This unit is the largest and most powerful diesel locomotive ever built. It was retired in 1984 and donated to the Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in 1986. Engines in this class were custom built for the Union Pacific Railroad and were called Centennials in honor of the 100th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory, Utah in 1869.
Legendary steam locomotive No. 844 is on the fourth leg of the UP 150 Express, a multi-segment tour celebrating Union Pacific's 150th anniversary, and sharing the company's rich history with the communities it serves.
Photographed in San Bernardino.
Union Pacific ES44AC locomotive #5375in the lead of a mixed freight eases out of Walong siding in the famous Tehachapi Loop. #5375 is one of of two-hundred-and-one C45AC-CTE 4400 horsepower units produced by General Electric for the UP in 2005.
The Tehachapi Loop is a seemingly endless array of curve, steep grades and tunnels constructed by the Southern Pacific in the mountains between Bakersfield and Tehachapi, California to essentially connect northern and southern California.
BNSF ES44C4 locomotive 6943 races past the majestic mountains and sagebrush covered hills as it leaves the outskirts of Hesperia, California on it's way towards Cajon Summit, Cajon Pass and the Los Angeles basin. Thunderstorms are brewing in the distance on this hot summer day as a seemingly endless parade of BNSF freights were coming up and down the pass bound for LA, Barstow and other points east.
BNSF locomotives ES44C4 6798, C44-9W 5188 and ES44DC 7446 begin the descent down from Hesperia and the High Desert region of southern California over Cajon Summit into Cajon Pass. The terrain quickly changes from flat dry sagebrush covered desert to rock covered mountains and pines beyond this point. A close look at the track ahead reveals a sharp turn to the right followed by a gradual downward grade and turn back to the left. The elevation is near 4000 feet at this point by the time this train reaches the bottom of Cajon it will have lost 3000 feet in elevation. Furthermore by the time this train reaches it's destination at the harbor area of Long Beach it will be at sea level.
Imagine my surprise as UP 1983 came around the corner in the lead of a UP freight while I was waiting to photograph a BNSF intermodal freight coming upgrade in the opposite direction. To capture this locomotive way out of it's normal territory in Cajon Pass was quite a thrill to say the least.
BNSF GP60M locomotive #110 prepares to cross State Collage Blvd while switching cars in Fullerton, California. The unit's headlights reflect on the roadway that has just been dusted with a light rain.
BNSF GP60M locomotive #160 waits for it's next assignment in La Mirada, California. #160 is one of sixty 3800 horsepower GP60 units (numbers 100 -162) produced by General Motors for the then Santa Fe railroad in 1990. What set these particular units apart from other such GP60's is the addition of the Canadian comfort cab, sometimes known as the "wide cab" or "safety cab". The Santa Fe was the only road to opt for this feature.
Once the pride of Santa Fe's "super fleet" the GP60M has now been delegated to local freights and switching duties. A victim of it's own success the use of fast four axle power to pull intermodal freights lead to increased volume and the need for longer heavier trains that required larger and more powerful locomotives.
Union Pacific ES44AC locomotive #7677 peaks around the corner as it transcends from private property to the main line in Cabazon, California. The thing that stands out most in this image is the UP's signature winged shield logo which it began applying to locomotives in 2000. The logo as many of you know is a variation on the logo the railroad originally used from 1939 to the mid 1960's. The UP returned to this design "to improve the visibility of the company's logo on locomotives" which as you can see, it really does.
Union Pacific AC4400CW-CT locomotive #5362 leads a stack train across a grade crossing in Cajon Pass. #5362 is one of 201 such C45AC-CTC locomotives built by General Electric for the UP in 2005.
A BNSF double stack train prepares to cross under I-15 in Cajon Pass.
A proud crew member stands on the front landing of Union Pacific SD38-2 #Y824 as it prepares to enter the railroad's large Colton (Ca) yard. #Y824 is one of sixty-eight such SD38-2 (numbers 800 - 867) produced for the UP by General Motors Electro-Motive between 1972 and 1980.
BNSF ES44C4 locomotive #6709 leads a rock train through Victorville, California. Victorville serves as BNSF's staging area for trains preparing to descend Cajon Pass. At any given time there can be any number of trains and motive power on display here in an area adjacent to the Amtrak station and the historic downtown district, which I have to say, has seen better days. The area also serves as a staging area for trains serving the nearby cement plant which is always buzzing with rail activity.
Union Pacific AC45CCTE locomotive #7496 on the head end of the infamous "rock train" as it arrives in Cabazon, California.
BNSF C44-9W locomotive 4703 serves as the head end power for this mixed freight at Edwards AFB deep in the Mojave Desert of California. Behind these strands of barbed wire lie some of our nations great secrets. Deep within this compound are test sites for NASA, the vast dry lake bed that served as a landing strip for the space shuttle, various experimental aircraft and as some project the remains of alien spacecraft. Edwards has also been the site of several Bigfoot sightings, if you can believe it. Today's subject isn't anything quite as unworldly, simply a rather used diesel locomotive that's lineage can be traced back to the once proud Santa Fe.
A BNSF mixed freight meets a Union Pacific local outside Bakersfield, Ca
Metrolink Trains Waiting At San Bernardino, California
The ground literally shakes as BNSF ES44C4 locomotive #6847 roars past the sand plant outside Tehachapi, California at 60-miles-per-hour.
BNSF ES44DC locomotive #7253 races past the sand plant on the outskirts of Tehachapi, California as the lead unit of a J. B. Hunt intermodal train.
Smaller regional railroads generally survive with power that are quote unquote "hand me downs" from the larger Class 1 lines or fellow smaller rail carriers. Both types of locomotives are present at the head of this mixed San Joaquin Valley Railroad freight awaiting it's crew along Norris Rd in suburban Bakersfield (Oildale). The lead locomotive, obviously from it's paint scheme, began it's life on the Colorado & Wyoming Railroad (3819 came to the SJVR via the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad) and the second as power for fellow RailAmerica partner the Kyle Railroad Company. Though these long-lived units once traveled the rails of the American Midwest they now toil on in the farmland of central California.
Designated a 4-12-2, or Union Pacific type, it is the largest steam locomotive built on a rigid frame and it has a wheelbase of over 30 feet. Its 12 drive wheels are powered by three massive cylinders, one of which is located between the frame - transmitting its power through a crankshaft on the second driver axle. The other two cylinders are connected to the conventional main and side rods which attach at the third driver. Number 9000 was built for fast, heavy freight service. It is the only survivor of a group of 88 similar locomotives built for the Union Pacific. It saw continuous service for almost 30 years and was used mainly between Green River, Wyoming and Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Photographed at the fairgrounds in Pomona.
The 1920s wear known as the "Roaring Twenties", "The Jazz Age" or the "Age of Intolerance". It was my hope to recapture the feel of that decade in American history with this photo of a woman dressed in period fashion in front of ex Santa Fe 4-8-4 locomotive #3751. The original photo was in color and included some modern elements that didn't fit the time period. I reworked the image and rendered it in black and white to hopefully recapture that essence.
Ex Santa Fe Northern #3751 draws a huge crowd as it arrives in San Bernardino, Ca
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