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SPRR Yuma District - The East Line SEGMENT 2: APEX to 03/15/91 Introduction The upcoming
48 miles take the Yuma Line from the top of Beaumont Hill (the saddle
of San Gorgonio Pass) at more than 2600 feet elevation, down the eastward
side of the pass and finally out on to the gently sloping, sandy alluvial
fan that makes up the floor of the
Along this
stretch of railroad, the climate changes much more significantly than
the modest altitude change might imply.
While weather in
During winter or summer, the climatological differences
that you will experience between The primary
reason for the meteorological diversity is the unusual geology presented
by the narrow gap between the highest groups of peaks in Southern California,
the San Gorgonio Range on the north and the
563.3 APEX Switch (RIV151D6) EB/WB Absolute
Signals End Two Main Track
CTC Begin Single Main
Track CTC Signpost EB 50-40
MPH Speed Limit: EB
50-40 MPH; WB 50-40 MPH Speed Limit through
switch to #2 Track: 25 MPH To the
east there is single track mainline with occasional sidings all the
way to The Espee
Timetable indicates that Apex is at MP563.2; the actual switchpoints
are at 563.3. The north
side access road is passable to the east and west. 563.5 Potrero Creek Culvert Potrero Creek heads on the plain north of Note that
the bridge abutments are built of old railroad boxcar doors. Use what's available... The north side of the tracks remains passable
while the south side ends with a precipitous fall.
563.9 Leave County Lands: Enter 564.0 2570' AMSL; -0.8% EB 564.1 Highland Springs Underpass Block Signals:
EB 5642 - WB 5641 Leave Before
September 1989, this was just a nice, simple country grade crossing
with a little two-lane road. But
then they built the housing development and shopping center on the south
side of the track. So the
underpass was completed in the summer of 1990.
The north path along the right-of-way remains passable all the
way to Sunset Avenue. 564.3 Dragging Equipment / Hot Box DETECTOR (RIV151F6) Right along
in here is the actual dividing point between drainage that is destined
for the 565.0 West Switch PERSHING Siding (RIV151F6) EB/WB Absolute
Signals Siding Length 6498' 2530' AMSL; -0.7%
EB A low,
tan municipal water tank is just south and to the west; the south path
along the right-of-way ends in a deep gulley.
The north side path passes across the gulley floor. 565.3 Signpost WB 50-40 MPH (main track) (RIV152A6) Signpost WB 25
MPH (siding) 565.4 Smith Creek Culvert Smith Creek
has etched a deep gulley which the railroad crosses by means of a high
fill. The north trackside
road is passable by 2WD but right in the bottom of the wash itself there
is a patch of soft, moist gravel with which to contend.
(Generally, the gravel hasn't been too much of a problem in the
past few times that I've driven across). Smith Creek
drains the west end of the Banning Bench, a shelf-like ledge just north
of Banning, and is also the westernmost named creek in the Pass to flow
east into the Salton Sink. 565.5 PERSHING Station Deep Gulley with
Culvert 566.0 2495' AMSL; -1.3% EB 566.3 Sunset Avenue Grade Crossing (RIV152B6) The north
path along the right-of-way remains passable all the way to 566.5 East Switch PERSHING Siding (RIV152C6) EB/WB Absolute
Signals 566.8 To the
east there is access along both the north and south side of the rails
all the way to 567.0 Montgomery Creek Culvert (RIV152D6) 2425' AMSL; -1.6%
EB Montgomery
Creek, another drainage from the Banning Bench, flows south and east
to join with the San Gorgonio River. 567.6 West Switch BANNING Siding (RIV152E6) EB/WB Absolute
Signals Siding Length 6202' 567.8 SR 243
leads south up into the San Jacinto Mountains to Idyllwild, a mere 26
miles south, heart of the San Jacintos and an alpine interlude at just
over a mile above sea level. The access
road along the north side of the tracks also passes over on the railroad
bridge, so that maintenance crews don't need to exit from the right-of-way
to move along the rails. 568.0 2340' AMSL; -1.5% EB 568.2 BANNING Station Banning
Station, back in the distant past, stretched from here to about MP568.5. It was located along the north side of
the tracks and fronted on 568.3 San Gorgonio Avenue Grade Crossing (RIV152F6) For a spectacular
view of the whole San Gorgonio Pass, travel south on A good
dirt path leading east is available along the north side of the tracks;
568.9 East Switch BANNING Siding (RIV153A6) EB/WB Absolute
Signals 569.0 2250' AMSL; -1.7% EB 569.3 Entrance to Banning Airport Banning
Airport is along south side of tracks here; 569.4 A Couple of Nasty Gullies (RIV153B6) There is
a couple of nasty but passable little gullies along the path on the
north side of the tracks. There
are also many cobbles and larger rocks.
Drive with caution. 569.6 Begin Paved Road This road
is the half-buried remains of the eastern extension of 570.0 Dragging Equipment DETECTOR (RIV153C6) Block Signals:
EB 5700 - WB 5701 2160' AMSL; -1.7%
EB In October
1989 the normally female voice of this talking detector slowed down
to about half-speed, sounding more like someone on Quaaludes. 570.6 Truck Scales on
Interstate 10 571.0 210' Wood Bridge over the San Gorgonio River (RIV153D6) 2070' AMSL; -1.8%
EB The railroad
passes over the San Gorgonio River wash; the river is usually dry on
the surface except after a summer thunderstorm or when there is spring
runoff. The San Gorgonio River is formed by the
drainage off the south faces of Little San Gorgonio Mountain and Mount San
Gorgonio, the highest peak in 571.1 West Switch CABAZON Siding EB/WB Absolute
Signals Siding Length 16217' Speed Limit through
switch to siding: 20 MPH The rails
pass over a smaller wash. East to
about MP579.4 access to the tracks is available along the paved path
of old Route 60. The path
will narrow to single lane width but then at MP572.6 will widen to a
full four lanes. According
to the topographic map, this siding used to be called Owl; however,
the name "Cabazon" shows up on maps as old as 1884. Leave Banning:
Enter County Lands 571.5 Old OWL Station Owl, a
siding approximately 5900' long, appears on old timetables and maps. Owl has been absorbed as the west end of
Cabazon siding. 572.0 1975' AMSL; -1.9% EB 572.3 Exercise
caution when driving along this single-lane section of the old highway. Bicycles, pedestrians and very occasional
auto traffic may be found here.
The eastbound I10 offramp for Apache Trail covers all but this
narrow remainder of the old highway. 572.6 Apache Trail Grade Crossing Block Signals:
EB 5726P - WB 5725 Eastward
signal 5726, sporting a "P" plate, also indicates the status
of the barricade detector at MP574.3. Access
to the tracks continues along the old highway along the north side;
573.0 1875' AMSL; -1.7% EB 573.7 Site of Old Water Tank (RIV174A1) The tank
along the north side of the siding was used back in the "old"
days before diesels came along. Twelve massive concrete feet are all
that remain, across from 574.0 Broadway Grade Crossing (RIV174B2) West-facing 6345
Spur East-facing 6340
Spur Community of Cabazon 1785' AMSL; -1.6% EB Spur 6345
comes off the main, south track, crosses Broadway and ends about two
hundred yards east. Spur
6340 is located along the north siding track, just west of the grade
crossing and continuing west for a hundred yards or so. 574.1 CABAZON Station There is
a section shanty south of the 6345 spur.
According to a 1954 timetable, Cabazon had a north siding 122
carlengths (approximately 6200') long and a 125-car (6300') south siding. Site of Old Water
Tank Big Lizards The Cabazon
Offramp from both eastbound and westbound Interstate 10 provides access
to Immediately
south of the Notice
the twelve concrete footings of yet another long-gone water tank along
the north side of the tracks west of the intersection. 574.3 West Switch East Switch CABAZON
Siding EB/WB Absolute
Signals (WB Signals Carry "P" Plate) Barricade DETECTOR Mons Siding
is the longest unbroken siding in the Yuma Sub. Over three miles long between switchpoints,
it helps to clear up congestion on the east side of the Beaumont Hill. This particular
junction of these two sidings is called a "Lap Siding". Since the two sidings overlap one another
without joining, the sidings can be set up to hold a train that is much
longer than the length of either Cabazon or Mons and still provide room
for a passing train to get by.
More likely, though, the lap junction allows run-by meets for
opposing traffic without incurring tremendous slowdowns.
All told, between the lap sidings here and the total length of
the Mons/Fingal Sidings to the east, this provides nearly eight miles
of "double" track in case of a really slow meet. Check out
the long, single-railed wooden fence that runs for about 120' along
the north side of the railroad right-of-way, immediately across from
the freeway offramp. That's
a BARRICADE DETECTOR. If some out-of-control vehicle (a tractor and
semi-trailer, I suspect) comes flying off the freeway with burned-out
brakes, the vehicle might hit the barricade fence on its way to fouling
the railroad tracks. A single heavy wire is supported by the
fence and acts as a long pull-chain for a switch at the east end of
the fence. The theory is
that a truck will hit the fence, rip the wire out of the fence as the
truck goes through, and the wire will tug on a switch that also controls
the indications on the eastbound 5276P signal and the westward absolute
signals right here. However,
given the angle of the offramp, I think that there's a good possibility
that the vehicle would miss the fence completely, passing just to the
east and fouling the mainline without setting off the barricade detector. You wait and see... (NOTE: as of October
1989, the detector had served its purpose; the east end, right at the
control box, was creamed.) 574.6 Signpost EB 45-40 MPH 575.0 1700' AMSL; -1.7% EB 576.0 1615' AMSL; -1.9% EB 576.2 According
to that 1954 timetable, the old 576.5 East Switch West Switch FINGAL
Siding EB/WB Fingal Siding Length
11373' The Mons
Crossovers serve as the ends of the individual Just west
of the west end of the Mons Crossovers, the railroad passes over the
Colorado River Aqueduct, built by the Southern California Metropolitan
Water District (MWD) to bring Colorado River water from the Colorado
River through the headgates at Parker Dam, about 160 miles east, to
Los Angeles. The aqueduct passes under the tracks from
the northeast and heads about southwest, tunneling under the 576.6 Signpost WB 50 MPH Speed Limit: EB
45-40 MPH; WB 50 MPH 577.0 1515' AMSL; -1.7% EB 577.9 Old Propeller Farm South of Tracks (RIV175C1) South of the tracks about a half-mile is an abandoned
wind energy conversion farm, one of the dozen or so farms in the eastern
San Gorgonio Pass. 578.0 1425' AMSL; -1.5% EB 578.6 FINGAL Station West-facing 6369
Spur The 150
yard-long spur is off the south side of the siding track. Fingal used to be a mere siding of 5800'
length. Now it has been
lengthened and absorbed into what is now a near-double track railroad
all the way from MP571.1 to MP578.7, a total of 7.6 miles. 578.7 East Switch FINGAL Siding (RIV175D1) EB/WB Absolute
Signals (EB Signals Carry "P" Plate) The eastbound signals carry the "P" plate,
indicating that the signal will also display an indication due to the
state of the high-water detector in the bridge at MP579.2. 579.0 1350' AMSL; -1.7% EB
579.2 Two Bridges over Stubbe
Wash carries the outflow from Stubbe Canyon which heads on the southeast
side of Kitching Peak, the lone alpine peak in the foreground just a
bit west of due north. The Pacific
Crest Trail, the hiking path that leads from the Mexican border to The high
water detector located under the west bridge, a 50' wood structure,
also controls the indication at signal WB5801P and the eastward absolute
signals at MP578.7. The paved road and the tracks begin to curve to
the south. 579.4 Tracks separate from Ahead the
paved road ends at the Verbenia Avenue Ramp on Interstate 10. To continue along the right-of-way, there
is a dirt road that separates to the right off the paved road and eases
down to the tracks. The little
unincorporated community of 579.5 Rail Greaser Yes, another
messy, sticky, gooey rail greaser.
Don't touch the rails anywhere around here for the fear of becoming
mired in the glop. Don't
even walk in the stuff; you'll track it into your car and ruin the carpet
or the floormats. 579.6 Dragging Equipment DETECTOR As measured
by walking along the tracks, counting poles or looking at the odometer,
this detector is really at MP579.8; that's false advertising for you. 580.0 1259' AMSL; -1.9% EB 580.2 Block Signals: EB 5802 - WB 5801P (RIV175F1) The westbound
signal 5801 carries the "P" plate. This signal, in addition to traffic duty,
indicates the status of the high-water detector on the bridge at MP579.2. 580.6 State Highway 111 Overpass The junction
of SR111 and I10 lies about 0.3 miles north; SR111 continues east and
the city of 580.9 Track Access from The dirt
road along the north side of the right of way joins with The old
Whitewater Adobe lies inside a compound just north; this may be the
location of the old Whitewater Station, shown on maps as old as 1891. 581.0 1160' AMSL; -0.3% EB 581.2 High-Tension Power Lines Note the
Strange Contraption in the fenced compound along the north side of the
tracks. 581.5 Junction of A left
turn here (north) onto 581.6 West Switch WEST PALM SPRINGS Siding EB/WB Absolute
Signals Siding Length 6460' 581.8 Water Tank Foundations Concrete
foundations along south side of tracks mark the location of a water
tank used for steam engine watering.
Reportedly, the tank was installed in the Thirties and removed
in the Fifties and put into service up in the Sierras. The south
side of the track is now lined with a verdant, dense stand of athel
tamarisk, a shrub/tree imported from 582.0 1140' AMSL; -0.4% EB 582.4 Black Water Tank The black water tank along the south side of the rails
is allegedly as much as 100 years old, augmented long ago by the now-removed
water tank 0.8 miles west. 582.6 WEST PALM SPRINGS Station (RIV176C3) East-facing 6445
Spur Helper
sets will sometimes use the spur 6445 along the south side of the siding
track but not very often. Once,
in April 1989, the last of the unmodified GP20s, 4060, was set out on
this spur as bad-order. The 1954
timetable identifies this as " East from
here there are various paths across the upcoming The Over the
eons of regional uplift caused by movement along the San Andreas Fault,
the great mountains of San Jacinto and San Gorgonio rose out of the
landscape and both grew to heights over ten thousand feet. These mountains catch the water that erodes
the granite rock and carries the debris downhill toward the ocean or
the Salton Sink. The debris
carried by countless years of flood flow have built the great alluvial
fan upon which the railroad tracks cross.
The structure constructed by water-borne debris from The stream
paths, seen from the air, appear braided, twisting and twining around
each other as the courses change radically from year to year. Because of this, the railroad, the Department
of Transportation (Caltrans), the Wind Farm operators and the municipalities
along the path of the Whitewater have erected dikes and other barriers
and channels to attempt to keep the river pointed along a known path.
There are several bridges along the tracks for the next mile
or two, each reflecting one of the many possible courses that runoff
water might take on its gravity-induced fall. 582.8 East Switch WEST PALM SPRINGS Siding EB/WB Absolute
Signals (EB Signals display "P" Plate) Leave County Lands:
Enter The eastbound signals also indicate the status of the
high-water detectors of three upcoming bridges at MP582.9, MP583.2 and
MP583.3. 582.9 Passage is possible with care and skill over sandy path
about 100 yards south of the trestle.
Take care to avoid the myriads of two, three and four-wheel racers
that frequent these parts. One
alternate route is the path along at right-of-way of the natural gas
pipeline, about 0.3 miles north from here.
Go back to Tipton Rd. at MP582.6, and head north on the dirt
track that leads north away from the ninety-degree bend in Tipton Road. Follow this path to the wide, cleared pipeline
route and turn east. This
route will come alongside the north flank of the railroad tracks at
about MP584.7. This trestle
bridge incorporates a high-water detector (north side, east end), the
condition of which is displayed at signal WB5839P and at the eastbound
absolute signals at the east switch of The south
right-of-way path is very rocky and slow along here. There is no good path through here, only
ones less bad. Experiment. 583.0 1120' AMSL; -1.4% EB 583.1 A 100-foot-long,
concrete bridge carries the rails over this channel with enough clearance
for vehicular passage underneath. 583.2 Bridges over branches of the Leave The tracks
first cross a river branch with a 60' long, wooden trestle bridge. There is only a few feet of clearance under
this bridge, not enough for much more than a go-kart. The second
bridge, a few hundred feet east, is a 180'-long, concrete trestle which
includes a high-water detector that also controls the WB5839P block
signal and the absolute signals at the east end of West Palm Springs;
if the detector trips, the signals will display a Stop indication. "P" plates are intact on the
stanchions at both ends of this bridge.
There's only one problem with the placement of the detector:
it's at the northwest corner of the bridge, shielded from storm flow
by debris deposits and on the inside of the curve in the wash.
Any storm water running down the wash will erode the east end
of the bridge abutments long before water gets over to the detector. By the
way, even if there is water in the creek bed, don't try to go for a
swim; note the posted sign:
At the
time of this writing there was nearly 5 gallons of water per second
flowing in this channel. I
suspect the sign warns one of the head injury that they ll get from
a swan dive. The south right-of-way has a straightforward ford of the
stream about 75 yards south of the tracks. For the
next 0.2 miles the trail becomes very cluttered with cobbles, stones
and just plain boulders. Pass
with caution and care. 583.3 Bridge over branch of the This 50-foot
steel and concrete bridge, like the bridges at MP583.2 and 582.9, incorporates
a high-water detector that again controls the WB5839P and the eastbound
absolutes at MP582.8. Again,
"P" plates are used at each end of this structure to indicate
its protected status. 583.4 Bridge over branch of the The gulley
is spanned with a 50'-long, wooden trestle bridge with insufficient
clearance underneath for vehicle passage. 583.5 Bridge over branch of the This gulley
is spanned with another 50-foot-long, wooden trestle bridge with insufficient
clearance underneath for vehicle passage. The southside
access road passes through firm sand in the bottom of the wash; don't
dawdle here, otherwise a two-wheel-drive vehicle might get stuck. 583.6 Block Signals: EB 5838 - WB 5839P Bridge over branch
of the Whitewater River A 50'-long,
wooden trestle bridge with insufficient clearance underneath for vehicle
passage is about 300 feet west of the signal masts. Signal
WB5839P provides an absolute indication for the high-water detectors
on the trestles at MP582.9, MP583.2 and MP583.3. 583.7 Bridge over dry wash (RIV176E3) This time
there is a fine 60-foot-long specimen made of wood and with no clear
access underneath. 584.0 Southern Pacific WHITEWATER Hill Communications
Facility 1045' AMSL; -1.8%
EB Due north
of the tracks approximately one and a half miles lies Whitewater Hill,
1734 feet high, with a Southern Pacific radio facility atop. Coverage of the Whitewater site extends
from Beaumont/Banning to the west and well beyond Thermal to the east. The radio PBX (mobile telephone) at this
site is on channel 3 (160.950MHz); the mechanical lady ends all radio
transmissions with the identification, "SP Whitewater, KDB647,
out." The site also
supports the trunked microwave communications going from 584.1 Bridge over This is
the very last bridge, culvert or otherwise for the next four miles or
so, until the bridge over 584.2 Private Grade Crossing This grade
crossing is accessible from SR111, half a mile south, through a long
path right down the middle of the sandy bottom of the The south
right-of-way becomes quite difficult to impossible east of this point.
The north side of the tracks is quite passable to the east, much
less so to the west. 584.5 Dragging Equipment / Hot Box DETECTOR (RIV176F3) 584.7 Wind Farm along South Side The south right-of-way remains passable by two-wheel-drive
from this point east to The north
right of way becomes better established and will continue to be wide
and passable all the way to And no,
the wind farms don't create the strong winds that plague this pass;
the winds came first and will be here long after all the propellers
have blown away. 584.8 Diversion
Dikes Along the
south side there are diversion dikes built up to capture the rare but
often fierce runoff when summer thunderstorms strike, protecting the
propeller farm and the railroad. 585.0 West Switch North GARNET Siding (RIV177A3) EB/WB Absolute
Signals Signpost EB 55-40 MPH Siding Length 17121' Speed Limit: EB
55-40 MPH; WB 45 MPH 950' AMSL; -1.9%
EB 585.4 Old HUGO Station Gone but
not forgotten, at least in the hearts of railfans across the land, is
Hugo siding. Fifty-eight
hundred feet long, it is now part of the North Garnet siding. 586.0 845' AMSL; -1.7% EB 586.4 Along the north side of the tracks for the next half-mile
or so are automobile junkyards, with bits and pieces of just about every
kind of automobile imaginable.
A lot, I suspect, are the remains of the autos of careless railfans
who didn't belong out in the desert.
Take care.
The wide
cleared swath between the junk yards and the tracks is a natural gas
pipeline right-of-way.
587.0 Signpost WB 45 MPH (RIV177D3) 755' AMSL; -1.3%
EB 587.9 West Switch South GARNET Siding (RIV177E3) EB Signals WB Site of Old Water
Tank Siding Length 5268' The "A"
plate attached to the north leg of the westbound signal bridge reiterates
the fact that these signals are absolute. The little
wash here just west of the siding switch is Garnet Creek; it channels
the little runoff from the Devil's Garden, high in the hills to the
northwest where all the windmills are. About 100'
north of the tracks there are the footings of an old water tank that
was used long ago to water up the steamers headed up the hill. There are
also the remains of a watering pond or wading pool or something similar
located just north of the tracks. 588.0 685' AMSL; -1.4% EB 588.1 GARNET Station (RIV177F4) Community of Garnet The once-paved,
now buried under the sands of time, road that fronts the south side
of the tracks here is A 1891
map shows a branch line that left the mainline (actually, then at a
station named "Seven Palms") and headed directly to A curious
fact: littered all around the area are hundreds, perhaps thousands of
pairs of shoes. Ladies shoes,
roller skates, ice skates, tennis shoes, childrens' shoes, you name
it. Don't bother to go by, hoping to pick up
a bargain for the wife; the shoes are a bit weather-worn now. It seems as if the whole site was a dump
for a shoe manufacturer. Or
perhaps it was a railroad derailment. 588.2 East Switch North GARNET Siding EB Absolute Signals WB Absolute Signals The path
along the north side of the right of way ends at the overpass. East
from here the access is along the south side of the tracks along the
trail passing under the Indian Avenue Overpass along the south side
of the south siding. Note that there is a gate here. Access east along the north side can be
had by turning east off Along the
south side of the right-of-way, just east of the A tamarisk
grove begins along the south side of the access road. 588.9 East Switch South GARNET Siding EB/WB Absolute
Signals For the
last 0.8 miles the north side of the mainline has been bordered by Garnet
Hill, a lump of gravel and rock 901 feet high.
The view from the top of Garnet Hill is impressive for a low
hill, and there is one point on the southwest end of the hill that not
only sees directly down the SP tracks to the east-southeast but provides
an excellent vantage point to watch trains climb up and down San Gorgonio
Pass. Access
to the top of Garnet Hill is available via an east turnoff about 200
yards north of the Indian Avenue Overpass on
589.0 610' AMSL; -0.4% EB 589.9 Dragging Equipment DETECTOR (RIV178B5) Block Signals:
EB 5898 - WB 5899 20' Wooden Bridge over
Just to
the east the railroad passes over a small wash on a concrete and wood
bridge; the wash is Mission Creek.
Mission Creek drains a portion of the east and north slopes of
San Gorgonio Mountain, at 11,503 feet, the highest mountain in This is
the last wash to cross the railroad for the next 19 miles. The lands
just to the south of the right-of-way, beyond the trees, are under Bureau
of Land Management protection and motorized travel into them is prohibited. Note the sign at the gap in the trees,
next to all the tire tracks of off-road vehicles. Lastly:
the trail ahead for the next half-mile can get covered with quite a
bit of sand, especially after a few nights of strong wind. The Espee maintenance folks try to keep
the road clear but occasionally the sand builds up faster than they
can get rid of it. If you're
not sure of the road, get out and test it on foot.
It could save digging. 590.0 590' AMSL; -0.8% EB Somewhere
around here was the old townsite of Pierce, as shown on a 1910 California
State Mineral Deposits map. 590.5 West Switch SALVIA Siding (RIV178C6) EB/WB Absolute
Signals Siding Length 7077' The word "salvia" means "sage" in
Latin. A learned fellow
on the Espee Engineering staff must have come up with this name after
seeing the wild sage in the region. 591.0 Gene Autry Trail Overpass (RIV181C1) 550' AMSL; -0.7%
EB This road
was originally called 591.5 Signpost EB 79-60 MPH (RIV181D1) Speed Limit: EB
79-60 MPH; WB 55 MPH 591.6 SALVIA Station 591.8 Leave County Lands: Enter 592.0 East Switch SALVIA Siding (RIV181E2) EB/WB Absolute
Signals 510' AMSL; -1.1%
EB 593.0 450' AMSL; -1.0% EB 593.3 Block Signals: EB 5934 - WB 5933 (RIV181F3) 593.5 Signpost WB 55 MPH (RIV182A3) There is
an Espee watering facility along the south side of the tracks. Built out of old SP tank cars, it supplies
water to the tamarisk groves along both the south and north side of
the tracks. 594.0 400' AMSL; -0.9% EB A gas station/mini-mart
is located just southeast of the overpass. A gated path leads out from the railroad
right-of-way along the west side of the overpass to Vista Chino Drive;
beware because the sand piles up very deep and even walking through
it can be tough. 594.6 Track Access (RIV182B4) Access
from the tracks is available from the south, heading west to Date Palm/Vista
Chino Drives. 594.8 West Switch RIMLON Siding (RIV182B5) EB/WB Absolute
Signals Siding Length 5979' Edom Hill
is the predominant peak, covered with antennas, northeast of the railroad
about two miles. 595.0 350' AMSL; -0.9% EB 595.1 RIMLON Station 595.5 596.0 East Switch RIMLON Siding (RIV182D6) EB/WB Absolute
Signals 305' AMSL; -0.7%
EB 597.0 265' AMSL; -0.6% EB 597.3 Block Signals: EB 5974 - WB 5973 (RIV192F1) 598.0 Hotbox/Dragging Detector (RIV192F2) 235' AMSL; -0.5%
EB Access
to Interstate 10 is available at Access
the railroad tracks from Ramon by passing south over the tracks to the
intersection of Immediately
beyond the south tamarisk grove, just west of the overpass, is the Southern
Pacific Pipe Lines Transoil Station. 598.5 West Switch THOUSAND PALMS Siding (RIV193A2) EB/WB Absolute
Signals Siding Length 21029' This is
one of the more important sidings in the Yuma Subdivision, based upon
the amount of activity that the siding sees.
Long westbound trains will wait for helper units, eastbounds
will sometimes switch out their helpers while everybody waits for a
couple of east- or westbound hotshots to clear the Hill. 599.0 THOUSAND PALMS Station 210' AMSL; -0.4%
EB 599.2 East-facing 6554 Spur (RIV193B3) There is
a utility spur off the north track; this may be the remains of the site
of There have
been tampers, spreaders and brushcutters stowed on this spur. This section of the railroad always has
some maintenance work in process due to the sand, tamarisks, sun and
wind. The trackside
access road that continues from here to the east looks to have been
paved at one time, but little pavement remains now. The tamarisk groves end just west of the
overpass. 599.8 Track Access from Access to the path along the south side of the rails
is available here at the end of a paved, two-lane road that is the eastern
extension of 600.0 191' AMSL; -0.3% EB 600.5 THOUSAND PALMS Crossover (RIV193D4) EB/WB The THOUSAND PALMS Crossover rests about midway along
the siding. The crossover
allows westbound traffic to move from the siding track to the mainline. The crossover is used often to set up helpers
into westbound trains, either as mid-train or as head-end lash-ups. This point
marks the west switch, more or less, of a siding called "Dry Camp",
shown on maps as old as 1891. By
the late 1950s, the siding had been increased in length to its present
21,000+'; the 1958 Thousand Palms USGS topographic map indicates the
siding name as "Thousand Palms - Dry Camp". However, the Espee Timetable currently
refers to the whole siding only as "Thousand Palms". But, I have heard train crews refer to
the east end of the siding, that is, the portion between the east switch
of the siding at MP602.6 and the crossover here as "the Dry Camp
end", while the remainder of the siding west from the crossover
is often called the "Thousand Palms end".
But certainly, many crews just refer to the segments as the "east"
end and the "west" end. According
to the Thomas Bros., the community of Dry Camp still exists north of
the Interstate, east of From MP600.4
to MP602.3 the tracks are bounded along the south side by the city of
601.0 175' AMSL; -0.1% EB 601.5 Old DRY The 1954
timetable indicates this as the place; the siding used to be some 6000
feet long, but has long since been swallowed up into the current Thousand
Palms siding. 602.0 170' AMSL; -0.1% EB The southside
tamarisk grove begins again about 0.3 miles west. 602.6 East Switch THOUSAND PALMS Siding (RIV193F6) EB/WB Absolute
Signals 603.0 Signpost EB 79-65 MPH (RIV204A1) Speed Limit: EB
79-65 MPH; WB 79-60 MPH 165' AMSL; -0.5%
EB The tamarisk
grove along the north side of the tracks begins again and continues
east. 603.8 Signpost WB "Report Smoking Units To Dispatcher"
(RIV204B1) 603.9 Block Signals: EB 6038 - WB 6039 604.0 140' AMSL; -0.4% EB 604.3 Signpost WB "Check Units For Smoking Conditions"
(RIV204C2) 604.4 Dragging Equipment DETECTOR (RIV204C2)
605.0 Signpost WB 79-60 MPH 115' AMSL; -0.5%
EB 605.1 Block Signals: EB 6052 - WB 6053 There is
gated access to the south path along the right-of-way here from the
south and west side of the Washington Avenue Overpass. The south path along the right-of-way remains
open all the way east to 606.0 90' AMSL; -0.6% EB 606.3 West Switch MYOMA Siding (RIV204E3) EB/WB Absolute
Signals Siding Length 6361' 606.5 MYOMA Station 607.0 60' AMSL; -0.6% EB 607.5 EB Absolute Signals Signpost EB 30
MPH 607.6 East Switch MYOMA Siding (RIV205A4) WB Absolute Signals The signals
at MP607.5 control eastward traffic at the east switch of Myoma; the
switch and the westbound signals themselves are just east of the twin
overpass bridges. There is
gated access here out to From the
east side of the 608.0 35' AMSL; -0.4% EB 608.3 The The canal
ends about seven miles south at The 608.5 Dragging Equipment / Hot Box DETECTOR (RIV205C5) Access
from 608.6 Block Signals: EB 6086P - WB 6085 Signal
EB6086P also indicates the status of the high water detector on the
bridge over the Coachella Storm Drain ( 608.8 Leave County Lands: Enter 608.9 400' The Coachella
Storm Drain is the Downstream
(north of the tracks) the river loops around the north end of This five-span,
steel through-plate girder bridge is wired with a high-water detector
located at the west end on the south side; this detector also controls
the signals EB6086P and the westbound absolutes at MP609.5. The southside
access road provides a path to the bottom of the river; the soil is
generally surprisingly firm and well-cemented, except of course on the
day that you try railfanning in your new Italian sports car... There is plenty of clearance under the
bridge for most vehicular traffic.
And remember, don't blame me. 609.0 15' AMSL; -0.4% EB 609.6 West Switch EB Absolute Signal Speed Limit through
switch to #2 Track: 30 MPH 609.7 End Single Track Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) Begin Double Track
Automatic Block Signal (ABS) Signpost EB "END
CTC" WB Absolute Signals
with "P" Plates Signpost WB "BEGIN
CTC" Speed Limit: EB
50 MPH; WB 50 MPH Speed Limit ACOT:
EB 50-49 MPH; WB 30 MPH (ACOT: Against
Current Of Traffic) Westbound
the railroad runs under single-track CTC (Centralized Traffic Control)
jurisdiction. To the east,
all the way to MP618.5, double-track ABS (Automatic Block Signal) controls
track occupancy. The following
9 miles of double track are run with respect to the current of traffic:
the North track provides westbound service while the South track sees
eastbound traffic. All of
the signals controlling this double track are set up for operation in
those directions. For instance,
any time a westbound train is run on the South track, it is said to
be "running against the current of traffic (ACOT)",
and so is controlled by certain rules governing that service.
The speed limit while running in this mode is less. The triangular
Protection (P) plates on the westbound signal staffs indicate that those
signals also display the status of the high-water detector on the Coachella
Storm Drain bridge at MP608.9. When this
guide was begun, the Monroe Street Overpass was just a twinkle in the
eyes of the City of 609.8 Signpost EB 50 MPH (RIV205E6) Sea Level! Welcome
to the sub-sea-level (kinda like my grades...) route of the Southern
Pacific Railroad. Few railroads
can lay claim to such a special route.
Fortunately for the Espee, the next 63 miles of the route, while
below sea level, will probably not ever again be below water level. At least not while the Espee is still in
existence. 610.0 -6' AMSL; -0.4% EB 610.1 West-facing 6600 Spur Speed Limit ACOT:
WB 40 MPH A switch
off the north track services an industry spur along the north side of
the track. This is an especially
important spur as it provides service to the local Coors Distributor. The Coors distributor is on Note: the
soil immediately along the north side of tracks has the consistency
of flour in many places. It
is thick and deep and without sufficient caution a vehicle can become
a near-permanent part of the scenery.
This soil type exists in portions all along the tracks to at
least Niland. Some places it may be best to walk. 610.3 Abandoned 6615 Spur Until May 1989, there was a west-facing switch 6615
on the south main track for a spur serving the Dole Fruit and Nut facility
across By the
way, "Deglet Noor" is a type of date, as in the fruit of a
date palm. There are many
date shops through the Coachella and 610.8 East-facing Spur (RIV215F1) The second-most
important industry spur from the north track serves the Budweiser Distributor
along the north side of the right-of-way. The distributor is located on 610.9 Signpost WB 79-70
MPH Block Signal: EB
6110 Speed Limit: EB
50 MPH; WB 79-70 MPH Speed Limit ACOT:
EB 50-49 MPH; WB 59-49 MPH This is
the first Amtrak station since Ontario/Pomona, about 90 miles west. Once on the property, however, there are
no signs that indicate that Amtrak has anything to do with this place. The only signs on the property describe
the facility as the SP Depot and SP Police Station. Access
to the SP Depot and the Amtrak Station is available via a narrow, paved
frontage road along the west side of the north end of the Jackson Avenue
Overpass. The more conventional
way is to follow the occasional "International-type" pictograph
signs showing a diesel locomotive and a station platform. These signs will lead the intrepid explorer
east along Avenue 45 from Jackson for a block, then for a final right
turn south on Pacific Avenue to the station. Since this
is also the local SP Police Station, mind your Ps and Qs, whatever they
are. A nice
location to park and watch the activity is in the dirt lot just east
of the overpass and the restaurant parking lot, immediately adjacent
to the 6111 signal. 611.0 See the
next section for details. |
