Trona Railway in the Mojave Desert: EMD SD40-2, SD40T-2, and Baldwin AS-616 Locomotives

That scene with the F-35 zig-zagging into that AMAZING sunset looked perfectly staged! Almost like the pilot knew right where your camera was pointing and said, "I'm going to give this guy a show". Pure luck with that scene. It's funny, how to my eyes at least, that unit #52 looked much more sophisticated than the #54. The ridged looking cast Commonwealth trucks on the 54 looked antiquated even when they were brand new, and the large gap between the trucks and the frame didn't help much either. The drop-equalized trucks on the 52, plus the thicker frame sills and the taller hood made it the whole unit look more refined. It's funny though, how the newer drop-equalized trucks on 52 had friction bearings vs. the older design of 54's trucks with the roller bearings. I wonder which unit the crews liked running more.

What’s the grade out of trona?

To bad you could not have filmed the UP"s coming out of the tunnel west of Searles

I love 645 and 710 EMD at run 8 sound never gets old

thank you for share detailed video

Wonderful video :)

If you like this you can go and run on the Trona Railway in Run8 v3 Train Simulator (not to be confused with the one on steam). One of the addons is this very line, and its quite wonderfully detailed out in terms of size (most train simulator type games compress stuff, Run8 doesn't).

Great video,love that part of the country,wide open spaces.

Nice... I really regret not trying harder to get shots of these when they had their red/silver units.

And, presumably, the various commodities the line carries in those hopper cars are made from trona, a mineral composed of sodium carbonate and bicarbonate.

Man, I love those SD-40’s and those Tunnel Motors. That era of diesel-electric locomotives is my favorite.

Great video! High-quality and excellent footage! :)

luv it

Not a tree in sight!!!! Looks like the friggin moon !!!!!😀😀😀😀🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺

Very nice video, filmed in some Great Locations👍👍

CVP Watching trains and an F/A-18 flyby awesome. Looks like a place to check out on my next trip to Death Valley. Well put together.

Man this is killer...

i worked for them many years ago

Great video! Say I am wondering if you can tell me if Coon Creek junction is a good and legitimate spot to railfan? I see you have shot many trains there so that is why I ask. If it’s legitimate and not sketchy, where is a good place to park?

The scenery and vantage points are amazing! Great video, thanks for sharing!

Love seeing the tunnel motors running and in faded SP paint too!

Thanks airing the outstanding video and that of Magnificent Locomotives. Your exertions are preponderating. Bliss

Those sure are Baldwins , sound like a tractor!

Great video. Great sound in everything from the deep throated roar of the E.M.D.'s to the fighter jet, to the low rumbling growl of the Baldwins. Now I have finally heard a Baldwin engine, with their huge cylinder displacements. You get an A plus!

This is amazing! The fact that we still have units like the SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motors” in service is insane. They also sound just as good as they did with their original owners! Although, they could use a new paint job.

One of the BETTER train videos I have seen. Thanks for posting!

Love This Video Great

I love the paint scheme on the AS-616s. I think the former Union Pacific SD40-2s would look good in that paint scheme. Just a thought.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I just recently found out that Trona RR has one of the last Kodachrome SD40-2's in existence.I knew about their SD70's but I didn't know they had all this EMD power from SP & UP and those old Baldwins/Alcos,espiecally the SP tunnel motors.

If you photographed them on the mainline as to where it would be hard to see the white cab patches or erased lettering,it would look like you just went back to 1990's,or not older.

Here in Texas,the AWRR has a pair of SD40T-2's themselves along with a original SD40 from SP,you can often see them at Abbot yard or by Marble Falls and Temple Texas.

My only experience with a Baldwin/Alco was a former USAX RS-4-TC-1A,one of the last left and still in it's black military paint.
Even though not having a Alco prime mover,it still has a low rumble and grunt power for a Caterpillar 3508 that it was rebuilt with.

Please do RCPE. Great footage!

Just like.the SP used to do it love the sound of those old EMD's

Run 8

That was really good. I'm not a train person and don't know anything about them but I enjoying watching it.

My compliments to all who put this together. I'm sort of a new rookie foamer if you will & fortunate to had purchased a property in the Argus area of Trona. Been 4 years now & I've always tried to figure out the best time to go out & take photos or video of the short line. Of course without trespassing & safety 1st. I've only caught it leaving & returning to Trona. Never ventured out that far myself. You saved me the trip. I doubt if I could do it any better. Thank you much appreciated.

God I'd love to visit the Trona one day, great coverage!

Love that EMD 2 stroke symphony.

Used to ride dirt bikes out by those pinnacles.

As much as I enjoy watching ALCO's work, I enjoy the Baldwins even more. I love the sound of a baldwin locomotive. "Legends never sleep".

Really super camera placements!

Back in the early 80's I hauled pot ash out of here for Mcclenton Trucking out of Oceanside Ca.

My son got a ride on one of engines when he was about eight, I was taking him on a tour of the plant and one of the engineers stopped and let him ride the train for a few hundred yards and back, He now has 24 years on the SJVRR out of the Exeter, Visalia and Fresno area.

Well done!