Railfanning Barstow - 2/10/18

After a rather pleasant night stay in Barstow, I made my way out to the Barstow Amtrak Station to railfan the activity throughout the morning as a continuation of my railfanning trip to the high desert. This location in particular is very intriguing such that four rail lines converge and are funneled with all movements going by the Barstow station, resulting in almost nonstop train action. The BNSF Cajon, Mojave, and Needles Subdivision in addition to Union Pacific's Cima Subdivision via trackage rights all contribute to the back to back activity through this one location. Some trains can also be seen lined up in the distance to enter the Barstow Yard for distribution and/or crew changes and onwards to their final destination. Likewise, it is also very interesting to see the abundance of BNSF SD70ACe's as a result of reassigned power. Furthermore, the Barstow station still retains its original architecture from its function as a Harvey House in addition to housing the Western America Railroad Museum; with locomotives and rolling stock on outdoor display and exhibits and historical artifacts indoors. All in all, the amount of action through Barstow during my stay was rather surprising and extraordinary given the duration I was here. Whether it is the essentially nonstop back to back activity or the adjacent railroad museum and historic station, Barstow is undeniably an action filled and great place to railfan !

Note : Frequent switching activity can be seen from the Barstow station, although most switching activities occur in the western end of the Barstow Yard. Included in the video are all switching activities seen throughout the duration of my stay. These are predominantly longer switching movements where the train extends into the eastern portion of the yard and past the station. Please note that due to the scheduling of the Amtrak Southwest Chief that serves these stations, I was not able to see any due to the scheduled times of the station stops either late at night or in the early morning.

Switching Locomotive Information (BNSF) :

- SD40-2 #1855 & #1707
- SD40-2 #1860 & 1757
- SD40-2 #1908 & Yard Slug #65

Train 1 : BNSF M-BARKCK1-10A with ET44C4 #3800 & C44-9W #984. The train activity begins shortly after arriving with only minutes after arriving !

Train 2 : BNSF Q-LACSTL6-10L with ES44C4 #6696, #6949, ES44DC #7486, C44-9W #5224, & ES44C4 #7140. Certainly a decently good moving train !

Train 3 : Union Pacific KG3LB-08 with C45AH #2571, SD70M #4985, & C44ACCTE #5685(Mid-DPU). Friendly crew on #2571 !

Train 4 : BNSF Z-LACCHI9-10L with ES44AC #5886, ES44DC #7424, ES44C4 #6834, & #7192. Definitely a hot shot intermodal moving at a good amount of speed !

Train 5 : BNSF S-LPCLBJ1-08A with ES44DC #7559, ET44C4 #3872, ES44C4 #8372(DPU), & ES44AC #6348(DPU).

Train 6 : Union Pacific ZLADV-10 with C45ACCTE #8102, SD70M #4589, SD70AH #9025, & SD70M ##5160. Just after S-LPCLBJ-08A passes, ZLADV-10 appears around the corner, further exemplifying the amount of train activity that passes through Barstow.

Train 7 : BNSF Q-RICALT1-10A with ES44C4 #6768, #7032, #6589, & ES44DC #7344.

Train 8 : Union Pacific MSCWC-09 with SD70ACe #8368, SD70M #5149, #4726, & C44ACCTE #5749(DPU). Very friendly crew with some extra horn action from the engineer as well ! Note the military freight being hauled as part of the manifest. First time seeing a military train in person !

Train 9 : BNSF S-LPCLBL1-08A with ES44C4 #6999, #8166, & SD70MAC #9732. Very interesting and first time seeing the Burlington Northern (BN) Executive paint scheme !

Train 10 : BNSF M-BARBEL1-10A with ES44DC #7455, SD70ACe #8771, ES44C4 #6611, & ES44AC #4850(KCS). Just as S-LPCLBL1-08A clears, M-BARBEL1-10A appears with perfect timing and part of the nonstop action at Barstow !

Train 11 : BNSF S-LPCLHT1-08A with C44-9W #4614, ES44C4 #6979, SD70ACe #8505(DPU), & #8510(DPU). Very apparent issue with #4614; likely as a result of a blown turbocharger, although the crew keeps on going !

Train 12 : BNSF U-PITBIR1-09T with ET44C4 #3807 & C44-9W #4421.

Train 13 : Union Pacific KG1LA-08 with C45AH #2625, SD70M #4933, & C45ACCTE #7674. Another friendly crew with some extra horn action !

Train 14 : BNSF Q-ALTSBD1-09A with C44-9W #4550, #4437, SD70ACe #8531, & C44-9W #1116.

Train 15 : BNSF S-LBTMEM1-10A with C44-9W #4425, #5156, ES44DC #7438, & ES44C4 #6643. The trains just keep on coming ! Even after packing up and checking out the display locomotives before heading for Needles, more trains kept passing by ! It is definitive to say the action here is virtually nonstop to say the least !

Thanks for Watching !