BNSF in the Mojave Desert

Travel to California and the beautiful Mojave Desert where you will enjoy big-time railroading along BNSFs old Santa Fe mainline between
Needles and Barstow.

With over 60 trains a day, there is plenty of
action here! If you think of the desert as flat, then think again! This
route features long grades and dramatic changes in elevation, from a
low of 488 feet above sea level to a high of 2,600 feet! Many trains
have locomotives both front AND rear.

You will enjoy the action at all
the classic places, including Needles, Ibis, Goffs, Siberia, Ludlow and
Barstow, as well as many places in-between. Beautiful scenery, and
great railroading action!

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction
05:20 Needles to Goffs
28:36 Goffs to Amboy
42:10 Amboy to Klondike
1:00:27 Klondike to Ludlow
1:09:59 Ludlow to Barstow

[Telestations]

love how ya recreated the desert line in HO - the backdrop is so cereal makes you believe it's real - love how ya weathered the rail cars - should glue in some tramps hobos with dogs riding the hot shots boxcars hoppers - good work adding realism in the video mixed in with the layout --

[evangaines]

Can't wait for the Tennessee Pass & Royal Gorge Video

[sbrunner]

I love how you can totally tell who is clawing up grade and who is coasting down white knuckles

[cullenosbourn]

Wow I heard BNSF uses their own engines but I noticed there was some Norfolk Southern and some CSX mixed in a hodgepodge of trains . It was quite exciting to see a Norfolk Southern or a CSX this far west . Kind of rare seeing that they operate in the east.

[andrewcrumb]

Fun Fact: Ash Hill is named in honor of Ben Ash. He was a railroad surveyor who died from lack of water while working out in the Mojave Desert. I learned that from the Pentrex program, "Santa Fe's Mojave Mainline: The Needles Subdivision."

[Telestations]

57;05 love how ya added the old SD40 CN zebra locomotive

[kenmunozatmmrrailroad]

As a commercial driver I parallel the route frequently from AZ into SoCal @Colton. Hope to one day follow the line and chase a few as you’ve done here. ‘A resident and desert lover, there are no more beautiful vistas for rail fanning.

[johncamp]

So enjoyable! Excellent photography!🏜️

[coleallen]

1:08:49 - there was a tragic accident at this exact location. On August 12, 2011 at 10:48 PM, the eastbound Amtrak Southwest Chief train crashed into a vehicle with four people inside - it was a family from Oklahoma on a long Route 66 road trip with 2 adults and 2 kids and sadly, three of them died. The eldest child (Abby Steiner) survived and was airlifted to the nearest trauma center in Las Vegas, but ended up becoming paralyzed with a permanent brain injury.

[alexholewa]

I'm Glad This Is Coming Back 😉😉😉😉

[andrewcrumb]

The history of this line is very interesting. It's true that the tracks were built by the Southern Pacific in 1882, but as an attempt to block expansion of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The A&P, jointly owned by the Santa Fe and the Frisco had reached the California border at Needles, but could go no further. The A&P then constructed a line south into Mexico from Nogales, Arizona 250 miles to a port on the Gulf of California at Guaymas, Sonora. Southern Pacific feared the loss of the Pacific port business to the new route and negotiated a swap of lines.

The Atlantic and Pacific got the line from Needles to Mojave, California and over the years, expanded further into the state. Soon afterwards, the Santa Fe took over ownership of the A&P, while the Frisco became financially hard up. The line to Guaymas became the Southern Pacific of Mexico. Years later, it was expanded all the way to Guadalajara. In 1951, the SP sold the line to the country of Mexico, and it became the Pacifico Railroad. Then in 1995, the Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern to create BNSF.

[gesitiwadengaming]

I know I'm a little old to ask, but could 1998's "The Alphabet Train" be uploaded? I just recently found the VHS of it but my VCR destroyed it. That movie had some great shots of D&RGW crews at their finest.

[jhoshuathomas]

I wonder if you could upload cab ride in Southern California. It shows the route between Needles and Los Angeles on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief.