Consider the length of BNSF train Z-LACWSP9-05L, which is visible in the distance as it rounds the much-photographed curve at Cajon Pass’ Summit, and that fact that this train is carrying hundreds of shipping containers, and you realize how many more tractor-trailers would be on Interstate 15 in the distance, above the train, if it were not for railroading. Then multiply that number by the eighty to one-hundred or so trains that cross Cajon on any typical day, and it becomes clear how important railroading is to this continent and its economies. And there are thousands of trains such as this rolling across North America at any time of day as well. BNSF ES44C4 8240 is leading this train as it travels from Los Angeles to Chicago’s Willow Springs. (Cajon Pass, California – February 5, 2021)
