With the town of Mojave in the distance, a Roseville to West Colton junk manifest sprints across the high desert toward Lancaster and a trip down the Palmdale Cutoff through Cajon Pass.

From a perch above the relatively new BNSF triple track at Swarthout Canyon, we catch a view of a westbound doublestack descending Cajon Pass on a cool and cloudy day in the San Gabriel mountains.

Remarkable how well this paint has held up after 11 years. BNSF 762 and a fellow warbonnet lead a general merchandise freight west through Goffs on a clear winter day in the desert.

A winter evening in the desert finds a westbound shooter approaching the National Trails Hwy. overpass as sunset approaches on the BNSF Needles Sub.

Looking west toward Canyon country on the former SP Saugus Line, Amtrak Superliners gleam in last light at Sand Canyon on a detouring Coast Starlight.

The sun begins to set as detouring southbound Amtrak train #11 drops into the Santa Clarita Valley at Sand Canyon on the former SP Saugus Line.

A light rain falls as detouring northbound Amtrak train #14 starts its way through the loop at Walong in the Tehachapi mountains.

A few old friends in unfamiliar territory, at least to the photographers. Six 2nd generation Electro-Motive diesels including three ex-SP tunnelmotors lug a string of trona loads to be interchang... (more)

One of BNSF's newer GEVO engines leads a short and fast intermodal train at Monolith, with Tehachapi summit being just a couple miles ahead.

Working through a cold winter haze, UP 5390 leads a Roseville to West Colton general merchandise freight as it tops the summit just east of downtown Tehachapi.

Looking east across the Mojave desert from Warren, a northbound BNSF intermodal is stretched out on the grade climbing Tehachapi Pass. The signal bridge at mp 377 can barely be seen in front of th... (more)

Less than a half hour of sunlight left as detouring southbound Amtrak train #11 rolls downgrade through Crown Valley in Soledad Canyon near the old SP siding location of Ravenna.

Bursting out into the sunlight, detouring southbound Amtrak train #11 passes beneath the SP signal bridge at mp377 and will soon be rolling through Mojave and then to Los Angeles via Soledad Canyo... (more)

Under stormy skies, detouring northbound Amtrak train #14 winds through the old west end of Bealville siding as it approaches Tunnel 2 in the Tehachapi mountains.

Snow can still be found in the upper reaches of Cajon Pass a several days after an early winter storm passed through the area as a westbound doublestack is already on the descent at Silverwood.