All Aboard for Stunning Views: Top Train Watching Locations Captured through My Lens! | Ken Hulsey Photographer
Photos & Story By Ken Hulsey
BNSF ES44DC locomotive 7888 demonstrates pure raw power as it climbs the steep grade towards Mormon Rock in Cajon Pass.
Pacific Harbor Line MP20C-3 locomotive #61 sits at the ready to be called into action during the Labor Day weekend in Wilmington, CA. Soon after this photo was taken, #61 was indeed called into duty as a crewman boarded the locomotive and started it up.
Edwards Air Force Base has been the home of some strange sightings. UFOs, top secret aircraft, Sasquatch, and all manner of weirdness have been sighted either in or around this sprawling military complex deep in California's Mojave Desert. Knowing that it was only fitting, I came upon a rather unique BNSF train parked on the outskirts of the base. A rather short train with a stunning seven units of power, each from varying periods of the Santa Fe's recent past. Of course, three BNSF locomotives were included in this vast consist, but what stood out amongst all the orange were a blue and yellow GP39-2 and a warbonnet GP60M. Finding a GP60 on a BNSF freight isn't quite like spotting Sasquatch, but the GP39 is another story. 2856 is one of fifteen such units (numbered 2855 - 2869) produced for the Santa Fe by General Motors way back in 1975.
Grand Canyon Railway locomotive #4960 prepares to leave Williams, Arizona, with a train bound for Cataract Lake.
#4960 is an O-1 Class 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive that was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia in 1923 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (Burlington / Burlington Route). Though the locomotive now pulls passenger trains for the Grand Canyon, it originally pulled freight trains across the Midwest for the CB&Q until it was retired in the late 1950s.
In 1996, the Grand Canyon Railway restored the locomotive and converted it to run on recycled vegetable oil instead of machine oil.
The Mikado makes daily trips to Cataract Lake north of Williams and makes bi-yearly trips to the rim of the Grand Canyon on the 4th of July and in mid-September to celebrate the railroad's anniversary.
A few years ago, I decided to pay a visit to an old friend. I was traveling north out of Pineville to Colfax, so I decided to stop off at the Tioga Heritage Museum and check on ex Illinois Central locomotive 333. Somewhere in my heart, I had hoped that someone might have come by and cleared all the weeds from around the old locomotive, but alas, I found the site in the exact same condition as it was four months ago when I last stopped by.
Pacific Harbor Line MP20C-3 locomotive #61 sits at the ready to be called into action during the Labor Day weekend in Wilmington, CA. Soon after this photo was taken, #61 was indeed called into duty as a crewman boarded the locomotive and started it up.
BNSF GP60M locomotive #151 provides the lead power for a local freight rounding a curve in San Dimas, California. It is only fitting that an ex-Santa Fe unit leads a train into a town that served as one of the original station stops on the line's transcontinental route from Chicago to Los Angeles.
While its crew takes a much-needed break in the BNSF field office in Victorville, CA, ES44DC locomotive 7820 stands ready to be pressed into action in Cajon Pass, which is just a handful of miles to the south. Waiting alongside are fellow ES44DC locomotives 7669 and 7545, which could be called into helper service at any time on the infamous mountain pass.
Further to the west, these units can normally be seen directly off the 210 freeway, switching cars at the Miller Brewing Plant in Azusa (CA).
While its crew takes a much-needed break in the BNSF field office in Victorville, CA, ES44DC locomotive 7820 stands ready to be pressed into action in Cajon Pass, which is just a handful of miles to the south. Waiting alongside are fellow ES44DC locomotives 7669 and 7545, which could be called into helper service at any time on the infamous mountain pass.
Edwards Air Force Base has been the home of some strange sightings. UFOs, top secret aircraft, Sasquatch, and all manner of weirdness have been sighted either in or around this sprawling military complex deep in California's Mojave Desert. Knowing that it was only fitting, I came upon a rather unique BNSF train parked on the outskirts of the base. A rather short train with a stunning seven units of power, each from varying periods of the Santa Fe's recent past. Of course, three BNSF locomotives were included in this vast consist, but what stood out amongst all the orange were a blue and yellow GP39-2 and a warbonnet GP60M. Finding a GP60 on a BNSF freight isn't quite like spotting Sasquatch, but the GP39 is another story. 2856 is one of fifteen such units (numbered 2855 - 2869) produced for the Santa Fe by General Motors way back in 1975.
Grand Canyon Railway locomotive #4960 prepares to leave Williams, Arizona, with a train bound for Cataract Lake.
#4960 is an O-1 Class 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive that was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia in 1923 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (Burlington / Burlington Route). Though the locomotive now pulls passenger trains for the Grand Canyon, it originally pulled freight trains across the Midwest for the CB&Q until it was retired in the late 1950s.
In 1996, the Grand Canyon Railway restored the locomotive and converted it to run on recycled vegetable oil instead of machine oil.
The Mikado makes daily trips to Cataract Lake north of Williams and makes bi-yearly trips to the rim of the Grand Canyon on the 4th of July and in mid-September to celebrate the railroad's anniversary.
A few years ago, I decided to pay a visit to an old friend. I was traveling north out of Pineville to Colfax, so I decided to stop off at the Tioga Heritage Museum and check on ex Illinois Central locomotive 333. Somewhere in my heart, I had hoped that someone might have come by and cleared all the weeds from around the old locomotive, but alas, I found the site in the exact same condition as it was four months ago when I last stopped by.
Related: Chasing Shadows of the Past: A Railroad Adventure with Kansas City Southern's Vintage F-Series Locomotives
Over the years, I have taken several different photos of this old Crowell & Spencer Lumber Company Locomotive #400 from roughly the same angle. You may think that it is kinda silly that I would keep taking photos like this over and over, but I truly love how they always turn out so drastically different. They illustrate how things like weather, lighting, and time of year can affect a scene like this and how it changes the mood and feeling that is captured by the camera.
I have written a lot about this once-proud locomotive and how it was once one of Louisiana's prominent attractions, displayed across from the old Capitol building in Baton Rouge. I could go on and on here about my disgust at how this piece of history has been forgotten and neglected. Instead of breaking out in prose, I will just let the photo speak for itself.
Related: Uncover the Story Behind Abandoned Locomotive #400 in Long Leaf, Louisiana | Ken Hulsey Photographer
If you have been following my blog for any time at all, you have probably deduced that the Southern California Railway Museum (formerly the Orange Empire Railway Museum) is one of my favorite places on Earth. If you were thinking that, you would be absolutely right. In fact, if you were to ask me right now where I would like to be, I would honestly answer that I would want to be back in Perris, California, looking at all the trains.
In 1900, the Southern Pacific Railroad purchased the 3ft gauge Carson and Railroad that ran from Carson City, Nevada, to Keeler, California. Like the narrow gauge lines of the Rio Grande Railroad in Colorado, the SP operations centered around transporting precious minerals like silver and gold from mines to the railroad's main line.
Bolton's Crown Quality Wheat Express GP9 locomotive #1005 sits proudly, poised to switch cars destined for the grain elevator visible in the distance. This resilient locomotive recently weathered one of the fierce thunderstorms typical in northern Texas, showcasing its durability. The Bolton Crown Quality (BCQ) line plays a vital role in the local economy, serving the communities of Vernon—where this photo was captured—and Harrold, Texas.
Locomotive #1005 is a familiar sight as it usually pulls cars from the nearby town of Electra, expertly providing the switching power necessary to move rolling stock to and from the adjacent BNSF main line, which has a rich history as former trackage of the Frisco and Burlington Route. Before it became an integral part of the BCQ, this GP9 had a noteworthy journey, having belonged to both the Kiamichi Railroad and Conrail, adding layers to its story.
If you have been following my blog for any time at all, you have probably deduced that the Southern California Railway Museum (formerly the Orange Empire Railway Museum) is one of my favorite places on Earth. If you were thinking that, you would be absolutely right. In fact, if you were to ask me right now where I would like to be, I would honestly answer that I would want to be back in Perris, California, looking at all the trains.
I woke up early this morning and decided to spend some time going through old photographs on the computer. For some time now, I have been digging through my old images and posting them here on my blog. I was looking for such images when I came across this one of the ex-Union Pacific E8A diesel locomotive parked next to the old ex-Ventura Railroad 2-6-2 steam locomotive in the railway museum engine house. This has always been one of my favorite photographs, and it really pops in color, but I decided to feature a black and white version that my darling wife created some years back.
I suppose that the reason I like this black and white version so much is the fact that looking at it reminds me of the glory days of American railroading. My imagination allows me to believe that the image may have been taken at some old Union Pacific Railroad facility back in the 1950s. Though I am way too young to have ever experienced those days when steam and diesel locomotives worked in tandem together to pull train after train filled with goods and passengers from one side of this great nation to the other, being in the presence of two such perfectly preserved relics from that time allowed me to at least pretend that I was there.
If only for a brief period of time.
Actually, spending time walking around the museum grounds gave me many opportunities to time-travel via my own imagination due to the fact that the property contains a plethora of perfectly preserved vintage railroad facilities, equipment, and structures.
In 1900, the Southern Pacific Railroad purchased the 3ft gauge Carson and Railroad that ran from Carson City, Nevada, to Keeler, California. Like the narrow gauge lines of the Rio Grande Railroad in Colorado, the SP operations centered around transporting precious minerals like silver and gold from mines to the railroad's main line.
In 1960, the Southern Pacific ended its narrow gauge operations, and the equipment was either sold or donated. Some of this equipment is now in the possession of the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, California.
On one of my visits, I took this picture of some of the rolling stock that used to belong to the Southern Pacific narrow gauge. Rendered in black and white, this image looks as if it may have been snapped in the early 1900s in the high desert of eastern California instead of a museum in southern California in the 21st century.
Tonight I decided to scroll to the very bottom of my Google Photos and discovered that my oldest photograph stored in The Cloud is this image of the restored Santa Fe steam locomotive 3751 arriving in San Bernardino (California). Though Google says this photo is much older, I believe that I took it sometime around 2009, as I believe that was the first time I attended the San Bernardino Railroad Days.
It was always a thrill to see a gigantic 4-8-4 steam locomotive moving under its own power. It was also an amazing experience to be able to interact with an actual, operating, steam locomotive.
Related: The Legacy of Santa Fe 4-6-4 #3450: A Historical Icon in Pomona, CA | Ken Hulsey Photographer
Over the years, I was blessed to be able to take numerous photographs of the 3751, but this one is kinda special because it was my first.
I hope that this image will cause railfans the same kind of goosebumps that it does me.
Locomotive #1005 is a familiar sight as it usually pulls cars from the nearby town of Electra, expertly providing the switching power necessary to move rolling stock to and from the adjacent BNSF main line, which has a rich history as former trackage of the Frisco and Burlington Route. Before it became an integral part of the BCQ, this GP9 had a noteworthy journey, having belonged to both the Kiamichi Railroad and Conrail, adding layers to its story.
The GP9’s history and functionality highlight not just its mechanical capabilities but also its crucial role in supporting local industry and transport. So next time you spot #1005 at work, take a moment to appreciate the rich heritage and hardworking spirit it represents in the heart of Texas!
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