Just before sundown, an all-EMD mid-train helper shoves hard on the Oil Cans to get them up the steep grade between Caliente and tunnel 1.
Four EMD 20-cylinder locomotives power a westbound freight out of Mojave as it begins its assault of the short but stiff grade of Tehachapi's southern slope.
A typically long, heavy SP manifest wends its way upgrade between tunnels 3 and 5 with the assistance of a six-unit mid-train helper.
A small patch of sunlight peaks through the cloud cover as the BKDOU's helper rounds the curve that leads into tunnel 1 above Caliente.
A huge consist of EMD motive power leads a westbound manifest by the siding at Ilmon, which by this time had been partially reconfigured as a result of the damage sustained in the flood of March 1... (more)
An SP brakeman cuts in a helper at Bena on an eastbound manifest.
A team of shop workers prepares to install new EMD power assemblies in an SD45.
I&O's train 400, operating over trackage rights on the CSX Toledo Sub, passes a B&O CPL signal south of Leipsic. The air conditioning is on full blast on this hot afternoon.
A six-unit helper assists a manifest as it climbs out of Caliente and through tunnels 1 and 2.
An ex-SP SD45 leads 400 around the curve north of Leipsic.
A single-engine helper adds braking power to a Barstow-bound train that has just come off Tehachapi and started its run across the desert. The helper will be cut off in a couple miles at Edwards.
V703 splits the signals at Riverton.
A high-powered manifest crosses the drawbridge at Orwood as a couple of fishermen try their luck on the Old River in a boat.
Unusual visitors in Butler today, no fewer than five EMLX 90MACs populate the terminal along with a few B&P units.