| On the BNSF in the greater Los Angeles area, the vast majority of freight trains are intermodal (and mainly double-stacks). But a "real" freight operates each way each day, ferrying non-containerized goods between Watson (Wilmington CA) and Barstow CA. On September 8th, 2012, the westbound version of this train, the M-BARWAT1-08A (Regular Merchandise; Barstow to Watson) was seen passing through the old Santa Fe station of Atwood in Placentia. The power is the usual 7700-series ES44DCs, along with a treat - GP60M 112 (GP60Ms are used in local service in southern California). While the WATBAR/BARWAT trains are made up of a variety of freight cars (box cars, gondolas, open and covered hoppers, tank cars, flats, etc.) today's train is almost entirely made up of tank cars, with a few covered hoppers interspersed among them. (At first glance, I thought it might be an ethanol train, although there was too much tank car variety for that.) The diverging mainline in the foreground is Metrolink's Olive Subdivision, which heads south to Orange, where it joins the old Santa Fe Surf Line to San Diego. |