Half-Way Up the Grade -- BNSF Inter-Modal Train in the Snow in Monolith, California
by Darin Volpe
Title
Half-Way Up the Grade -- BNSF Inter-Modal Train in the Snow in Monolith, California
Artist
Darin Volpe
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
On a cold February day, this BNSF inter-modal train pulled up the long grade between Mojave and Tehachapi, California.
BNSF was formed by the merger of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroads in 1995. The transportation giant owns nearly 8,000 locomotives and over 32,000 miles of track throughout the western United States. But this stretch of track connecting the Mojave Desert with the Central Valley isn't owned by that railroad. Through historic track-sharing agreements between long-gone railroads that disappeared through mergers into the two western mega-railroad companies of today, the track this train is riding on is owned by arch-rival Union Pacific.
BNSF runs upwards of one train per hour between Mojave and Bakersfield, more, ironically, than Union Pacific runs over the track they own. Trains climb from 3000 feet in to over 4000 feet at the summit in Tehachapi before starting down the west side of the mountains.
Uploaded
March 2nd, 2023
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