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Winterail 2008 with a stop at Sassy Classics on the Way 3/7-8/2008

The 30th Winterail was going to occur on March 8th and as usual, I would be attending in Stockton, California. I bought Chris Parker and Tom Anderson their tickets and we planned to drive. Larry Boerio then decided to go, as did Anton Lazzaro and Larry would drive. Just before the trip, Anton decided not to come so Ken Ruben would take his place in the car. We decided to meet at Los Angeles Union Station on Friday morning at 6:00 AM.

I was up, packed then drove to the ATM before parking at the Santa Ana station and I walking over to Track 1 to waited for Metrolink 681. It made a quick trip to LAUPT and I walked up to the east entrance where I met Ken Ruben, then a few minutes later, Larry arrived and we loaded the van then drove into the parking structure to pick up Chris Parker.

We made our way out of the greater Los Angeles area by taking Interstate 5 north over the Grapevine and down into the San Joaquin Valley, stopping at Grapevine for snacks before staying on Interstate 5 then taking the road to Shafter, where we followed the BNSF line into Wasco, coming upon the rear of a BNSF freight train.

We pulled up to the tracks and saw BNSF 5242 West sitting in the siding at Wasco.

BNSF 5479 West came flying down the mainline passing the waiting train.

A few minutes later, BNSF 4760 West then went by BNSF 5242 still in the siding. I was on the phone with Kalmbach Publishing renewing Trains and Classic Trains when that train passed so was able to give the operator a rare earful, which she enjoyed. The switch was then thrown so we knew that BNSF 5242 West would soon be leaving Wasco.

BNSF 5242 West then departed so we returned to the car and continued on our way, but just north of Pond Road, saw an approaching headlight and pulled off the highway.

BNSF 5057 East.

We travelled about a mile north and stopped again for BNSF 4198 East.

That was followed by BNSF 5087 East. From there we drove north to Corcoran to fill up the van then stopped for bathroom break at that city's Amtrak Station. I noticed it was near train time for San Joaquin 702.

A track inspection truck had to go into the siding for San Joaquin 702. We resumed our journey north when Larry remembered he had once visited an automobile museum in Hanford and asked if we wanted to go and see it if he could find it. It did not take too long and soon we were parked outside.

The sign said "Open" but the door was locked so we decided to take pictures looking through the windows.

It looked like a racing shop.

All sorts of automobile memorabilia.

Reminiscent of a 1950's diner.

A large variety of items on display.

I liked the old petrol pump.

Some classic cars.

That famous Marilyn pose!

The Hot Rod Shop neon sign. We walked back around to the front and were getting ready to leave when one of the workers returned and opened the building for us.

The 50's diner area.

More views of those classic cars and trucks on display here.

Under a plastic tarp was a model railroad.

Two steam engines under the plastic tarp.

A rather incongruous pairing of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead.

Railroad heralds.

More displays.

Railroad pictures.

That petrol pump.

A car being worked on. We all traded business cards before it was time to leave Sassy Classics.

The four of us drove north to Selma first to get some needed supplies before stopping for lunch at Carl's Jr then continued north but decided to stop by the Fresno Amtrak station.

The waiting room of the Fresno Amtrak station.

Exterior views of the station, built in 1899. I then heard a horn coming my way.

BNSF 4871 East ran by the station. Back in the van we decided to see if a building I spotted was the former Southern Pacific station.

The former Southern Pacific Fresno station built in 1889. We headed north out of town through Madera to Ave 20 and a Half and followed it to the BNSF mainline and turned onto Santa Fe Avenue. Just west of Sharon, I spotted a train coming our way.

BNSF 774 East. We drove to Highway 140 then Highway 99 so not to be delayed cutting through Merced as we usually did. At Atwater, we went back over to the BNSF mainline and followed Highway J7 north along the track. BNSF 5203 West caught up to us and we tried for a picture at the Merced River bridge but he beat us. Following him north, we knew he would have to meet the southbound Amtrak San Joaquin train so we remained patient. At Ballico, we found BNSF 5203 in the siding.

San Joaquin 716 came flying into Ballico.

He then passed BNSF 5203 West.

BNSF 5203 West then departed. We drove to Riverbank and Escalon where we took Highway 120 to French Camp Road before reaching California Highway 99 which took us to Stockton. Larry dropped Ken and I at the Best Western Stockton Inn before he and Chris Parker drove to Lodi where they would be staying at the Holiday Inn Express. I checked into the hotel then walked over to KFC for some dinner and Casey's for some Coca-Cola before returning to the hotel, checking the Internet and relaxing. Larry and Chris picked Ken and I up and soon we were at the Scottish Rite Temple for XRail 2008, a one-time Friday night event, at which I had prepared to show a short program.

About 300 people were in the audience for this one-time event. Ted Benson shared a poem about the last eastbound Super C and stories were told, some very interesting and others rather boring and in addition, there were no time limits so some people rambled on and on. XRail ended at 10:00 PM and once again, my program was not allowed to be shown due to time constraints. However, here is a link to it.

After XRail, Larry drove me back to the Best Western Hotel for the night.

3/8/2008 I awoke and walked over to Perko's for a French Toast and sausage breakfast then at 8:15 AM, Chris Parker arrived and we were off to pick up Tom Anderson at Amtrak with a few stops on the way.

The Stockton Terminal and Eastern is now fenced in and their MP15DC 777 sat outside their engine house. Chris and I then drove down towards the tracks and soon found another station.

The old Western Pacific station in Stockton. We then stopped by the site of the former Stockton Tower before driving to the Amtrak station to wait for Tom Anderson to arrive on the first northbound San Joaquin of the morning.

A BNSF local went west first.

San Joaquin 711 arrived at the Stockton station.

Soon we spotted our dear friend Tom Anderson arriving for his first Winterail. The three of us drove to the Winterail site and parked on the street.

I showed Tom around the swap meet then purchased a few items before going to the food area for a tri-tip sandwich, after which Tom joined me in the queue to enter the theatre. A benefit of attending Winterail is my ability to see people I see here once a year. At 10:30 AM, the doors were opened and I chose seats on the lower left side before buying a few more items.

At 11:15 AM, the pre-show announcements occurred before the first show of the day which was "The Other 70's Show" by Tom Moungova. Next, of interest to me, was Andrew Nelson's "Green Bay & Western" where we looked at the last years of this interesting shortline. "Key System East Shore Electric Empire 1939-1958" by John Harder and Dunston Fish was next. That was followed by "The Peavine" by Bill Meeker and was an interesting look at that piece of railroading. "EFVM Railroad [Estrada de Ferro Vitoria a Minas] in Brazil - Narrow Gauge Super Railroad" by John Kirchner and Jack Neville really caught my attention. "Fire in the Storm" by Charles Dischinger looked at the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad during a snowstorm. "Santa Fe Across the Southwest -Photographic Impression On The Transcon" provided a look at a piece a railroading I know all too well. "Pride of the Rio Grande" by Mel Patrick was a fantastic show that brought back memories of my trip on the Rio Grande Zephyr. Thanks, Mel, for the trip back in time.

We skipped the "Three Favorites" to get a jump on dinner and Ken had made a reservation at the Black Angus and our group took up two tables. I had a great steak and after dinner, we went to the former Stockton Tower area, but alas no trains so we returned to Winterail for the evening shows.

The photo contest winners were announced followed by the Winterail Hall of Fame Award, which went to the founder of this event 30 years ago, Dave Stanley. The night shows started with "59 Days In A Logging Paradise" by the afore- mentioned Mr. Stanley. Next were two programs on the McCloud River Railroad, the first called "Where The Sidewalk Ends" by Travis Berryman then "More Than Just A Railroad" by Phillip A. Brahms. The fourth show was "Northern Light - A Portrait Of BC Rail" by Dale Sanders and the evening concluded with "Spellbinder" by Mark Perry about the Hudson Bay Railroad, which brought back those -25 degree and lower memories from when I took that trip to the far north. It was another real winner of shows and was then time to return to the Best Western and call it a night.