Well, you guys missed a once in a lifetime opportunity! First, I've got to give huge props to knightrider for not only keeping us company along the trip, but also saving my @$$ when my truck completely died in the canyon!
So, we arrived at the canyon around 11:30, just as we'd planned. There was only a small group of folks gathered at the campground, but we figured it would end up getting more crowded. We crossed the water and traveled all the way through the canyon to the other side, ending up at the last trestle bridge. There were a few folks spread throughout the canyon, with at least one person posted up at most of the good visual spots, so we figured our best bet was to shoot what we could as the train entered the canyon and crossed the first bridge, then do our best to chase it through the canyon and see what else we could shoot (with the understanding that we would be perfectly ok if we only managed to get those first shots).
We posted up on top of a little hill just north of the bridge, along with a group of old train fans from Apple Valley. They were a really fun group of old guys, most of them in their 70s or 80s, and we enjoyed chatting with them. We had a great view of both the open desert to our north, and the entrance to the canyon to our south. A freight train passed through the canyon northbound (toward Kelso) and just as it got out of our view out in the open desert, it came to a stop and waited for the Big Boy to come by. While we waited here and chatted with the guys, a group of 5 small airplanes came by and circled the canyon just to the south of us, then took turns landing down in the sandy river bottom and parking. They all got out and claimed their spots to view the train as it came by.
Soon after, we spotted the headlight as the train approached us and everyone got ready. There was a cloud of dust from a group of dual sport motorcycles that were "chasing" it through the desert, riding ahead of it and next to it as it moved. The train honked and put off a few good puffs of smoke for us as they approached a road crossing just to our north. The sound of that steam whistle echoing through the canyon was so amazing!
We snapped some photos as it passed by, and said bye to the group as we ran down the hill to our waiting vehicles. We started to haul butt through the canyon to catch the train, but something was wrong with my vehicle and I couldn't accelerate beyond about 30 mph. It's almost like I was in limp mode or something, but I didn't have any dash lights or anything. As the train continued to blast through the canyon, I realized I wasn't going to be able to catch it, and I pulled over to snap a few last shots of it ahead of me. I shut my rig down and restarted it, which seemed to fix whatever the issue was with the acceleration. So I proceeded to move back toward the water crossing, and after just another few hundred feet, the entire vehicle completely died on me. The engine died, and all of the electrical shut down. I had no gauges, no ignition beep - couldn't even unlock the doors. I used my handheld to radio Jordan, who had managed to get quite a bit ahead of me after my issues. He came back to my location and said "you picked a hell of a time to break down. The train is stopped right up there between the two bridges." Unbelievable!
We dug some tools out of each of our rigs, and within just a few minutes, Jordan had diagnosed a blown fuse within the positive battery terminal. The terminal seemed to have come loose and may have grounded out against the hood or something while we were hauling butt and hitting big bumps. We disconnected my accessory circuit (which runs to my second battery and my aux fuse box) and temporarily jumped the fuse with a wire, and the rig started right back up. Within 15 mins, we were back on the road and eager to see if the train was still stopped.
That's when the magic happened! We came up over the hill and it was still sitting there. Because we were still on the other side of the water crossing, there was barely anyone there. The majority of the folks who we'd seen back in the canyon had actually come in the other way through Basin Road, and they'd all turned around and gone back after the train came through. We could see a huge crowd of 200 or 300 people up on top of the hill just past the campground, but none of those folks wanted to come through the water over to where we were, so they were just stuck watching from there. So we pulled up and parked right next to the train, along with only about 15 other people. The crew was absolutely amazing! They allowed us to get real close and personal with it, and they even let us climb up into the cab to check everything out. What an amazing opportunity to be up inside this thing while it was still running and ready to roll. The firebox was burning at full blast, and it was well over 120 degrees inside the cab.
We spent about 20 mins there with the train until they were ready to depart, and I climbed up a little hill on the other side of the tracks to get the money shot as it rolled away. The sun at my back, the canyon walls as a backdrop, and not a single car or spectator visible in the photo (they were on the other side, blocked by the train).
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