Here's a chance to have some fun and perhaps answer a serious question. What train is this and where is it? I really don't know. Credits are on the picture. Edited add on: Gats, intervened finding the picture...for us. You can click on the highlighted word "Picture" and it will take you to the hosting website. There you can learn the location and identification of the train. A word of appreciation to Gats/Gary...Thanks!
It looks like the combined El Capitan/ Super Chief. Lots of F-unit power. I believe Santa Fe ran trains like this in first years of Amtrak, April 1971 to June 1973 (arrival of SDP-40Fs). Diesels newer than Fs that ran late 60s were taken off when Amtrak started. The power lines remind me of Cajon but the scenery and track don't look like Cajon.
Kenneth, This one has me stumped. At first I thought it was the east side of the summit with the plateau that is Hesperia, CA., in the background. However, the power lines seem to out of place. I tried to go back to RailPictures and pick-up CZ17's pictures in hopes it was still posted there and I found zip. Jim157, in a telephone conversation said he thought it was somewhere out near Gallup, New Mexico. I appreciate your response. Still looking.
I was thinking Cajon to at first, but it would have to have been after a good rain to be that green. I'm a California boy who rarely gets out of state so I cannot place it anywhere else. The soil color looks to rich in color for most of SoCal so maybe up north somewhere. The looks of the scenery on the right side of the photo looks like coastal erosion, but again I cannot place it.
West Switch, Hesteria (Cajon Summit) according to the photo's attached info - http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=273715 Amtrak westbound Super Chief, May 72
How about that? Gats, I appreciate your finding this picture. So, it is the south end of Hesperia., on the east end of the Summit, on Cajon Pass, Ca. Taken before ATSF changed their route through Cajon Summit at what is now known as Martinez Spur. Probably before SP built their tracks to create the Colton Cutoff. That's what kept throwing me off. I had lifted this picture as it is unique to Santa Fe's way of operating passenger trains toward the end. Then when I went looking for it Christmas Eve, I couldn't locate the picture on RailPictures. Gats, Thanks for the intervention and finding the location for us. Nicely done.wink:
Here's the complete description of the Picture. Given the '72 date the picture have must been tanked before the "new" Summit was built. Rick wasn't the Colton Cutoff built in '69? Locomotive Details Location/Date of Photo » Amtrak (more..) » EMD F7(A) (more..) » East switch Cajon Summit (more..) » Hesperia, California, USA (more..) » May, 1972 Locomotive No./Train ID Photographer » AMTK 304 (more..) » 3 (more..) » cz17 (more..) » Contact cz17 Remarks: The Amtrak "Super Chief" is seen westbound in the early morning sunlight at east summit switch. Soon to be renamed the "Southwest Limited", it is still using the Santa Fe equipment that was the "Super Chief / El Capitan".
Andy, Nice catch. A lousy Amtrak train. Gosh! Yes, the Colton Cutoff was finished in 1969. I keep looking at this picture and other then one location that looks like a cut, I don't see it. After looking at some pictures I have of this location at about the same date I did note the power lines are there. I really blew it on this one.err: Edited add on: You can clearly see the Colton Cutoff as built by SP in the background it's there. What throws me off here is you can see a new cut to the right, upper hand side of the picture and the train is on a relatively straight section of track. Where today's Martinez Spur is located would be the approximate location of this picture. It is the straight section the train is sitting on that just doesn't seem right. There should be a slight S curve at this point. Oh well...something to think about.
