A Day Chasing Steam - The Santa Fe 3751 Heads South with San Diego Steam Special II - Part 1

It was with much anticipation and uncertainty of the coming day’s outcome that I left for the Fullerton Amtrak Station to begin the chase of the San Diego Steam Special II and the 3751.  I was already an hour or so behind schedule and as I packed the truck I realized that this trip was going to be different. Despite being aware of this special run since last year I found myself unprepared due to a series of family illnesses.

I normally travel with my best friend and rail scout, Debbie, my wife. Although she was willing to accompany me on this trip I felt she needed some rest so I fired up the Cummins diesel and headed out alone. 

As I drove south towards Fullerton I planned my day’s objectives and gave careful considerations to my expectations for this trip. I normally like to hang by a picturesque location and wait for the trains to come to me. This time I knew I couldn’t do that because my goal was to capture the Santa Fe 3751 in all of her glory at several locations as she headed south to San Diego with the San Diego Steam Special II.

Realizing that the Orange and northern San Diego counties left me disadvantaged in terms of knowing the more scenic locations and track alignment, I convinced a friend of mine to meet up with me in San Juan Capistrano for a day of chasing steel, er steam. Dan is a great guy who lives in Orange County and likes adventure so he agreed to do it. (Thanks Dan!) But first I wanted some photos of the train as she came into Fullerton.

As I neared Fullerton I tempered my expectations because I knew there would already be a crowd gathered and, for a rail photographer, it is very tough to get a great shot of any train when the public is on location as well. Not everyone understands the situation and shares an awareness of fellow photographers and “getting out of the shot.”

I found one of last remaining spots on the eastern end of the parking lot and was not disappointed. There was a huge crowd already in position at the station, on the platforms and crowding the pedestrian bridge that crossed the three mainlines of BNSF’s San Bernardino Subdivision that comprises the rail head at the Fullerton station.

Looking west towards the Fullerton Amtrak station and the crowd gathered to see the Santa Fe No. 3751 leading the San Diego Steam Speciall II on May 1, 2010. (Photo: Joe Perry)

There were all types of folks present, which was great to see. This event, probably based solely on the anticipated presence of the beautiful 3751, drew more than the average “train crowd.” It was great to see fathers and daughters, moms and sons, and even grandparents all filled with excitement and anticipation. There were even actual tourists from other countries present. This was a big deal.

As I looked around for my “spot,” I had already accepted the notion that I was there to record the “event” and not focus on getting the best shots of the 3751. Hopefully there would be ample time for that later in the chase as the train headed to San Diego.

I found a decent spot with OK lighting on the edge of the northeast parking area by a spur track that is home to a nice collection of Cabooses.  Ideally the best spot, based on the location of the sun and the arrival track, would have been on the southeast side of the station complex. However, I opted to stay close to my truck so I could egress the area quickly to get ahead of the train was I had gathered some shots.

Literally every opening along or near the right-of-way not blocked my some obstruction like a fence or such, and some as that were as well, where home to pockets of photographers and sightseers. This train would be fully documented by the day’s end, without a doubt.

Several Metrolink trains and a finally southbound (eastbound) Surfliner came into the station. A fellow fan commented that the arrival of the Surfliner signaled that the 3751 would be arriving soon since she was gonna run between two of the hourly-spaced Surfliners. I took a few test shots of these trains to triple-check my camera’s settings.

Sure enough, at 9:33 AM the train could be heard first blowing her steam whistle at the crossings west of the station and then finally seen. The crowd cheered and shifted locations with glee.

Kids, of all sizes and filled with excitement, race closer towards Track 3 to see the 3751 when can be seen approaching Fullerton, CA in the distance.With all of the fanfare, I suspect, of a 1940’s train carrying Hollywood’s latest heart-throb into the station at Pasadena or Los Angeles, California, the 3751 slowly drifted into the station on Track 3 with camera shutters firing ad nauseam. Dads lifted little ones onto their shoulders to see over the crowd as “That’ll do 3751,” broke over the radio channel.  As she slowly came to a stop, the crowd rushed forward across the tracks for a closer look. Again, I was glad I tempered my expectations!

The 3751 brings the San Steam Special II to a stop on Track 3 at Fullerton, CA as the crowd draws nearer. (Photo: Joe Perry)

I photographed the scene best as I could as I also marveled at the sight of the engine and the sheer power she conveyed as she hissed and spouted as if to say “let’s go!” That reminded me that I should wrap it up as well because soon the train would be on her way south and all of these people will be taking to the roads. So I took a few parting shots as the engineer of the 3751 began to release some steam to the crowd’s delight.

The engineer puts on a show for the crowd.Now the true “chase” begins. (Continued in part 2…)

Looking for Solutions to Prevent Frequent and Avoidable Tragedies

Yet another senseless and tragic incident involving individuals being struck and killed by a passing train occurred Saturday morning in the city of Rosemead, California.

According to news reports, two young adults were, according to claims of those involved, apparently “sleeping” on the tracks when they were run over by a 71-car westbound Union Pacific train doing reportedly 50 miles per hour.

The men were identified by coroner officials as Aaron Gallardo and Richard Haro, both whom are 19 and live in Rosemead.

My deepest sympathies go out to all affected by this tragic event, including the families and friends of the two men, and to the crew of the Union Pacific train.

However, I am frustrated and angered that this incident occurred at all.  This type of event seems real frequent, especially in southern California. Something has to be done to educate and inform the public of the risks of trespassing onto railroad property.

I found two videos from local news stations that show coverage of the incident in question.  This first one is from ABC 7:

This next video is from CBS 2 in Los Angeles and looks like it was filmed the next day:

Based on the reports it appears that the men might have been drinking prior to the incident and subsequently passed out on the tracks. My question is what were they thinking?  I am not sure that they were, clearly.

All railroads tracks and right-of-ways are private property and for good reason. The safety of the public can not be guaranteed when individuals chose to break laws by trespassing and putting themselves in harm’s way.

I know that people use the right-of-ways as a means to traverse the area but that doesn’t make it right - or safe.  Had the two men not been on the right-of-way at all then, perhaps, that might have passed out, in that in fact is what happened, on a sidewalk or yard instead. But they didn’t…

As you can see in the second video, the obviously grief-stricken friends of the victims are also trespassing by sitting on the rails and placing a memorial near the scene. Seriously, is this the best thing to do? Perhaps there were officials nearby and the tracks were closed, but nonetheless it is more of the same careless behaviors.

I don’t know if the public is aware of the toll that an incident like this has on the train crew involved. Who among us was to cause the death of another individual while we are doing our jobs? It can end some careers of engineers and conductors alike due to the physiological trauma sustained in any collision-based event. There is nothing the train crew can do to prevent the tragedy that fell before them.

What can we do as a society to educate all that the right-of-ways are not a place to gather and/or use as a thoroughfare?  I am at a loss. This doesn’t seem to help:

NO TRESPASSING

Here is a excerpt from Wikipedia.org on railroad trespassing:

It is usually illegal to arrest a trespasser and hold them on the property until law enforcement arrives as this defeats the purpose of allowing them to cure the trespass by leaving. This is excepted by US states that have citizen arrest laws; CA being one. A large exception to this rule is railroads in the United States and Canada, who employ their own police forces to enforce state or provincial trespassing laws. Railroad police have the ability to independently arrest and prosecute trespassers without the approval or assistance of local law enforcement. Furthermore, in many jurisdictions, trespassing on railroad tracks is considered a very severe offense comparable to drunk driving, with severe fines imposed on the trespassers. Some jurisdictions even go so far as to impose fines higher than that of a drunk driving or marijuana possession conviction. 

If you have any ideas please post them as a comment.

SOCAL - Get Ready! Here She Comes!

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, (May 1-2, 2010), southern Californians will have a rare opportunity to see a famous steam locomotive, the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society’s Santa Fe 3751 as she powers the Central Coast Railway Club and the Pacific Locomotive Association joint special - the San Diego Steam Special-II.

The legendary 3751 is a Baldwin Locomotives Works 4-8-4 ‘Mountain’ type locomotive which entered service with the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1927. She was initially assigned duty on Santa Fe’s crack passenger trains like the all-Pullman California Limited, the Fast Mail Express, the Grand Canyon Limited, and the Navajo.

More information can be found from my past post:

RARE RAILROAD PHOTO AND FAMILY OPPORTUNITY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA