Engineer Doug Busler inherited a late Southwest Chief, and BNSF train Z-LACWSP8-20U (Los Angeles CA to Willow Springs, IL) holds at Frost (just south of Victorville) for the meet so as not to interfere with the station stop in Victorville. Now that Amtrak #3 is utilizing the "natural crossover." BNSF engines 6902, 7384, 7041, 6963 and 4528 will continue their eastward journey. Meanwhile, passengers heading west for the holidays in the Superliner cars will take little enjoyment in passing through desert scenery that is normally in the dark for them this time of year, as they would much rather not be 5 and a quarter hours late when loved ones await their arrival. (This train was late because it hit a pedestrian crossing the tracks in Albuquerque at 4:39 PM on December 19th. She was in serious but stable condition, but the subsequent investigation put #3 and its 211 passengers way behind schedule.)
