Cotton Belt 60' flat car 854668, carrying a pair of M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), was built by Greenville Steel Car in April 1969. The Cotton Belt's parent company, Southern Pacifi... (more)

Rolling southward freight (eastbound in Southern Pacific parlance), a trio of EMD SD45s, consisting of SP 8898, 9120 and 9100, is nineteen miles from San Luis Obispo, at which point this crew will... (more)

The oil cans have crested Cuesta Pass as they head through Santa Margarita on a clear morning.

The Talgo special movement heads down the main at Santa Margarita, splitting the tri-light intermediate. This train will continue to Serrano, where it'll pick up a fresh crew from the northbound C... (more)

UP 1111 leads a northbound passenger special through Santa Margarita

AMTK 510 passing the searchlight in Santa Margarita, CA

The "Tractors, Trains, and Planes" Memorial weekend event at Santa Margarita Ranch had a new addition this year- a giant American flag! Here the Seattle bound Coast Starlight passes by t... (more)

Crew members prepare PCRR #3 for another lap around the Santa Margarita Ranch on their annual Memorial Day run for the Best of the West antique equipment show.

I purchased this 1950s era photo in the early to mid 1970s at a Chicago area train show / swap meet event. The seller was not the photographer. Photographer unknown.

Searchlights At Blue Hour. Making the final push toward the summit of Cuesta Pass, UP 4385 streaks past the still active, ex-Southern Pacific searchlights at the south end of the Santa Marg... (more)

With a unique set of power on the point this afternoon, Amtrak's southbound Coast Starlight races into Santa Margarita just a few miles from beginning its accent up Cuesta Pass.

Splitting the searchlight signals still guarding the southern end of the Santa Margarita siding, Amtrak's southbound Coast Starlight approaches the summit of Cuesta Pass prior to the lengthy decen... (more)

Cuesta Conquered

Amtrak's Transcontinental Steam Excursion crests the summit of Cuesta Grade, just north of San Luis Obispo, California, on April 27, 1977. In the process of ... (more)

Running on its last trip prior to being renamed the "Redwood Empire," ATSF 33 looks sharp on the rear of the northbound Coast Starlight as it brings up the markers just north of Santa Ma... (more)

Having completed its battle up Cuesta Pass, AMTK 164 leads Amtrak 14, the northbound Coast Starlight, downgrade and into Santa Margarita. At this point on the Coast Subdivision, the railroad moves... (more)