15 Engines and 84 cars of Coal over Tehachapi

MARCH, 1987 - As another great day of railfanning in the Tehachapi's was coming to a close, we set up on the west side of Tunnel 9 and hoped for some over-under action before sunset. In short time the sound of EMD's, working upgrade in the distance was unmistakable. Suddenly, the whining of dynamic brakes was also being heard, and it was clear that a train was coming downgrade on the loop. I pointed the video camera at the tunnel and the drama unfolded with a Santa Fe mixed freight coming to a stop on Walong siding. As it stopped, the upgrade EMD's were becoming louder, and within moments we saw Southern Pacific engines coming toward us. What I still did not know at the time was this SP train was an unusual move of a unit coal train! Five SP engines in the lead, 38 loads of coal, 6 more engines, 31 loads of coal, 4 more engines, 15 loads of coal and a caboose! The Santa Fe mixed freight wasn't bad either! The sights and sounds that were upon us were "railfan nirvana", and this sequence remains one of my favorite railfanning experiences of all time. This moment is also just a small part of BKVP's popular 3 disc DVD set,
"Railfanning Tehachapi and Beyond, 1987 & 1989". Available from Pentrex.