First Train on the New Pasadena Subdivision! BNSF Pasadena Local 2/3/2022

November 2020 was not a good month for the Pasadena Subdivision. With Metro construction advancing at a rapid pace, the advanced state of the future construction operations warranted an inevitable track closure on the majority of the line from Pomona to Irwindale. I had spent hundreds of hours in 2020 trying to document the line as best as I could but I knew the end was coming. Time was running out.

As the days ticked on, the trains became fewer and fewer, and I went out every day knowing that the train I would see could very well be the last train I ever catch on the Pasadena Subdivision. The clock had been ticking for the end of the old Pasadena Subdivision. November 5th 2020 was that day, where the foothills of the San Gabriel valley heard the cries of a train horn that would soon be absent for 455 consecutive days.

With intense construction in the corridor, and a brief reopening for a rail delivery. The Pasadena Subdivision has largely sat dormant minus the parts from Pomona to CP Cambridge, however as the new rails became more relocated, the possibility of reopening grew and grew.

Though dates were set for February 2021, then May, June, August, September, October, and January 2022, it kept getting pushed back and frankly I got pretty hopeless I'd ever see a train on the majority of the line again.

Nonetheless, with the rails now completed, the show must go on, and with Q&B foods restoring their rail service, BNSF now was able to serve them, warranting trains to once again cross over the entire 13 mile length of the Pasadena Sub.

Hearing the horns bounce off the foothills was something I haven't heard in many many months, and I can't deny it was a little emotional of an experience for me to relive some of my earliest childhood memories on this line.

I caught this train 4 times, one in each city, of La Verne, San Dimas, Glendora, and Azusa, all of which lost their rail service in late 2020 (minus La Verne for special occasions). BNSF put on quite a show for the original Santa Fe mainline to Los Angeles, making the sole power two Santa Fe painted GP60s, where they lumbered on as if nothing had changed.

This truly is a very happy moment for me, I am happy I was able to last through the closure with content from the line, now it will get better and better, as the brewery in Irwindale is also expected to follow Q&Bs footsteps and also restore their rail service, bringing more trains back to Santa Fe's Road to the Roses, the Pasadena Subdivision, the Second District.

I hope you enjoyed and thanks for watching!

Train ID: BNSF R-CAL0031-03I
Head End:
BNSF 185~GP60
BNSF 182~GP60