Start in the upper left corner at the San Bernardino
yard. Let's follow the Piggyback Hot Shot from here to
the east.
As we pull out of the yard we pass the passenger
station used by both Amtrak and Metrolink. Next we pass dozens of
cars and SUV's being unloaded from enclosed auto carriers to be distributed
to car dealers.
We continue through downtown San Bernardino and
come to the West Side Intermodal Yard where a loader works around the clock
in one of the busiest yards of it's kind in the country. Here, trailers
and containers are loaded onto special Hot Shot trains like ours.
Once they leave here they won't stop until they reach Chicago. Special
"fuel foiler" cars were developed specifically for this route. They
were the first of their kind which were designed for direct competition
with the trucking industry. They are represented by Athearn's impact
articulated flat cars. Complete trains were made up of ten of these
ten car units. Now however they are mixed in with the now vast array
of COFC/TOFC types.
Heading north we go through the industrial part
of the West Side and North End. The West Side has many older buildings
like the Los Cuartos Inn, set close together in an urban setting.
The North End has newer modern businesses which
are more spread out.
Around them lie suburban housing like this one with
a nice pool in the backyard. The further north we travel the
newer the buildings and housings become until we reach the construction
site where the newest houses are being built where orange groves used to
be.
Yes there are still some orange groves in California
but they they are loosing ground everyday. Sunkist still operates
a profitable packing house here and ships out carloads daily when in season.
Colorful orange or yellow refrigerated boxcars (refers) from Pacific Fast
Freight and the regions railroads are all here.
Next the rails wind up Lone Wolf canyon towards
the Lone Wolf Pass. As we head up the grade the orange groves give
way to chaparral. The route follows a dry riverbed. However
when it rains, flash flooding can occur.
Since it is fall in the foothills there is a house that is decorated
for Halloween.
We pull into the foothill siding and wait for the pushers
to hook up to the rear. The foothill area is the home of the last
two industries in the valley, Cargill Flower Mill, and Foothill Steel Distributors.
An old SD9 is leased to Cargill so they can hustle around the long strings
of wheat hoppers. That old locomotive isn't going anywhere fast,
but it doesn't have too. It just has to push around covered hoppers
at a maximum speed of about 5 miles per hour.
A pair of SD40s comes down the main line and flies
by us. After they pass us they stop and the brakeman jumps out and
throws the switch to the siding. The engineer slowly creeps up behind
us and latches on, hooks up the air and calls us on the radio. They
are ready to go and warn us of bad weather ahead. Bad weather?
It's a nice sunny day down here in the valley.
We cross over the riverbed on a high trestle and
continue to gain altitude. Once over the trestles we can see the
Mormon Rocks. These rock formations jut up out of the ground at 30
to 45 degree angles which are oh so evident by the layers of sediment which
can clearly be seen due to lack of vegetation. Geologically they
are giant signs saying we are crossing the San Andrea's Earthquake Fault.
Now the pass steepens to it ruling grade. (The maximum grade on the
route.)
Further up the pass is a cattle ranch with an abandoned
spur. Live cattle haven't ridden on trains for decades. A highway
and the railroad parallel and the creek from here on up to Lone Wolf Ski
Resort.
As we continue to climb we actually change climates
from a desert to a forest climate. The tumble weeds have turned into
pine trees and there are many more plants growing everywhere. The river
next to the right of way is now raging with flash flood waters from the
storm ahead. At the bend in the road ahead we can see that a school
bus full of kids has gone off of the road and has ended up in the river.
The paramedics and ambulance are on the scene to help the survivors.
It is raining on us now and we turn on the wipers which mix the rain and
the dust into a muddy mess on the windshields.
We wind our way up the pass toward Lone Wolf Mountain.
The weight of the train and the slippery rails slow our climb down to a
crawl. Finally we reach the national forest and it is snowing.
There are pine trees covered with snow from the storm and it is piling
up on the cab.
The town of Lone Wolf is at the summit with a general store and cafe
right next to the tracks. It has been here since the gold rush and
the helper crew eats here daily.
Start in the upper left corner at the San Bernardino yard. Let's follow the Piggyback Hot Shot from here to the east.
