BNSF Intermodal Train at Colton, California, on November 29, 2006

While on a work trip in Southern California, I spotted this southbound BNSF Railway intermodal train at Colton, California, crossing over Interstate 215 between San Bernardino and Riverside. This train was heading south from San Bernardino towards Riverside and had probably come over Cajon Pass. The train was powered by a pair of 4,400-horsepower General Electric Dash 9-44CW locomotives in BNSF's "Heritage II" paint scheme, which was applied to new locomotives between September 1997 and March 2005.

South Santiam River Bridge in Lebanon, Oregon

In 1910, the Southern Pacific Railroad built this bridge across the South Santiam River to bypass a section of railroad leading to Woodburn that was washed out by flooding in 1907.

The line to Woodburn also crossed a line leading from Albany to Detroit and Idanha, and future abandonments resulted in this line going from Lebanon to Idanha.

This line would be cut back to Gates, just past Mill City, with the completion of the Detroit Dam in 1952.

Except for the ravages of time, this bridge remains basically as it was when it was built in 1910.

The west approach consists of a long wooden trestle needed to reach the height of the main spans.

The trestle intersects the access road to the boat launch at Gill’s Landing, and the railroad crosses over the road on a short deck girder span that may have been added later.

The main crossing of the river is made by two identical seven-panel modified Warren through truss bridges which are at the same elevation as the eastern shore, meeting at a concrete pier at midstream.

In March of 1993, the Willamette Valley Railway leased the line from Albany to Mill City from the Southern Pacific.

The railroad has operated as the Albany & Eastern Railroad since 2000.

Union Pacific GP39-2 #1207 & GP38-2 #1045 at Albany, Oregon

On October 3, 2006, I photographed these Union Pacific locomotives from my car on Interstate 5 at Albany, Oregon. Union Pacific #1207 is a 2,300-horsepower GP39-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in January 1977 as Kennecott Copper Corporation #788, one of a group of 11 built with high-visibility cabs 26 inches higher than normal for service in the Brigham Canyon copper mine near Salt Lake City, Utah. These locomotives were removed from service on September 19, 1983, due to the discontinuance of rail waste trains. On August 2, 1984, this unit was one of nine of the eleven to be leased by Kennecott with Helm Financial as agent to the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. The cabs of these nine units were lowered by National Railway Equipment at a leased facility in Clearfield, Utah, between August and October 1984, and they were moved to the MKT in October 1984. This locomotive became MKT #387. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas was merged into the Union Pacific in August 1988, and this was first of the group to be renumbered, becoming Union Pacific #2357 on December 13, 1988. It was renumbered to Union Pacific #1207 on October 15, 2002. Union Pacific #1045 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in October 1967 as New York Central #3097, a 3,000-horsepower GP40. On February 1, 1968, the New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form Penn Central, and on April 1, 1976, the Penn Central was merged into Conrail. The locomotive retained its original number through these mergers to become Conrail #3097. Retired by Conrail, the locomotive became Kyle Railroad #3118 by 1988, the went to Helm Leasing as #3118. On November 21, 1989, Union Pacific leased the locomotive from Helm Financial, and it became Union Pacific #874. It 1998 it was returned to Helm Financial and rebuilt by Boise Locomotive Corporation into a 2,000-horsepower GP38-2 locomotive, though it retained the three radiator fans of a GP40. It was again leased to Union Pacific As #2545 on September 2, 1998, and was renumbered to #1045 on September 15, 2001. 

Abandoned Crossing Signal in Salem

On Lancaster Drive SE in Salem, Oregon, a railroad crossing signal stood where there was no trace of a railroad.

The Southern Pacific Railroad once had a branch line between Salem and Geer. This line crossed Lancaster Drive at this point.

The Willamette Valley Railroad leased the Geer Branch from 1993 until its final abandonment in 1995. During that time, sections of the line were abandoned and the tracks removed, starting at the junction in Salem and working east.

Aerial photos suggest that the tracks were removed from this crossing by May, 1994, but the signals were left in place.

The signal on the other side of the street was gone by the year 2000, but this one remained.

Aside from this signal and a little bit of white paint from the stop lines on the pavement, there is little evidence a railroad was ever here.

Looking to the east, the former railroad grade is now under the parking lot of a Budweiser distributor.

To the west is the fenced-in parking lot of a used car dealership.

The signal was manufactured by the Griswold Signal Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Directly in front of the railroad crossing signal was another signal, with a single signal light and a lighted sign. I don’t know the purpose of this signal.

These signals stood until 2007.