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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A few from Hill 582

The first two trains we saw, including the M-BARWAT:


And a few more, including the Christmas officer special, and a 3-way meet. The clip I play the first 14 seconds of the video is actually the intro I will use on the rest of my December trip videos.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Here it is!

Just as I promised! My first December trip video just finished uploading! Taken from part one: Cajon Pass in Devore:

Long and slow I know.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Blogging while railfanning

I will try to post live updates WITHOUT pictures, as that failed in June. I will try to post once every two hours. I may not be able to post from Hill 582, as it is on a dirt access road in the middle of the Mojave Desert. I will be able to post at the station platforms, though, as they are all in towns. Here is a sample

Title: 2:00 P.M. Fullerton update.
Last posted at: 12:02 P.M.(all times Pacific).
# of freights since last update: 9
# of Amtraks since last update: 4
# of Metrolinks since last update: 1

The posts will look kind of like that. I will make updates at every even hour. That means that I will post at 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, and 10:00.

This is the last post I will make before Hill 582 on Monday, and I would like to say thanks to any railfans who are willing to join me on my trips, and I wish everyone a safe and happy holidays!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Changes

I completely forgot we will be going to a family dinner Wednesday night, so Hill 582 will be Monday, Riverside will be Wednesday.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Final Roster for December trip

Yep, here it is:

1.Riverside: I found an extra spot so we can do this on a weekday instead of that Sunday.
2.Fullerton: Yep, I bumped Fullerton up to part 2 instead of 3. And it is still on the day I want also(that Tuesday).
3.Hill 582: On Cajon Pass, that hill gives great vantage point.
4.Carlsbad: This does not seem like the grand finale type of trip, but I decided to make it the same day my grandfather gets the Christmas turkey. We will also leave at around 5:00 or so, to watch the Texans on Thursday night football(go Texans!).

As always, it will stay this way unless something sudden happens, such as an illness or my flight getting cancelled. If something does happen, they will go away in this order:
1.Riverside
2.Hill 582
3.Carlsbad
4.Fullerton

If I could use paint, I would try to make a logo for this... oh well...

By the way, the Riverside poll ends next week... just saying.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Hill 582 part 2

I do not live in California, so I was therefore not in this picture...

My grandfather met the person who made the hill it is today, Don Toles. He is the one who came up with the ideas of planting exotic trees, setting up memorials, etc. In this picture, my grandfather is on the left, Don is on the middle, and some random guy, whose name I will put down when I get his name, is on the right. Mains 1 and 2 can be seen to the left of them:

More to come...


Monday, November 28, 2011

Hill 582

As most of you all know, my big December trip is just around the corner. As I was about to secure the 3 parts, I found a decent part four, Hill 582. I was watching a Cajon Pass DVD I had gotten from a train show that came to Houston last week, and it showed trains from all parts, Devore, Blue Cut, Sullivan's Curve, Stein's Hill, and much more. But one spot that really stood out was this Hill 582. With a park bench, bird feeders, rocks, exotic trees, ranging from eucalyptus to locust, and memorials of past railfans, this seemed like a great spot. I looked up "Hill 582" on Google, and, first site, was a site by the guy that made the hill the way it is today, Don E. Toles. Click on this sentence for the site. It instantly popped out at me. There was also two more slots for parts. I decided we could add one more. So last week when the UP 844 steam train came through Southern California, my grandfather went to Cajon Pass to catch it. He decided to follow the directions on the site I gave him to Hill 582. He made it there. It overlooks four tracks, three owned by BNSF, one by Union Pacific. BNSF mains 1 & 2 are literally right next to the hill. BNSF main 3, which is in the pictures I am about to show you, well, you have to turn around to see it. The UP track is atop a hill from mains 1 and 2. It is called the Palmdale Cut-off.

So, for some reason, this UP stacktrain decided to take BNSF main 3 instead of where it belongs:




A close-up of the details, with the train still going to the right:

There is much, much more to this, but I am tired of typing, maybe more tomorrow.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Videos from Richmond, TX

As most of you know, Yesterday I railfanned Richmond, TX.

Train 1: I'm very sorry at how shaky it is... it is much steadier in the second video...
SD70MAC 8861 and ES44DC ???? lead a coal train. On the rear is two former BN heritage units.

Train 2: This video is much steadier. Leading this train is ES44C4( a newer General Electric locomotive for those who don't know) 6632 and C44-9W 4748. The DPU(rear, remember that) unit is ES44DC 7540. Nice K5HLL(horn) on this train!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Wednesday testing of the account

Wednesday will be the real test, I will railfan Pearland, TX, and, if I happen to catch multiple trains, it will be a good time to test out the video editor to put videos together, and,  my YouTube account.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Through the passes day ONE part TEN

Through the Passes series is well back, my friends!

After a quick pit stop at Carl's JR, we drove about a half mile to see that the grain train that we saw back at Boron approaching us yet again!

We found Arroyo Drive, which we missed last year, and caught it there:


Saturday, November 5, 2011

hey all

Hey, sorry, but I don't have real much to post at the time. I will need some more pictures for that to happen. That is the cause of the inactivity.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

5,000

As of yesterday,  this blog reached 5,000 pageviews! Although this is a much slower rate than that of between 3,000 and 4,000...

In other news:
The fall stat update is just around the corner!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

YouTube

Say hi to My new YouTube account! At this time, I am uploading a video from the Houston Aeros hockey game I went to showing the intro when the players came out. Also, until I can work out a deal, comments will be disabled on the video. The name of the account is "CrossingTalkAdmin". Because i am not only into trains, but also football, hockey, and trainz, I will post videos of those, too.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Our weekly outing

Friday, we made our weekly outing to BW3(Buffalo Wild Wings for those of you that do not know). On the way back, we came up to the closest crossing to our house, and sure enough, a train!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

My trip to Liberty

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Liberty, TX, which is about 30 minutes from where I live. After waiting for 90 minutes, we finally got a train:




Wednesday, September 14, 2011

It's time...

To reveal to you parts two and three of my December trip!

Part two: Carlsbad. Yes, the Carlsbad Village Coaster station. I don't know exactly how it will go beyond the start, mainly how security will be that day, but I still have three months to plan for that. Also, I may Coaster down to Encinitas, but that will be a game time decision.

Part three: Fullerton. Yes, Fullerton, the giant trash can. But when you see the videos from Fullerton I am about to post, you will see how good of a train-watching place it is. There are Amtraks, Metrolinks, and BNSF that go through here. We will take the Metrolink to there. Plus, there, I have a good chance of meeting up with some other railfans.

Here are some videos of both stations:
Carlsbad Village:

Fullerton:

Note: In the Carlsbad video, there is a freight train. There are normally four that only go through during the night. On a VERY, VERY rare occasion, something will pop up so that causes one to go through in daylight. As you can tell, it it night time when it passes through, so everything is normal there.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Just a reminder...

Three more days until I reveal parts two and three of my December trip. Here is another hint:

One will involve a car ride, one a one hour long Metrolink ride. They are both stations, but one of them is a NOT a Metrolink station.

AND... There will be two more long polls, one for each part.




Trains in Montana

My grandparents are currently on their way home from Montana, but a few days ago, my grandfather went out to the Marias Pass(not sure of the location, that was not provided) and shot some pics of a crossing. He caught a grain train, and sent me some pictures.

The relay case:

The sigs go off:

A BNSF C44-9W leads this grain train:

Many thanks to my grandfather for going out in the morning and catching this!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

1st out of a few of the long polls!

Remember how in my behind the scenes post I said that a big event would be revealed in the next few weeks?


  1. It will be revealed September 14th
  2. I have put up the first of the few long polls! This will have to do with part one, and this would be the most basic and shortest outing, just to get my tripod and "horn ears" going for parts 2 and 3.
  3. Here are some videos shot from both stations(neither of them are mine).
Riverside Downtown:


Riverside La Sierra(he's filming from the bridge)


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Behind the scenes: September

Yes, the fact that there is a behind the scenes for September means something big is going to be revealed! If you thought that, then you are correct!

When the current poll ends, that is when the big month will kick off:

  • Trainztalk will be coming back up after a two month hiatus!
  • The Oklahoma series will be coming back with a shocking twist!
  • And, finally, I have tried to do a big Orange County event for my blog back last Christmas, that failed. I tried to do live updates from Tehachapi Pass back in June, that failed. I thought those would fail. However, the big event that is planned for December will be revealed in the next few weeks. That is all I will say for right now.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Through the passes day ONE part NINE

Rocket Site Rd., Boron, CA

One side, Safetran incandescent lights:

The other side, Safetran incandescent lights:
Look at how long the road goes in a straight line!

After waiting about 15 minutes, the searchlights in the distance go from dark, to yellow(approach), to green(clear).

After waiting 45 minutes, the UP cement local on its return trip back to Monolith approaches!

You know the rest...




This would not be the last time that I would catch this train, though. Stay tuned...

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

traintalk

As of 7:00 PM central on 8/23/11, Crossing Talk was merged with Traintalk. Now the name is up to you. I have put up a poll, you can decide whether the name changes to Trainstalk, or the name Crossing Talk stays. the poll ends next week.

Through the passes day ONE part EIGHT

As we approached the private crossing that landed in the middle of Boron with signals, I saw something coming around a bend in the distance. Duh, it was a train. But it was far enough away so that I could easily get this picture with about a minute to spare:

The signals go off:

The train approaches at about 70 mph:

Something you don't see every day: a BNSF h1 style locomotive!

The train crosses:



And... wait, what the heck is THIS car???

Sunday, August 21, 2011

One year anniversary!

I just realized, last week was the one year anniversary of this blog! Lets keep it going!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Okay...

Okay, here is the deal: I am starting school on Monday, I get bombarded with homework after about two weeks, so I will not post as much.

Some of the stupidity from sport fans

On the Operation Lifesaver California webpage, I noticed a video of the BNSF DAYGO that was switching that was going to leave that evening. There just so happened to be a Padres game that night, and this video shows some of the stupid behavior these Padre fans made(not my video). This is in downtown San Diego.

AND, notice how, at the end of the video, people started crossing without confirming that there may have been a second train on another track???!!! I can't BELIEVE some people have to risk their lives to see a baseball game! It really irritates me!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Funny search term alert part ONE

Okay, funny search term alert: Someone found my blog by searching "Trainz boring" on Google... Very funny.

If someone finds the blog with a funny (or stupid) search term, then expect it to be posted here.

Through the passes day ONE part SEVEN

After a great Mexican lunch, we headed back on the road for more crossings!

Boron Rd., the only crossing on the poll that I did not see a train at!

The full crossing from the north side:

A shot of the northern signal in all its glory:

Overview from the south side(the FJ Cruiser is ours):

The south signal in all its glory:

Now, if you followed the "Up the Tehachapi Grade" series last year, then you probably remember the accident that occurred back in 2006. Where a girl sacrificed her life to save one of her friends. I did not take a picture of the sign this trip though, as the scanner was going bananas for a train that I would see at the next crossing, stay tuned...

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Through the passes Day ONE part SIX

Welcome to Domingo's Mexican restaurant, the only place in Boron!

Yes, people from Edward's AFB eat here. Here is my review:

We got there, first thing I noticed was the decent atmosphere. It is run by the mayor of Boron, but he had to go do something, so he was not there when we were there. We ordered our drinks, but they were doing it at a WAY too fast of a pace. Not even a "how are you doing" from the waiter. The service gets three stars. So we get our chips with the drinks. The salsa may have been the best salsa I have ever had. You could see chunks of tomatoes, onions, and herbs in there. And it was mildly spicy, but I have had worse. The reviews that I read made me get the carnitas tacos, and I was glad they did. It came out, and normally, I don't like tons of condiments on my food, but these were the right condiments with the right taste.The carnitas, which is fried, fajita-style pork, stuck out on the taste, and my two favorite Mexican condiments, guacamole and salsa, were the condiments on the taco. I was sad that I only ordered two, because they were so GOOD. Even though the service was three stars, the food made up for it, that is why my overall rating for the restaurant is 4 1/2 stars.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Oklahoma part 3: Ada on 7/21

This is where the good stuff kicks in:

Okay, so we have been paralleling this 12-train-a-day line for over an hour, and no luck, so as we approach Ada, I see headlights in the distance. We pull over. The signals go off two minutes before the train crosses:




Then, a big treat emerged from the curve. The only things on this entire consist were two locomotives, but great ones:

Leading it was ATSF 3791, one of the few remaining ATSF C30-7s in the world:

Then, Burlington Northern 1524 (sadly, patched)GP20M IS AN Operation Lifesaver locomotive!!! :):):)


This was great, at first I thought it would be the best catch of the trip, but boy was I wrong. Stay tuned for some amazing stuff.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Oklahoma part 1: Ardmore on 7/21

First of all, at this crossing, this a "double crossing" setup. It is where there are four signals, two for each crossing, and regardless of which track the train is on, the two outer signals go off and the gates go down at the same time, but, the only inner signal that goes off is the one on the crossing that the train is on. And then, that inner signal's gate goes down five to ten seconds after the outer gates begin going down

Main Street: The signals going off for a train that would take 30 minutes to cross

The Norfolk Southern triple crown roadrailer approaches:

The train crossing:

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Some of da good stuff

I am posting this from Oklahoma. Crossing-wise, I have seen some interesting things, such as a bell that there is a few of left in the country. Here are some pictures:




To me, every day is April fools day. Expect pictures to start coming tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Through the passes 2011 day ONE part FIVE

With my birthday being in the past week, I got a gift that I can not get off of. I, though, thought that I should not leave you guys hangin'. No, not every part has to be about signals. ;D

Welcome to Boron!

...And Kern county!

There is a crow on top of the sign!