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. :)