As I arrived at the Metrolink CMF
gate to sign in, I noticed Ronnie Garcia from BNSF leaving in a
SUV. He had dropped off his crew to man the BNSF locomotive as
the Officer-on-a-train exercise was happening on BNSF property.
The train left CMF out onto the West Bank of the Los Angeles River and
headed into Union Station to be wyed for the BNSF locomotive to lead
the train to Fullerton.
Below left show Mission Tower. The bridge to the left of the
tower leads out to the ex-Southern Pacific Sunset line, now in Union
Pacific possession. Union Station is a very busy place with
Amtrak, Metrolink and the MTA Gold Line.
Below left, the special train ducks under the Interstate 10, Santa
Monica Freeway.
The flyover (below right) was shown in a news event during an early
February
2005 southern California rainstorm where a teenage boy was rescued from
the Los Angeles River by
the LA Fire Department.
Below right, the train with the
caboose is a local freight which is being shoved into Orange
County. I spotted the same train about an hour and a half later
in Fullerton, still in shove mode, going through Fullerton Junction and
down the Surfline. BNSF crews are intelligent and safety
oriented. Some years ago, I found a local BNSF crew freeing a
truck stuck on the track at State College Boulevard and the Surfline in
Anaheim, just east of the Stadium station. I asked them what they
were doing, and the crew replied that a passenger train was due shortly
and they were going to make sure there was no incident. They
safely removed the truck with chain attached to their caboose tragedy
was avoided..
The Operation Lifesaver train soon arrived in Fullerton where railroad
officials and the media were waiting.
Return to Operation Lifesaver Fullerton
