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:

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.

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!

Trainztalk is back!!!

Yup, Trainztalk is back! And it should stay for a while!

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)

Poll over

And by a vote of 7-0... The name Crossing Talk stays.

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.

Three days left in the poll

Three days left... AND there are only three votes...

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...

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???

One year anniversary!

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

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!

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...

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.

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.

Oklahoma part TWO: Nowhere on 7/21

Well, there you have it. :)