| Heading from Pier T in Long Beach, California to Clovis, New Mexico, should have been an easy task for BNSF Railway train S-LBTCLO1-06A, as three-fourths of its power were brand-new GE ES44C4 diesels (7112, 7109 and 7113, along with Dash 9-44CW 4902). But, unfortunately, the train became stuck at Alray on southern California's Cajon Pass. (Alray was the location of Cajon Pass' two tunnels, which were removed a few years prior. The first tunnel's portal was just to the left in this image.) So, helpers were dispatched from San Bernardino (BNSF 4657 and 5121, symboled as K-SBDSBD1-06A) to help shove this train over the hill. The train started moving just after this image was made, and it flew up the hill with the additional power. At Martinez Siding, just past Summit, the helpers were cut off and the S-LBTCLO1-06A continued on its way east to Barstow, where the power was cut off and replaced with BNSF 5316, BNSF 4529, BNSF 735, CSXT 9029 and BNSF 5247. Apparently, the shop forces in Barstow wanted to check this power out to discover the problem - although, officially, the delay was caused by "train meets", which is kind of odd on a triple-tracked mainline! |