fe wooden caboose 773 built by American Car and Foundry circa 1910.
A wig-wag crossing signal.
Another form of grade crossing protection. We continued on to Allensworth.
A platform for special stops to Colonel Allensworth State Park.
The entrance to the state park.
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe wooden boxcar 1332 used a station at Allensworth.
Overlooking the state park. We drove north but a lost cell phone caused a little delay.
Amtrak San Joaquin 702 doing full track speed down this fast track south of Corcoran. We drove north to Selma and had lunch at a Carl's Junior then as we were driving through Fresno, I had an idea about riding the train from Merced to Stockton. Anton and Jonathan both wanted to ride the train as neither had been on the San Joaquins before. We made it to the Merced Amtrak station in plenty of time to buy our tickets and just after Jonathan got his, a train came into the station and we went outside.
San Joaquin 714 at Merced.
Anton, Chris and Jonathan posed in front of San Joaquin 714.
The train departed with our northbound just south waiting for this train to clear.
The BNSF local that ties up at Atwater.
San Joaquin 713 arrived and the three of us boarded, looking for seats and guess who we found asleep aboard this train?
Ken Ruben who was also going to Winterail 2007. The three of us sat at a table in the café car and settled in for the trip to Stockton, after which Ken joined us and we enjoyed the ride. Jonathan and Anton were impressed with the café car but not the California voaches and bathrooms. The trip went very quickly and soon we were getting ready to detrain.
San Joaquin 713 at Stockton.
Amtrak California B32-8WH 2052.
The Stockton Amtrak Station built in 1900. We waited a few minutes for Chris Parker to arrive and soon we were off for the Best Western Stockton Inn, where we checked in for the weekend. Since I do not like pizza, I walked over to KFC for a three-strip meal and A&W root beer. Back at the hotel, I freshened up before the five of us drove to the Railfan and Railroad/National Railway Historical Society Friday Night Slide Show at the Scottish Rite Temple where Winterail 2007 would be held tomorrow.
Third Annual Railfan and Railroad Pre-Winterail Pizza and Slide Party 3/9/2007We arrived at 5:25 PM and the other four enjoyed pizza while I visited with Skip Waters of Dallas, Texas. At 5:50 PM, I went inside and saved five seats inside the hall. The programs started at 6:00 PM and for some unknown reason, the projector showed all of our slide shows dark. First to show was Steve Dorsett and his "P&W Harbor Turn", I was next with my "Needles Subdivision" program and then it was Drew Jacksich's turn with "Last Days of the McCloud". Forrest Becht showed "Some Favorites", Ed Lynch showed "Saudi Arabia Railroads" then Mike Pechner showed his "NWP Retrospective". That was followed by Phil Gosney's program of pre-Amtrak passenger trains plus a few snow shots which were fantastic.
Steve Barry, editor of Railfan and Railroad Magazine, then made some announcements followed by a video on the restoration of Ocean Shore Railroad Car 1409. After that, Keith Ardinger showed his "Mexican Surprise" including the Bosque de Chihuahua. Larry Zanker had an excellent program about "Australia" and the final program was by my good and dear friend Barry Christensen entitled "Desert Crossings". As usual, it was a very interesting and diverse evening of railroading, after which we returned to the Best Western for the night.
3/10/2007 We awoke at 7:05 AM and soon were across the street at Perko's for breakfast with Chris, Anton and Ken with me enjoying French Toast and sausage links. Anton needed to pick up some Amtrak tickets for a Coast Starlight trip in a few weeks so Chris and I drove him there and while they went inside, I went out to the tracks to watch some trains.
First a BNSF coil steel train with DPU's on the rear.
Next was Amtrak San Joaquin 711.
While 711 was in the station, San Joaquin 712 came down the siding into the station. We then returned to the Best Western and picked up Jonathan and Ken to go to Winterail.
On the way, we stopped by the former Central California Railroad shop where Pacific Portland Cement 0-4-0T 202 was being restored. It moved to Virginia City, Nevada in 1961 after being sold to Erich Thompson in Oakland in 1958. Prior to that, it was McCormick & Baxter Creosoting Company 202, Pacific Portland Cement Company 202 and was built as Pacific Portland Cement Company Consolidated 202 built by H.K. Porter in 1913.
We then drove to Winterail 2007 at the Scottish Rite Temple and parked out on the street for an easier escape during the dinner break.
Winterail 2007 3/10/2007
We all walked in and I proceeded to the swap meet to see what was for sale, purchasing two public timetables, one an October 23, 1949 Illinois Central and an October 14, 1945 Missouri Pacific. I also bought "Santa Fe Passenger Trains in California" by Patrick C. Dorin. I visited Charley Smiley's table picking up two DVDs: "Santa Fe Vintage West" and "Scarlet and Gray Memories". After that I went outside to have a tri-tip sandwich before taking my place in line to get into the theatre. I borrowed Jonathan's cell phone to call Let's Talk Trains, the Internet Radio Show then at 11:30, the theatre doors were opened the Theater Doors and I saved us the same seats we had last night.
Jonathan, Anton, Ken and Chris before the first program started. After the pre-show announcements, the first show was "Plywood & Paradise" by Bob Eisthen. Next we enjoyed "The Magnificent Mina Subdivision", followed by the "Reno Trench" by Bruce Blackadar. During the break between the shows, I took Anton out into the swap meet and we found some Southern Pacific Public timetables for sale at a good price. The next show was "The First 10" by Raymond Lewis, followed by The Winterail Shorts, which started with the "Patch" spoof which was hilariously funny followed by "SP Memories" by George Andrews and "Blossom Valley Railroading" by Ken Rattenne. The next show was "The Bill Darrough Story" by Steve and Ken Sloan, which was excellent. The last afternoon program was a movie called the "Coast Daylight" by Don Olsen. We skipped the "Three Favorites" and went to the Black Angus for dinner where I enjoyed a Top Sirloin. After dinner, we drove to the Stockton Tower and really wanted to see a few trains.
A northbound Union Pacific train at the former Stockton Tower location.
Next was a southbound Union Pacific freight. We returned to Winterail 2007 for the evening shows and the Photo Contest awards, which were presented for those back from dinner. Next was "Long Black Train" by Jon Shaw who was then given the Winterail Hall of Fame plaque. The first evening program was "Helena West" by Ted Smith-Peterson. We had a repeat of the Patch Short before "When Steam Moved Mountains - Nevada Northern Railway" by Gordon Osmundson and the last program was "Steaming Along" by Steve Barry. It had been another excellent Winterail and next year would be the 30th Anniversary Show. We returned to the Best Western for the night.
3/11/2007 We arose and Chris and I went to fill the car with petrol and buy some snacks. After everyone checked out, we drove to the Amtrak station to drop off Ken Ruben before driving over to the Stockton Terminal & Eastern shops for some Alcos in storage.
Stockton Terminal & Eastern S-1 503, nee Western Pacific 503 built by Electro-Motive Corporation in 1939.
Stockton Terminal & Eastern S-1 504, ex. Quincy Railroad 4 1973, exx. Sacramento Northern 405 1967, nee Western Pacific 504, built by American Locomotive Company in 1942.
Stored locomotives.
Stockton Terminal & Eastern S-2 557, nee Western Pacific 557 built by American Locomotive Company in 1943.
Stockton Terminal & Eastern S-1 507, nee Western Pacific 510 built by American Locomotive Company in 1942.
A former Tidewater Southern locomotive had been a parts source for years. Back onto Highway 99 as we drove, I thought of a new plan to show Chris, Jonathan and Anton some new items so we excited the freeway at Tolummne/B Street just missing a northbound Union Pacific freight. I gave directions to our next photo location and a surprise.
Santa Fe 4-8-4 2921 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works on display in Beard Brook Park in Modesto. We went east to the engine house of the Modesto & Empire Traction.
An across-the-street view of the M&ET shops.
Ground view showing the shop area.
Modesto and Empire Traction 70 ton swticher 601 built by General Electric in 1951.
Modesto and Empire Traction 70 ton switcher 602 built by General Electric in 1952.
Modesto and Empire Traction 70 ton switcher 012, nee Santa Maria Valley 40 built by General Electric in 1952.
Modesto and Empire Traction 70 ton switcher 013, nee Santa Maria Valley 30 built by General Electric in 1950.
Modesto and Empire Traction 70 ton switcher 604, nee North Louisiana and Gulf 102 built by General Electric in 1950.
Modesto and Empire Traction 70 ton switcher 603, nee Cherry River Boom and Lumber 2 built by General Electric in 1955.
This former locomotive has given its all to one of its sisters. We drove over to Empire then made our way down County Road J7 to the Tuolumne River to catch Ken Ruben's train.
As we arrived, this northbound BNSF freight came across the bridge.
San Joaquin 712 with Ken Ruben aboard. We then continued south on County Road J7 to the Merced River Bridge to catch San Joaquin 701 for Sacramento until we spotted a headlight.
A BNSF piggyback train headed north this beautiful morning.
San Joaquin 701 crossing the Merced River bridge. We drove through Merced then continued to follow the BNSF line south.
A monument east of Merced to George Hicks Fancher, born in New York State on February 5, 1828 and died in California March 30, 1900. Fancher was a wealthy California rancher and he made sure people would remember that. His will stipulated that $25,000 be used to erect a monument in his honor and the product was the 68-foot tall granite plinth towering just off the California 140 highway. When the obelisk was being planned, a local schoolteacher even lobbied to use the funds to build a library in the small town, but this was vetoed by Fancher's surviving family. To this day, the huge gravestone stands, maintained by a trust, and the small town of Merced remains in its shadow.
We drove to Le Grande and stopped for snacks then returned to Highway 99 through Madera to our next stop at the BNSF bridge across the San Joaquin River.
San Joaquin 713 crossing the train's namesake San Joaquin River.
Amtrak 713 going away at track speed. We returned to Highway 99 and continued south.
A Union Pacific freight just north of Tulare.
The JD Heiskell Company caboose, ex. Santa Fe 999569, exx. Santa Fe 2287, nee Santa Fe 999975 built by the railroad in 1949 and rebuilt 1978 on display in Tulare.
JD Heiskell Company 1600 HP locomotive, ex. Texas Northern 996, exx. Illinois Central Gulf 1522, nee Gulf, Mobile and Ohio RS3 1522 built by American Locomotive Company in 1952.
A Union Pacific baretable train was following the first train. Back on Highway 99, we made a sudden stop just south of Tulare to catch two more JD Heiskell locomotives.
A pair of GP9's at this new grain elevator.
Further south down Highway 99 we caught the first freight again at Kimberlina Road.
Here are the DPU's on the rear of that freight.
The Southern Pacific Bakersfield Station.
The Union Pacific fuel racks.
The former Southern Pacific turntable.
An unidentified San Joaquin Valley Railroad locomotive, after which we drove east for lunch before heading to railfan "The Hill".
At Caliente was a BNSF train with two CSX units on the point which took the horseshoe curve.
Those CSX units on the point of this BNSF train.
A BNSF freight approaching Tunnel 2.
About to enter Tunnel 2.
Helpers with a TFM unit in the consist.
The DPU's exiting Tunnel 2.
The first eastbound Union Pacific freight approaches Caliente.
I made a mad climb for this picture of that freight round the Caliente Horseshoe.
The rear of this train.
The DPU's working hard on this tough climb. From here we drove to the Tehachapi Loop and let Anton and Jonathan experience the loop for their first time.
A BNSF freight crossing the top of the Loop.
Chris, Anton and Jonathan at the Tehachapi Loop.
The TFM, or Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana locomotive, which would later become Kansas City Southern of Mexico.
The train pulling away.
The rear of the train leaving the loop area. After that, we switched locations to give our two young friends another view of the Loop.
Another Union Pacific freight climbed the loop.
The Union Pacific train looped itself in this picture.
The lead unit completing the loop.
The same train now heading for Marcel.
The DPU's now working towards Marcel.
A Union Pacific ballast train rounding the loop. We then drove into Tehachapi for some petrol and snacks.
A westbound BNSF freight stopped at the Summit just east of town and we started the drive home.
Just after we had turned off onto California Highway 14, we stopped for one last shot as the train made its way out into the desert. Chris offered to take me back to Santa Ana since I would miss the last Amtrak train at LAUPT at a decent hour. As we neared the bottom of Soledad Canyon, I remembered that Metrolink had an evening train I could take home if we arrvived in Los Angeles by 8:45 PM. Chris did a great job of driving and we were there by 8:20 PM and I said my goodbyes to Chris, Anton and Jonathan and walked to Track 8 to wait to board my train home to Santa Ana.
Metrolink 660 waited for its on-time departure to Oceanside. It was a quick trip and soon I detrained at Santa Ana where I drove home, ending a very interesting trip to Winterail 2007.
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