In the east, I tend to associate street running with coal trains - photographing Amtrak in the middle of a busy street was a very interesting sight!

Amtrak California is an impressive operation, I quickly lost count of how many passenger trains went through Oakland during the afternoon.

Vehicular and pedestrian traffic pay no mind to the approaching UP freight.

After watching numerous Amtrak trains on the Embarcadero, a BNSF freight makes an appearance at 4:31PM.

No trip to Tehachapi is complete without seeing the "worm train", seen here climbing out of the valley near Bena.

Taking this picture was not fun, it marked the end of my two and a half days on Tehachapi. After watching the train pass it was off to LAX and a return to Pittsburgh's 90% humidity.

Low morning sun casts a warm glow on a westbound BNSF grain train near Bena. The Tehachapi Mountains loom in the background, ready to challenge the next freight that attempts to reach the summit.

Nothing but tangent track as far as the eye can see. The Mojave Sub is noticeably straighter between Bena and Bakersfield than it is from Bena east.

This spot seems to summarize Tehachapi, exit tunnel, enter horseshoe curve, enter S curve, repeat...

I've been told that tarantulas have been seen along the trail I walked to access this photo spot. Fortunately, none were present on this August afternoon.

Just east of Keene, a freight trudges upgrade towards the loop.

The trailing CSX engine came through the day before, presumably it's starting a lengthy return trip to home rails.

A long string of empty lumber cars returning to the northwest bring up the rear of this westbound near Caliente.

A sunny California morning greets the 7546 as it emerges from Tunnel 9, underneath Tehachapi Loop.

Golden evening light illuminates Tunnel 9 and a pair of DPUs on the rear of an eastbound manifest.