Private cars on the rear of a late Amtrak 3, the westbound Southwest Chief.. (Yorba Linda, California – July 22. 2023)

Amtrak train 3 (Yorba Linda, California – July 22, 2023)

BNSF Railway Guaranteed Service Intermodal train Q-ATGLAC6-23A, heading from Atlanta, Georgia, to Los Angeles, isn’t very long this day, warranting only two diesels. But with a Norfolk Southern... (more)

Now that summer has arrived, the green hills have turned into fuel for the wildfires that plague the west each year, but fortunately on this day there were no fires in Santa Ana Canyon (as there w... (more)

Amtrak 3, the westbound Southwest Chief, is seen passing through Esperanza in Santa Ana Canyon with P42DC 203, the carrier's Operation Lifesaver (https://oli.org/) locomotive, on the headen... (more)

Thanks to a thus-far fairly wet winter, the hills of southern California are nice and green (and, sadly, much more burnable later in the year). It has even been wet enough that bright orange Cali... (more)

Amtrak train 3, the westbound Southwest Chief, running 4 hours 26 minutes late. (Yorba Linda, California – February 18, 2023)

Amid a near-constant stream of S-, Q- and Z-symbolled intermodal trains, it was a welcome relief to find a unit train of loaded ethanol tank cars snaking through a colorful Santa Ana Canyon. BNSF... (more)

Leading BNSF Railway train Z-LACNWH3-19A (Priority UPS-LTL Intermodal; Los Angeles CA to North Baltimore OH) is BNSF Dash 9-44CW 4709. It may not be obvious, but this locomotive wears a unique ve... (more)

A Joliet to Ports of LA/Long Beach stack train passes "Spot 4" in Santa Ana Canyon, a common location where trains going to and from the Ports get stored for crews and capacity.

A westbound S train heads through the Santa Ana Canyon in the late afternoon.

Late trains keep getting later…Amtrak 3, the Southwest Chief, making its way west, was only 34 minutes behind schedule when it departed Gallup NM the day before, but by the time it... (more)

Running five-hours-late, Amtrak 3, the westbound Southwest Chief, led by P42DC 160 (wearing the carrier's "Pepsi Can" scheme in honor of Amtrak's 50th Anniversary in 2021), passes... (more)

Thanks to United Airlines cancelling my morning flight to Denver, I was able to catch a 5 hour late Amtrak 3, the westbound Southwest Chief led by P42DC 160, wearing the carrier's "Pep... (more)

Z-LACMEM heads through Atwood with a 4 pack of GEs on the head end.