Railfanning Stockton (Downtown / ACE) - 4/13/18

Finally, after long consideration, I decided to address a personal superstition I have always had. In light of the opportunity to railfan on Friday, I figured it would be befitting to head out to the City of Stockton, particularly as it also happened to be Friday the 13th ! It is worth noting that the city of Stockton is actually served by not one, but two train stations, each of which are located along two different rail lines. The Downtown Station, otherwise referred to as the Robert J. Cabral Station, sees both Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) and Amtrak service. The station still retains the original Southern Pacific station building which was exquisitely renovated in the early 2000’s for ACE operations and office space, in addition to the surrounding infrastructure that was built to support the renovated station. The ACE Maintenance/Service Facility is also located just to the north where trains deadhead to and from the station, either prior to or after revenue service. Stockton is intriguing mainly as it sees the convergence of multiple subdivisions including Union Pacific’s Sacramento, Fresno, and Oakland Subdivisions in addition to BNSF’s Stockton Subdivision. UP’s Sacramento and Fresno Sub in particular converge together prior to entering Stockton as well as the Oakland Sub coming up from the south. However, all of these lines then cross at a railroad diamond with the BNSF Stockton Sub ! All of which leads to a flurry of traffic from many directions, however it also creates a chokehold when traffic gets busy as the case with a southbound UP manifest featured in the video. All in all, Stockton is definitely an action packed and strategic place to railfan to say the least !

Train 1 : ACE #5 with F40PH-3C #3106 & CabCar #3305. First time seeing an ACE train ! They sure are uniform, clean, and have some very loud horns !

Train 2 : Union Pacific GSMDFO-11 with C44ACCTE #5882, C44AC #6723, & #6457(DPU). Just as ACE #5 begins to board passengers, GSMDFO-11 appears and passes by.

Train 3 : Union Pacific OCJWW-12 with C45ACCTE #5401.

Train 4 : ACE #7 with F40PH-3C #3102, #3104, & CabCar #3302. Interesting catch with the doubleheader and horn action !

Train 5 : Union Pacific GSECKE-11 with C44AC #6731, ES44AC #8178(NS), & C6044AC #6915(DPU). Very interesting lash up with an ex-CNW Operation Lifesaver and a Norfolk Southern unit together !

Train 6 : Amtrak 702 with CabCar #8304 & SC-44 #2106. Great crew with some extra horn action as well !

Train 7 : Union Pacific MWCRVC-12 with C44ACCTE #5665, SD70ACe #8653, C45AH #2657, ES44AC #8076(NS), & C44ACCTE #5693(DPU).

Train 8 : Union Pacific QRVWC-13 with C45AH #8121, C45ACCTE #7515, C44AC #7288, C45ACCTE #7687(DPU), & C44ACCTE #5976(DPU). This train would end up being held north of the Stockton diamonds by dispatch to wait for Amtrak 711 to cross. Surprisingly, the dispatcher would hold QRVWC-13 for twenty minutes, blocking a number of crossings rather than getting them through first. After this train, I would then head over to the Stockton - San Joaquin Street Station and continue my railfanning there for the rest of the morning.

Thanks for Watching !