JAMIE'S RANDOM AMERICAN RAILWAY PHOTOS.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a rainy place.  However it was still warm i El Salvador.  The TV weather forecast one evening warned that we were in for a cold night with a minimum of 25 degrees. It's now Boxing Day 2007 and all the group were in the old school bus heading to the north of the country for a day out.  As we left the capital I managed to get a photo of the 3rd tier of public transport. First tier is old school buses.  25 cents per ride.  2nd tier is 21 seater Toyota minibuses with much decoration carrying up to 40 people known as Rapido's. Garishly decorated and usually with two touts hanging out of the doors encouraging passenger. Their hair glued in place with Gorilla Snot.  Fare are negotiable.  The 3rd tier carried up to 10 people with a metal framework for them to hang on to.  There was a rudimentary seat behind the cab for older people.

Anyway we headed north and got to Sonsanata, which is on the main line to the port. It has a shed somewhere but the bus was stopped and I was escorted off to see this.

 

A former ICRA Baldwin.

There was a coach attached as well.  This was the main line heading towards the sea.

The works plate.

And the number plate.

We had an eventful day seeing a Volcano, close up and a coffee plantation then a drunk driver managed to take the back axle of the bus out about 4000' up on a hairpin bend.  I ended up doing some accident investigation and had a very interesting conversation with a heavily armed Salvadorian police officer.  We both agreed that the bus had been on it's correct side of the road and he shook my hand afterwards.  A memorable experience for me.  Another bus arrived to get us home but our was back on the road in San Salvador the next morning with a new back axle.  They certainly worked hard.

 

Anywat on the 28th we headed out home and as we taxied out, this relic was seen. I believe a DC4.

Some fabulous memories of a warm and welcoming, but troubled country.

Now time to wind up the tardis and set it to December 2010.  

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a sunny Charente.   The tardis has successfully moved forward and it's now late December 2010 and I headed back to El Salvador on my own to see progress that had been made on a little project that my wife and I, in conjunction with our church had sponsored. This was to set up a sewing cooperative in the township where I'd helped to build the house in 2007.  The project had prospered and a group of women had made it into a business to help support their families.  I was hosted by the same family for the week that I was there and learned an awful lot more about the country and it's history. The first day, 30th December I was taken to see the project and some of the products were laid out for me to see.  Very impressive.

After a riotous New year, where you would have thought that WW3 had started with all the fireworks going off I was shown more of the capital and the country. One of the most thought provoking visits was to the memorial to 'The Disappeared' over 10,000 who had been abducted and murdered during the civil war. Their names are inscribed on a series of black granite tablets in a park in the capital.  My hosts that day had lost two family members and they pointed their names out to me.  Afterwards they placed a flower petal on the name.

Anyway on 4th January 2008 we headed south to look at various things but on the way crossed the line of the former mainline to Gautemala.  Surprisingly the rails seem to have been left alone by the metal faries.

And looking back towards San Salvador.

As we went back home we crossed the line again.  Here crossing the Pan American Highway.

Then 2 days later it was time to leave my friends and the old DC4 was still at the airport.

Sadly, according to various sources the commuter operation closed in 2013 and currently the railway system is still mothballed.  

More adventures tomorrow.

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[sir douglas]

in tact track is quite common in South america too, it just gets absorbed by the ground and the suburbs like in your photos, the steel probably costs too low for the effort of digging out and cutting it

[jamie92208]

Good morning.   I've had to find a new control on the Tardis this morning.  Due to the way that the computer indexes my photos, aided by my forgettery I'd missed out the first two days of my trip to El Salvador.  I was routed via LA and decided to spend a day there on the way out. I set off on the 28th December 2010 and flew from a foggy Manchester to Chicago.  There the first trains I saw were the inter terminal shuttles. 

We'd landed a but late as they'd had 2' of snow overnight.  

Then my 2nd 767 of the day was my connecting flight to LA.

I got booked into a motel near the airport and next morning, the owners, from Wolverhampton, allowed me to leave my bags in the office.  I walked from the hotel up to the Green Line station. The line is in the centre of a freeway.

My train arrived.

Then I changed onto the Blue line to get to central LA. This runs on former pacific Electric right of way to Long Beach.

Not a bad way to spend a day whilst waiting for a late departure from LAX.

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good morning from France.  In Tardis land it's still 29th December 2010.  From the Blue line I changed to the underground Red line which took me to Union Station.   That is an amazing piece of architecture in what I believe is Art Deco, Californian Mission style or something like that. Then out onto the platforms and my first sight of Metrolink locos.  No not Manchester trams but their commuter operation.

I'm not sure what class these are bu they have the look of F40's.

The station also hosts Amtrak and a coupe of genesis units had arrived with a  train.

Another light rail line now connects with LAUPT and provides a contrast to the double deck stock.

Here is passes before curving round the end of the station, which is a stub ended terminal.

Some more modern locos were around this is I believe an F59.

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[pH]

860 and 866 are F59PHs. 875 is a F59PHI:

 

https://www.thedieselshop.us/Metrolink.HTML

 

(The ‘I’ makes a big difference to the shape!)

[Adam88]

 

 

On 28/09/2021 at 08:06, jamie92208 said:

Union Station.   That is an amazing piece of architecture in what I believe is Art Deco, Californian Mission style or

 

I managed to visit in 2017 and was suitably impressed too.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Adam88
reinsert lost photos

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Walthers did a very nice HO scale kit.  Would make a smashing layout, particularly the late steam early diesel era.

 

A big layout, admittedly!

 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

Walthers did a very nice HO scale kit.  Would make a smashing layout, particularly the late steam early diesel era.

 

A big layout, admittedly!

 

Yes if you were doing it you'd have to do all the junctions and the LA river. Was theckit the actual station building.

 

Jamie

Edited September 28, 2021 by jamie92208

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Yes, the actual building.  I think there were also separate kits for the umbrella awnings, the subways and the REA building.

 

 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

As I thought, the platforms were also available.

 

 

It seems odd to our eyes, used to UK style terminals, but the station building is parallel to the tracks and some distance away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jamie92208]

Those plans and photos show what an impressive station it is.  That junction would be a fabulous model but would need an enourmous area of fiddle yards.   I once spent an hour on a motorway journey with a friend planning how we would do Trent Junction.   3 fiddle yards and a lot of space was the eventual answer.

 

Anyway after a 3 day break, due to being busy on Wednesday plus the outage, I've found the Tardis again. We are still in the LA area on the 29th December 2010.  Here is the only photo that I got of the station building with the F59's in front.

A metrolink train departed.

I then caught a train to San Bernadino and this was the view as we were about to cross the LA River with a train from the south waiting to get in.

Then out east parallelling the, IIRC, San Gabriel mountains.

Then to san Bernadino.   I'd never realised just how big the LA metro area is.  

The station is quite impressive in a concrete brutalist way.   I think it's now the HQ for various bits of local government.

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

In the good old days San Berdoo was also a big Santa Fe locomotive depot and backshop.  Right into diesel days.  I think its just another intermodal ramp now.  Is the Tardis heading up Cajon next? 

[jamie92208]

You'

4 hours ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

In the good old days San Berdoo was also a big Santa Fe locomotive depot and backshop.  Right into diesel days.  I think its just another intermodal ramp now.  Is the Tardis heading up Cajon next? 

It all comes to them that waits.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a rather wet and windy place.  However it was still quite sunny in San Berdoo on 29th  December 2010. Sab Berdoo was an interesting place.  The main line from Cajon pass comes through the station and the relatively new Metrolink line that comes along the north of the LA conurbation comes in from the west.  A sheep jump has been built that a) keeps the main line clear and b) allows the locals to terminate next to the car park.

There are still remains of the old Santa Fe facilities in particular the roundhouse chimney.

There was the attraction of main line freights whilst waiting for my next train.

Plenty of power on this intermodal as it heads towards the climb up to the desert.

Then a train down to I think Riverside, following the BNSF line.

Metrolink had hired in some coaches from Utah to strengthen their trains.

I then sat and waited for a train that would take me on UP trackage back to Union Station.

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a sunny but cool Charente.  The Tardis is in Riverside, CA and it's still 29th December 2010.

I was about to ride the Riverside line back into town along UP tracks.

The Operator let me stand at the front of the cab control car and this was the view.

We saw the LA river, which must have featured in more films than most other bits of the urban sprawl.

 I even managed to see some UP locos.

I even managed to see some UP locos.

Then, all too soon it was back to Union Station after negotiating the tight curve across the river.

As we entered the station a couple of rather nice looking private railroad cars were in a fenced off area at the east end.

Then it was red, Blue and Green Line back to my hotel, pick up my luggage then green line and shuttle bus to LAX as I wanted to be there before the evening.   My flight to El Salvador left at midnight and I ended up sleeping off some jet lag on the terminal floor.  When I woke up I ached and wrote in my diary, "I;m getting to old for this lark".

 

Worry not, like Arnie, I'll be back.

 

Jamie

 

1

 

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[roundhouse]

I beleive the fenced off area with the private cars is referred to as 'The garden'. We had a mini tour around two cars in San Diego station one new Years eve by one of the owners. These cars came down from that fenced off area on the back of an Amtrak service for New Years Eve. One of the cars was a parlour car with a barbers just behind the bar. I gather it was the only one left and still has the barbers chair in it. news years morning and the coaches were hooked back onto an Amtrak service to head back to LA.

[Wendell1976]

On 27/09/2021 at 00:53, jamie92208 said:

 I walked from the hotel up to the Green Line station. The line is in the centre of a freeway.

My train arrived.

 

 

Most of the LA Metro C Line(formerly Green Line) is in the median of the Century/Glenn Anderson Freeway(Interstate 105 or I-105). The route runs between the suburban cities of Norwalk and Redondo Beach. In November 2022, the new K Line will start revenue service and will connect with the C Line for passengers going to and from Los Angeles International Airport(LAX).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Metro_Rail

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

[Wendell1976]

On 28/09/2021 at 01:06, jamie92208 said:

Another light rail line 

 

 

These light rail pictures are the LA Metro L Line(formerly Gold Line). The L Line runs from suburban Azusa to East Los Angeles via Downtown Los Angeles. Much of the route is in the median of the Foothill Freeway(Interstate 210 or I-210). Nice pictures of the Greater Los Angeles Area, Jamie.

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

[New Haven Neil]

Just caught up after my hols - great stuff Jamie!

[Wendell1976]

On 02/10/2021 at 03:48, jamie92208 said:

 I'd never realised just how big the LA metro area is.  

 

Right now, the Greater Los Angeles Area has over 13 million people including the suburbs. Only the New York City Area has more people here in The States.

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a temporarily sunny Charente.  By some sort of magic the Tardis has managed to jump forward to the 6th January 2011. I'm flying out of El Salvador heading for some time on Southern California.  My ever loving had agreed that it would be rude not to take the opportunity to see a bit of it whilst I was over there. As we came into LAX I got a good view of Long Beach with the Queen Mary and the dome for the Spruce Goose.

Then we crossed the amazing Alameida corridor, the 3 track trench that UP and BNSF, jointly built to get container trains out of the Long Beach area without snarling up the whole south of LA.

Then it was pick up a hire car and then head for Colton West.  I'd briefly glimpsed this from the train in December but thought that this large line of stored locos was worth looking at.

Even more impressive close up from the road bridge at the east end of the yard.

On the east side of the bridge was a tank car servicing depot with it's shunters parked up.

It was starting to get dark early as this local came in from the west.  I think it had come from somewhere in the Riverside area. with UP and SP coloured units on the front.

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

ah, the hours I've spent on that bridge!  Did you get to see the most famed Colton manoeuvre?  Where a westbound hauler leaves the yard heading east, and goes round the balloon loop so the head end passes its own tail end?

 

I got it twice in one evening back in April 2015:

 

 

This is quite a short hauler, the SD60M is the lead unit and the last car is the covered coil car just heading over the crossover.  The train on the right is being shoved back into the yard by 3 RCU SD40Ns

 

A little while later, I got a second much longer hauler exiting east to go west...

 

 

Five assorted tatty SD60s, including one spartan cab.  The tank cars are towards the rear of the train.  Works better on video - needless to say, I didn't shoot any!

 

I was also pleased to see several of the SD59MX units - probably the sweetest looking modern/reco units around.

 

 

Pepper Avenue is a fantastic location.  Over several years I had some quiet times there, especially during the day.  Later afternoon/early evening right around sunset always seemed busiest on my trips, and of course the light was usually gorgeous.  Apologies for the thread hijack!

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by Dr Gerbil-Fritters

[Wendell1976]

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Then we crossed the amazing Alameida corridor, the 3 track trench that UP and BNSF, jointly built to get container trains out of the Long Beach area without snarling up the whole south of LA.

 

 

The Alameda Corridor is owned by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority. The Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and the Pacific Harbor Line have trackage rights on the Alameda Corridor. This railroad line was owned by the former Southern Pacific Railroad.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda_Corridor

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente.   The tardis is still in SoCal on 6th January 2011.  One last shot from Pepper Avenue, thanks for the reminder Dr GF, a fabulous place.

Then on to Colton Crossing where the BNSF tracks from Cajon cross UP's ex SP Sunset route.

This area has been totally transformed since with a flyover that takes the UP lines over the BNSF tracks.  I didn't have to wait long in the fading light for a UP freight heading for Beaumont Hill to appear.

That then headed east.

I booked into my motel then had the worst and driest McD's that I have ever had, in san Berdoo of all places where it all began.   I then headed for the station and the Southwest Ltd headed in.

I'd worked out the sunrise and sunset times and headed for an early night then was up at 05.30.  Cajon was beckoning.  By 07.23 I was well up the pass on Route 66 and found a grade crossing.  Before long a BNSF freight came growling up before the sun had reached the bottom of the canyon.

That then headed up hill.

Not a bad start to the day.

 

Jamie

Edited April 16, 2022 by jamie92208