West Colton - Mojave cement train will have 2 big GE AC6000CW's , UP 7551 & UP 7571 , Does this train got enough power?? I haven't seen any local's with big GE power.
The locals out of the Mojave area aren't your typical locals. They typically rate big power, as they haul heavy bulk commodities like cement, potash, and coal. Although I haven't seen absolute confirmation, the Thanksgiving week derailment involved the MJ-WC train which had an AC and four SD's as power. The Searles Branch and Oak Creek Branches out of Mojave see mainline type heavy traffic consisting of the above materials. For that reason, the locals that travel out of Mojave usually sometimes resemble unit trains instead of locals. While many solid sets of ex-SP SD's have been used often, there is also regular use of newer AC power including GE AC44's and AC60's as well as SD9043's. Mojave is really a pretty interesting place, railroad-wise. Other than that, it's not much more than a barren wasteland.
I know the Searles Branch heads out along the 14 north towards ridgecrest. Where does the Oak Creek Branch go? That wouldn't be part of the huge wye at Mojave would it? Does it go out to that cement plant that you can see off of 90th St. West aka the backroad to Tehachapi? I hope you guys aren't as confused as I have made myself. Donald http://www.trainweb.org/spsf
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Squad 51 LA: Where does the Oak Creek Branch go? That wouldn't be part of the huge wye at Mojave would it? Does it go out to that cement plant that you can see off of 90th St. West aka the backroad to Tehachapi?http://www.trainweb.org/spsf<hr></blockquote> Yes, the Oak Creek Branch is a continuation of the tail track off of the Mojave Wye. It is about 10 miles long, and climbs 800 feet on a 2% grade to the cement plant at Creal. To follow the line, go West on Oak Creek Road from Mojave (the new overpass is Oak Creek Road). Although the line is not directly next to the road, there are some North-South roads that do cross the line. The line is on the South side of Oak Creek Road all the way to the cement plant. To the best of my knowlege, it is served infrequently (no actual schedule) whenever there are enough cars to be picked up. I have heard that it is worked by any of the locals that have enough time to make the trip. Most likely, the local that works the cement plant at Monolith would also work the Oak Creek Branch. I, myself have only seen a train on the branch one time.
Thank you Kevin. I have only seen it once as well, except I thought it was just using the wye. Now I know where that train was going.
Yeah Kevin, I agree that Mojave is an intersting railroad place. When we were there, an SD9043 was on what I think was the local, along with an SP SD40 (probably SD40M-2), and a UP SD40-2. It was our first sighting of a 90 MAC, the first day of our visit. And yes, it is a desolate place, but at least the KFC was open very late at night for us to get a bite to eat! (Not so easy in England)
Kevin, Thanks for your info , I did not know the WC-MJ locals carried heavy bulk materials I thought those hopper cars were grain or something... I see the reason now , I bet the train goes back and forth over Tehachapi... now you need the HP to climb the hill.
