Hey All, Any railfans in the Bakersfield area? I work for Hall Ambulance. Been wanting to railfan Bakersfield and the surrounding areas but alot of it seems shady anyone got any safe areas to do so or any one interested in meeting up? Thanks! Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
Years ago I worked for the Black Cooper Otteson Mortuary / Ambulance out of Hollister, Ca. Later the McCormick Ambulance out of Victorville, Ca. Pre EMT days. We were pushing hard to get funding to upgrade our services as in training programs for our attendants. Some sort of Certification Program, in order to improve the care we provided for patients we transported. We all carried Advanced First Aide Cards. CPR was a big improvement. We eventually got our first EMT's and then later Paramedics. I kept saying we needed the same training the military gets. I moved on to become a mortician but back then it was the days of Scoop and Run. Bakersfield is one of my favorite spots to rail fan. It's not as shady as it might first appear. Just don't plan on staying in one place for to long at a time. I like to use the buddy system. Nice to have someone who shares the same interests along for the ride. The Amtrak station is relatively safe to haunt but eventually security will ask you to move on. There is a frontage road that follows the tracks as they head out toward Tehachapi. It is relatively safe to fan. The Junction where BNSF and UP come together is easy to find but finding a parking spot is tricky. Getting next to the old Santa Fe Yard and the old SP yard is a bit touchy. It won't be the neighbors in the area that you will have to watch out for but railroad security. Since 9-11 secourity has tightened up. They've been rather anal about allowing visitors. Rail traffic can go into a lull at times. Getting to the tracks north of town I've always found to be a bit of a challenge. Watch out for the one way streets. I ended up going the wrong direction and it took me one block to figure it out. To late a black and white lit me up. There are guys who participate here that live in Bakersfield. Hoping they chime in and it would be great if you could find a group of them to BS and hang out with. Admittedly it's been awhile since I rail fanned Bakersfield. I was there for a swap-meet this summer but the gentleman I was with wasn't interested in rail fanning. So I sat shot-gun watching what little action we could see. Great place and great people. Look for the hole in the wall eating places.
Thanks! I got my streets down and am finding out the best areas to watch. Beleive it or not, Mercy hospital down town is the best place to watch! LOL Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
That is as long as Hospital Security doesn't run you off. Aiiyiiyii. Hall Ambulance, a great bunch of guys and gals.
