After making a stop to meet northbound UP train MTURV-21, Union Pacific train MRVLA-22 (Merchandise: Roseville CA to Los Angeles CA) got its clear signal and … rolled a little bit backward as it was trying to get going. The engineer worked on getting his train moving forward for a while, and then sent the conductor back to the third engine (SD70M 5136) to make some adjustments. We hung around for a bit, and then headed two miles north to catch the MTURV-21 in Caliente. While there, we heard a horn in Bealville and, shortly after that, we could see UP 9085 (SD70ACe), Norfolk Southern 9960 (Dash 9-40CW) and UP 5136 – which, apparently, the crew got to work correctly – passing through Cliff, six rail miles away (but only about 2½ miles away visually, thanks to the serpentine route the railroad must take to avoid the highway's 6% grade). At the end of the train was Distributed Power Unit UP ES44AC 5536. (Caliente, California – April 23, 2023)
