BNSF ran a passenger special for their employees, family and friends during the annual Barstow Family Days celebration on Sunday and Monday. The train consisted of 8 passenger cars including the William Barstow Strong (now a track inspection car) Santa Fe #50 & 62, Stampede Pass, Flathead River, and others that I can't recall off the top of my head. There were two engines, BNSF 728 on the point going east and Santa Fe 237 on the other end to pull going west.
The train only went as far as the Pisgah siding about 40 miles east of Barstow. It was a beautiful silver streak across the Mojave. It was pretty neat seeing a passenger train of this vintage sitting in front of the Harvey House depot in Barstow. And photographing it! Story with pictures ran in this morning's Victorville and Barstow papers...by moi. The cars are slated to be attached to a freight train to test wireless communications between here and Bakersfield, but the Kansas City guy wasn't sure when they would be leaving...in the next couple of days though. Originally, one of the new pumkins was to pull the train, but developed some sort of mechanical trouble - something to do with crimped parts - the guy explained - I just nodded - - so it is still sitting in the diesel house. BUT I now have contacts that can get me close enough for a picture to run with a future story about the new paint scheme and its safety/visibility features. Lara Lara Hartley Photographer Desert Dispatch Barstow, California --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects
