To help explain the area I did an article for Rail Classics on how to railfan
the area between the Mojave Narrows and Barstow which I'm including here. I
updated the radio frequency but of course the dispatcher is no longer in San
Bernardino. Hope this helps.
Every year on New Years Day the entire country turns on their
television sets to watch the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.
Across the country, much of which is covered with snow, viewers
see the crisp, clean air of Southern California with snow capped
mountains looming above the T-shirt clad throngs enjoying the
beautiful California sunshine. Southern California railfans have a
slightly different perspective of the amount of visibility to be
found in the Los Angeles Basin. They become used to shooting trains
in what has been termed smog for its mixture of smoke and fog. On
weekends there is the exit enmass to Cajon Pass and Techachape.
Even on Cajon the dirty air wafting up from San Bernadino has a way
of catching up and obscuring the view which can make for some
interesting lighting conditions but perhaps not what the weekend
railfan had in mind. Which brings us to the point of this article.
By continuing a mere twenty miles down the Interstate 15 from the
usual Hwy 138 turnoff that leads to Summit a whole new scenario
greets the more adventurous railfan.
A few years ago, in an article in Pacific Rail News, Dave Busse
took the railfan from Summit to the West end of the Mojave Narrows
via a pictorial jaunt. As Paul Harvey intones, "And now the rest of
the story." Santa Fe's route between Victorville and Barstow on the
Cajon Subdivision has an almost magical quality to it for shear
variety. Almost every imaginable background along with clean air,
puffy clouds, stark desert, sunsets, and rich late afternoon light.
Following the route of the Mojave River as it meanders along
National Trails Highway you can pick a choose from a myriad of
backgrounds, heights, curves, etc.
Exiting I 15 at the Avenue D exit turn right towards what is known
as the Mojave Narrows. On your left is where the Union Pacific and
Santa Fe helpers assigned to Victorville for use over Cajon Pass
reside (Victorville MP 36.7). Take the street before the bridge and
turn right, up two streets and then left. This will take you to the
base of the northern hump of the narrows (For convenience we will
pretend in for simplicity the track always goes from west to east so
that facing toward Barstow the North is to the right and South to
the left). You can park at the base and walk up to the top. On top
is a wide area and it is possible to climb down to a lower ledge
over the tracks with plenty of room for lawn chair, cooler, tripod,
and camera bag though the climb down may result in hauling the items
one at a time (No, I do not recommend shooting from the south slope
of the narrows). The river passes through the narrows with the
tracks north of the river. The lighting is interesting, especially
as the afternoon progresses, and the scenery spectacular. Trains
passing through the curves of the narrows are restricted to 35 mph
with Amtrak 5 mph faster.
Turning left at the same exit from I 15 takes you past a mini mart.
In the summer, when the temperature easily rises over 100, it is
advisable to stock up on some liquid (They have lots of cold
Gatorade stocked here). Continuing on the route to Barstow
immediately takes you past the Southwest Portland Cement Company
which hosts its own switch engines which are usually hiding when
they sense the presence of a railfan. Both UP and Santa Fe will be
switching here at various times of the day and the complex makes an
interesting backdrop.
The Bridge at Milepost 34 just east of the East Victorville sign (MP
34.6) has been blocked off with dirt piles and fences but the
enterprising railfan can still hike down from National Trail Hwy or
park on the bluffs overlooking the bridge which has the Mojave River
passing underneath. The unique chalk like rocks that surround this
area continue along the route all the way to the next spot, Oro
Grande (MP 31.5). At Oro Grande the trains pass through a cut which
once again gives a rooftop view and a different perspective. To the
east of the cut is the Riverside Cement Company. A dirt road on
either side of the cut with easy access from the highway makes it
easy to drive to where you overlook the track. At MP 28.5 a hotbox
detector will warn the napping railfan of an approaching westbound
on the Santa Fe road channel 161.190. With the proper antenna on
the scanner (I recommend one of Radio Shack's extending antennas
rather than a rubber duckie). From this location you should be able
to hear the units departing Barstow who upon reaching Lenwood must
talk to the communications coordinator at San Bernadino.
Passing under the bridge at the cement plant the track will now
be on your left with the crossovers at East Oro Grand (MP 29.4) and
lots of parking space. A mile down the road will give you an
opportunity to drive to the other side of the track for the proper
sun side depending on the time of day. Driving to where you can
cross over the track will also provide some elevation as the trains
travel through a low cut at this point and the crossover signals
will be featured in any shots of eastbounds. These crossover
signals will remain red unless a train is approaching. Oro Grand is
also used occasionally for holding westbounds in need of a helper.
The next railroad station is MP 21.1 at Helendale which marks the
western end of what crews passing through refer to as the
"Moonscape" portion of the run. from Helendale to MP 16 where the
first pave crossing intersects the tracks strange rocks, piles of
dirt, and various levels do somewhat resemble a lunar landscape.
There are two approaches to this part of the run since the highway
diverges here as it heads uphill and then continues east. Route #1
is a dirt road to your left just as you start up the grade. From
here you can either shoot back towards Helendale with the river in
the background (an excellent morning shot for westbounds) or making
a series of moves to the right continue down to trackside. A word
of caution here. This is desert country and the road is subject to
severe erosion from sudden downpours. At times there are major
portions missing due to runoff. It may be advisable to park and
check the route on foot before proceeding. It may also be advisable
to throw a shovel in the back of your car or truck before leaving
home. Yes, I have occasionally had to dig my truck out of the sand
around here.
If proceed on, instead of taking the road here, the next paved road
to the right will take you to MP 16. From here you can double back
to MP 20 or simply park on the elevation on the south side of the
track which provides a view that seems to stretch all the way to
Barstow. We are now entering a more pastoral portion of the route
with farmland and green grass. You can continue down the service
road all the way to Hodge (MP 13.6) or continue down National Trails
to Hodge Road. Hodge Road will give you another chance to shoot
from elevation and following the service road on the south side of
the track will lead you to more curves and elevation shots. The set
of signals east of Hodge provides a big curve and an excellent shot
in both directions on summer afternoons. National Trails will take
you through the town of Lenwood (MP 6.7) and the last stop on our
photographic journey. From the hill overlooking the tracks we can
see the Barstow Yard and Valley Junction where the track heads north
towards Mojave. Notice of eastbounds at this point is provided by a
detector box at MP 8.5. At the detector location every eastbound
Santa Fe will switch to channel #32 160.590 to check with the
Barstow Hump for yarding instructions. The crews' favorite radio
message is "Train to the steps. Everything through but you." which
translates as, "Park the train on the main line outside the terminal
building where the next crew will take it from there."
Just as the crews have made their trip we also have passed through
some interesting railroading country. In the Summer the weather is
hot with occasional thunderstorms providing spectacular clouds. In
the winter an occasional light snow covers the ground. In the fall
the trees change colors and in the spring desert flowers bloom. It
definitely provides an alternative when Cajon is socked under by
smog or fog. Both the Santa Fe and the Union Pacific share these
tracks with Santa Fe's 881, 188, Harbor Trains, etc. On the Union
Pacific LAYRB (Los Angeles-Yermo) and YRLA as well as both roads K-
Lines, APL, coal trains, etc. Both the east and westbound Desert
Wind pass through here westbound into the rising sun and eastbound
into the setting. Lots of big power and a variety of scenery. If
you don't like the background at one spot just ease on down the
road.
