Barstow Trainspotting & SW Chief at 90mph

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Texan Eagle

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A bunch of us rail fans are heading to Barstow for some train spotting photography over the weekend and wanted to check from this group a couple of things-

1) East of Barstow, the BNSF Transcon runs parallel to I-15 while the UP line runs parallel to I-40. If we had to pick one of the two to go to a few miles out of town for photographing from trackside, which one should we prefer considering overall amount of freight traffic, or any other reason?

2) Does the Southwest Chief do 90mph just east of Barstow? If so, how far east should we drive out to camp at a suitable spot where we can get to see the Chief run past at 90mph in the dark of the night?
 
greatcats said:
Don't know the answers as to some of your specifics, but you have your Interstates backwards. The UP follows I15 and BNSF I40.
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Thank you! I would have gone and spent an hour waiting by the side of I-15 waiting for the SW Chief to appear on the BNSF transcon :p
 
The UP coming down from Salt Lake City actually joins the BNSF line at Daggett, IIRC....just a few miles East of Barstow, if that helps...
 
1. As was mentioned, you have the interstates backwards. BNSF hosts vastly more freight traffic than UP, UP's old LA&SL is a secondary main for them now, but UP is generally more picturesque. The BNSF Transcon is a thoroughly modern railroad scrubbed clean of a lot of character other than high traffic.

2. 90 mph running starts at Minneola between Daggett and Newberry Springs, IIRC. It stays at 90 until around Ludlow. Further east I know for a fact they do 90 through Amboy on old 66. One thing to remember is the old ATS system that allows 90 is based on directional running and the Transcon is now 2 Main Track CTC where trains can run track speed on either main in either direction. So if the dispatcher puts Amtrak on the "wrong" main, it won't be doing 90, but will be limited to 79. The dispatchers are generally pretty good about keeping Amtrak on the correct main for 90, but it is a very busy railroad and they'll switch it to maintain fluidity.

There is also 90 mph running WEST (compass south) of Barstow from outside of Victorville until around Lenwood. Again, directionally based ATS when the RR isn't directional Double Track any more.
 
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As been said, there is 15+ miles of straight track (great stopping & viewing area near the volcano cone) in the Amboy area. But be aware, there is NO services in Amboy. Roy's was closed again the last time I was through there (6/16).
 
Was just there (Barstow) last month. We were going to Calico and stopped as I had only been through on the SWC.....

As noted....it's a tough area...be well prepaird.
DSC01952-vi.jpg
 
Update: we drove out about 30 miles west of Barstow to a dark quiet location by the BNSF Transcon in the middle of the night, and had a fantastic train spotting session. We ended up seeing more than 15 freight trains and the eastbound Southwest Chief scream through the night at high speed in about two hours!

One peculiar thing we observed- as soon as a train crossed past a signal that was close to us, the signal would turn itself off, only to turn back on in few minutes, first to RED and then to GREEN to clear the line for the next train. Can anyone explain why this is done? With the amount of heavy traffic on the transcon, the signal would stay off only for like two minutes before turning on again, so I would guess it is not done to save energy?
 
The signals are "approach lit" meaning that they do not stay on all the time. It lit because another train was coming up.

Glad you had a good time, that is probably one of the best areas of the country to see high speed, high traffic freight.
 
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zephyr17 said:
The signals are "approach lit" meaning that they do not stay on all the time. It lit because another train was coming up.
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What is the fail-safe mechanism in that case? What happens if a signal has been turned off and does not turn back on before the train approaches? Do the engineers know the exact location of all signals on the route, even in pitch darkness of the night that they would find out the unlit signal, consider it "red" (like how malfunctioning traffic lights are assumed to be a STOP sign) and just wait there?

Does approach-lit signal really save BNSF anything, considering how often they turn on and off on the busy Transcon?
 
Texan Eagle said:
zephyr17 said:
The signals are "approach lit" meaning that they do not stay on all the time. It lit because another train was coming up.
Click to expand...
What is the fail-safe mechanism in that case? What happens if a signal has been turned off and does not turn back on before the train approaches? Do the engineers know the exact location of all signals on the route, even in pitch darkness of the night that they would find out the unlit signal, consider it "red" (like how malfunctioning traffic lights are assumed to be a STOP sign) and just wait there?

Does approach-lit signal really save BNSF anything, considering how often they turn on and off on the busy Transcon?
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If a signal is showing no indication then the rules tell the crew to assume it is showing the most restrictive aspect it can, either stop or stop and proceed at restricted speed.
 
Texan Eagle said:
zephyr17 said:
The signals are "approach lit" meaning that they do not stay on all the time. It lit because another train was coming up.
Click to expand...
What is the fail-safe mechanism in that case? What happens if a signal has been turned off and does not turn back on before the train approaches? Do the engineers know the exact location of all signals on the route, even in pitch darkness of the night that they would find out the unlit signal, consider it "red" (like how malfunctioning traffic lights are assumed to be a STOP sign) and just wait there?
Click to expand...
In the case of malfunctioning street traffic lights... they are to be treated as a "four-way" (or all-way) stop sign...
 
railiner said:
Texan Eagle said:
zephyr17 said:
The signals are "approach lit" meaning that they do not stay on all the time. It lit because another train was coming up.
Click to expand...
What is the fail-safe mechanism in that case? What happens if a signal has been turned off and does not turn back on before the train approaches? Do the engineers know the exact location of all signals on the route, even in pitch darkness of the night that they would find out the unlit signal, consider it "red" (like how malfunctioning traffic lights are assumed to be a STOP sign) and just wait there?
Click to expand...
In the case of malfunctioning street traffic lights... they are to be treated as a "four-way" (or all-way) stop sign...
Click to expand...
Oh god, I hope engineers are not like drivers and actually remember what they learned. It amazes me how few people know how to do a 4 way stop. I seriously think drivers, hope for the best and pray they are correct them going into the intersection.
 
Engineers are aware of every signal on their route. If a signal is "out," then its considered a red and the train will be brought to a halt and the dispatcher notified. Of course, human beings being failible, mistakes can happen. A recent head-on crash of two BNSF freight trains in Texas was caused when one crew ignored several signals and failed to stop their train.
 
Several american railroads use approach lit signals. May extend bulb life as well as save some energy. Haven't heard yet of any railroads switching to LEDs. But most auto traffic lights in SF Bay Area communities are switching to LEDs.
 
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