Stuart posted his photos of last Sunday's railfan trip here. I can't figure out what happened with that photo of me. It looks like I rubbed a maple bar on my teeth, and I don't know why my feet are pointed like that. I like the dramatic lighting on the trains through the cut at Summit.

After the Cajon Group discussion on the extent of the Union Pacific property rights, I thought I'd post something from the California Penal Code...

369i. (a) Any person who enters or remains upon the property of any railroad without the permission of the owner of the land, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession and whose entry, presence, or conduct upon the property interferes with, interrupts, or hinders, or which, if allowed to continue, would interfere with, interrupt, or hinder the safe and efficient operation of any locomotive, railway car, or train is guilty of a misdemeanor.

As used in this subdivision, "property of any railroad" means any land owned, leased, or possessed by a railroad upon which is placed a railroad track and the land immediately adjacent thereto, to the distance of 20 feet on either side of the track, which is owned, leased, or possessed by a railroad.

Within a few seconds of my post, I got a reply from Ted York, "Just don't hinder the operation of the BNSF and you are ok. In the case of the UP just spot them a five dollar bill!" I responded with, "You ain't kidding. My buddy and I were at LAUPT Sunday checking out the Officer's Special when "Security" told us we were in a restricted area and needed to leave. His accent was so thick we could barely understand him. Should've asked if I could buy him a cup of (insert regional hot
drink here).

For those who don't know, Ted York is featured in the current Model Railroad Planning Guide. He has a great HO scale layout depicting Cajon Pass.

Santi has posted his shots from our Friday trip. They can be seen here, but here is a preview. This is a shot from Goat Hill, followed by a shot from the rocks at Sullivan's Curve.

Santi and I spent Friday in one heck of a Cajon adventure. We went to Cajon Station, Sullivan's Curve, Drawbar Flats, Mormon Rocks, Alray and the tunnels, the other side of the tunnels, Hill 582, Summit, Del Taco, Drawbar Flats, Goat Hill, Sullivan's Curve, the top of Sullivan's Rock, Cajon Station, Keenbrook, Blue Cut, Flat tire, Swarthout, Mormon Rocks and gone.

So what's with the goat, you ask? Well, as we headed up the road to what should be known as Goat Hill, we encountered a jet black pigmy goat. If there was ever a definition for couger bait, this goat was it. We tried for several minutes to catch her, but she wouldn't cooperate. Now I'm haunted by dreams of an eviscerated goat carcass on a fire road.

I found some time today to sneak out to the Pass and check out the areas previously closed by the fire closure, and to test my Bronco's four-by-four capabilities. I guess the spirit of Sullivan had me!

I found a great vantage point over the area between Alray and Cajon. As you head west on 138, the first street on the left is Lone Pine Canyon Road. Within a hundred feet is a dirt road on the left. This road eventually goes along the UP tracks and CP Canyon. It then curves uphill and is a good grade up and over the ridge above Sullivan's Curve. Eventually, it comes out at Swarthout Canyon and Blue Cut, but I found my favorite views long before then. Just a hundred yards out, before you get to CP Canyon, is a great view of the UP tracks through an S-curve of a tight cut by Mormon Rocks (of course I didn't have my camera with me). The second great place is a wide spot on the road, under the power lines. A USGS benchmark calls the place "Tower 2" and it is shown in the bottom-center grid on this USGS map. I didn't need four-wheel drive for this part of the journey, but a high clearance vehicle is recommended.

After checking out Alray from the OHV staging area, I took the dirt road south of Summit, called "Little Horsethief Canyon", or 3N44. The gates were closed at the top of the hill, but from up there, you can see the old Summit grades very plainly.

Feeling pretty confident now with the Bronco, I went for the back roads of Swarthout, specifically 2N87. That was where I was forced to switch it into 4x4 mode. What a climb! But no train views. Disappointed, I turned around and tried to find a back way to Keenbrook via Applewhite road. I have no idea where they got that name. Not the Applewhite part, but the Road part! It was an incredible journey, fording creeks, praying for traction, and looking out for Ned Beatty's lover. I decided to turn around when the road was blocked with a sedan, in great condition except for the shotgun holes in the doors and blown out windows. This thing was so fresh, I didn't see any rust and the plates were still on it!

I broke lots of safety rules on this trip, most noteably, I didn't have a buddy with me, I could only sporadically get phone reception, and I didn't bring any tools other than a shovel and extra water. Sometimes you just gotta go for it!
I decided that I need to get some scenery done on the layout so I'm going to set a goal of finishing the tracklaying on the area between Drawbar Flats and Summit, and that will be the first section to be sceniced. This is the area shown in this photo, and it is the area closest to the side garage door, the view most guests see when they first see the layout. It is very simple track, no structures, has tunnels and rockwork, and seems perfect for the artistic side of me.

Finally, someone who knows what they're talking about has posted news and not just speculation on the opening of the fire closure area at Cajon Pass:

In Cajon Pass, There were (2) Forest Orders authorizing temporary closures. Louisianna and BlueCut fires in 2002 closed all of the railfanning areas and have been lifted. That F.O. order prevented human entry into the closure area.

The Grand Prix / Old Fires of October 2003 reburned portions of the same area (more towards the 215/15 split) and a new Forest Order was issued to help with rehab efforts and expires in December 2004 at which time the Forest Service can renew for one more year. This Forest Order only prevents motorized vehicles.

This year, after several years of drought, low fuel moisture and low humidities, the lower elevations now are at risk and a decision was made to close those areas. Remember that the fire danger level can change and either additional areas will be closed or opened.

On the USFS website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/ you will find two maps a small one for dial up and an 11 page (4.6mb) for high speed internet. If there are any changes I will update the USFS webpage to reflect the additional closures. At some point I plan to add a page that includes the Forest Orders so the public can review the specific language in the Forest Orders.

I apoligize for taking this slightly off topic. Remember to look, listen and live.

Regards,
John Miller
Office of Public Affairs
San Bernardino National Forest
(909) 382-2788

Got an email from my buddy Stuart today. He says, "Between the progress on the trains and the pool, I can't read your blogs anymore...can't you just go back to sticking your head in the fan? It makes for a much better read..."

We had the same idea for the dust box fans: "you might try using fans from old computer hard drives. they run quiet and on 12 volts. I keep one on my workbench hooked up to an old MRC power pack, to keep the fresh air flowing. you can probably find a few curbside on trash day..."

Since I used to run a computer forensics lab, I've got a few of those on hand. I was going to gang them up and build a frame for a furnace filter on the intake side. Should work great.