Cajon Pass As You've Never Seen It

MAP OF THE MONTH Cajon Pass as you’ve never seen it Your all-time guide to the busiest railroad mountain crossing in the United States. We map 126 years of railroad history

“HILL 582” CP SP462 Popular railfan CP SP465 HILAND Alray INTERSTATE hangout SILVERWOOD Former passing 15 66 siding removed 1972, Original 1885 line through To Palmdale named for track Main 1 Setout siding Summit relocated 1972; the Setout siding supervisor Al Ray new line reduced the summit Main 3 3N45 elevation by 50 feet. “STEIN’S HILL” Tunnel No. 1 SILVERWOOD Named for noted Eliminated 2008 Main 2 MP 56.6 ific CP SP464 Pac rail photographer Tunnel No. 2 3N48 Union Richard Steinheimer. Eliminated 2008 Parker Dell Ranch To Barstow Rd. 138 BNSF WALKER Summit Road MP 59.4 Named for longtime 138 Summit operator and Gish author Chard Walker Original 1885 line; Summit SUMMIT Warning: became passing Site of depot and MP 55.9 The tracks east of the Summit siding 1920s; helper turning wye Road crossing are in the BNSF 1913 line removed 1956 security area, established 1996. relocated 1977 It is lit, fenced, and guarded. Do not trespass in this area.

OLD TRAILS HIGHWAY First paved road over Cajon Exit 131 Pass 1916, first route for Route PACIFIC CRESTFUN HIKING FACT TRAIL Route 138 66; originally a 12-mile toll road The Pacific Crest Hiking Trail runs opened in 1861, now a trail. 2,638 miles from Canada to Mexico. 138 Rim of the World Scenic Byway Lone Pine Canyon Rd. DESCANSO MORMON ROCKS CP SP464 is the approximate SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST Named for a party location of the Los Angeles Rwy. Established in 1907, this 676,000-acre of Mormon settlers Crowder Canyon funeral car “Descanso,” which preserve was set aside for the CP SP469 “conservation of natural resources such who stopped here CANYON was used as a bunkhouse for in 1851 on their visiting railfans from 1940 to 1967. as trees, water, minerals, livestock range, way to found the Setout siding ROUTE 66 recreation, (and) wildlife.” Crossover It was moved to the Orange Empire city of San Bernardino. HISTORICAL Railway Museum where it has been removed 1948 MARKER (approximate restored to its original appearance. location)

“SULLIVAN’S CURVE” 1913 line Named for steam-era relocated 1977 photographer Herb Sullivan. CAJON MP 62.8 To To Main 1 To Exit 129 Palmdale Barstow Barstow Main 2 Setout siding Cleghorn Rd. 50 458 LUGO LUGO FUN FACT BNSF Railway CP SP471 Adding the third track in 2008 CAJON SUB 5,267’ cost BNSF $90 million. 2010 San Francisco Union Pacific trackage rights C A L I F O R N I A 51 459

UNION PACIFIC ATCHISON, TOPEKA Bakersfield MOJAVE SUB & SANTA FE 2010 5,285’ LOS ANGELES DIV., 1951 Built by Southern Union Pacific 66 Pacific as Palmdale trackage rights 1905 Map area Needles -Colton Cutoff 1967 52 San Bernardino 460 FUN FACT INTERSTATE “In American Spanish, when used 15 Los Angeles Original main as a geographical term, Cajon in line, built 1885 Yuma 5,202’ fact means ‘box canyon.’” 52.82 Eastward track, From “Cajon” by Chard Walker Cajon Blvd. DED built 1924 Summit MARTINEZ to Hicks 53 461 Main 1 Cleghorn Canyon built 2008 Main 2 5,274’ Eastward track SITE OF CAMP CAJON CP SP462 Main 3 HILAND Westward Welcoming center and track 54 Lost Lake haven for 1930s dustbowl 462 Setout emigrants and travelers “North track” . siding d on Route 66. R

n o Siding 9,097’ y 5,328’ n “South track” a C t ou th Swar SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST Setout 55 463 Siding

RADIO FREQUENCIES Setout 5,264’ siding BNSF San Bernardino to Hodge 161.190 (AAR 72) Cajon Blvd. Hodge to Barstow 161.085 (AAR 65) SUMMIT Purcell Rd. CP SP464 SUMMIT Depot UP Colton to Hiland 160.740 (AAR 42) 56 Hiland to Bakersfield 160.320 (AAR 14) 464 BNSF and UP dispatchers work in a joint Connection Helper BLUE CUT dispatching facility in San Bernardino, Calif., built wye Named for the color 1999 SILVERWOOD opened in 2009. of the exposed rock TRAINS PER DAY CP SP465 5,320’ 57X formations. ROUTE 66 SILVERWOOD Originally named the National BNSF Average 70 57 (intermittent stream) Old Trail Road, Route 66 ran UP Average 20 465 Cajon Wash Amtrak 2 each way 57 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif. Dubbed “The HELPER SERVICE 58X Mother Road” by novelist John BNSF ended regular manned helper “South Steinbeck, it was officially service on Cajon Pass October 2009. “North track” opened in 1926 and was 7,368’ 5,212’ track” Distributed power is now used instead. 57.81 decommissioned as a through UP still has one helper pool. DED Tunnel 58 highway in 1985. San Andreas Ri Zone 466 No. 1 Keenbrook 58 380’ Original location; station and water 59X DELL stop in steam days 466.8 SAN ANDREAS FAULT DED 7,368’ 5,173’ Tunnel The San Andreas Fault, which opened up Setout 58.6 No. 2 Cajon Pass, is 810 miles long and about 28 siding DED 467’ 59 Setout siding million years old. It is called a transverse fault, 467 meaning two plates, the North American plate 59 and the Pacific plate are sliding against each 61X other. Although there have been many minor WALKER ALRAY GISH Main 1 quakes, the last major earthquakes in the area Union Pacific were the 7.5-magnitude Wrightwood quake in Main 2 Cajon Blvd. 7,368’ 5,114’ 1812 and the 7.9 Fort Tejon quake in 1857. Eastward track Main 3 built 1913 60 INTERSTATE 468 Keenbrook to 15 Summit 60 Crossover BNSF Railway 62X removed 1948 66 7,368’ 5,262 Exit 124 61 Kenwood Ave. 469 EARLY HISTORY 1885 California Southern Extension Railroad built CP SP469 61 over Cajon Pass, backed by ATSF CANYON 63X 1889 California Southern merged into Southern California Railway 1905 Union Pacific granted trackage rights over Cajon Pass 7,370’ 5,270’ 1909 Southern California Railway absorbed into ATSF FUN FACT Setout 62 KEENBROOK siding 1913 Low-grade line opened via Sullivan’s Curve Cajon Pass is located in 470 MP 69.4 64X 2008 Third main track opened, following low-grade line San Bernardino County Exit 123 which, at 20,052 square I-215 62 miles, is the largest county in the lower 48 states. It’s Siding 9,515’ N larger than Connecticut, 4,786’ To San Bernardino Depot Rhode Island, and CAJON CAJON CP SP479 0 Scale 1 mile Massachusetts combined. KEENBROOK 471 To Colton

CP SP471 63 63

UP (ex-SP) Mojave Sub UP Lone Pine Sub 5,286’ BNSF trackage rights to Searles 63 Milepost Mile 0 is 0.5 miles To Bakersfield CP SP380 472 east of Barstow Actual distance Creal Mojave Boron 5,286’ depot between current UP Oak Creek UP Cima Sub 64 64 BNSF mileposts BNSF (ex-ATSF) Industrial Lead Barstow to Las Vegas 64 Mojave Sub Eastward Lenwood BNSF Railway Mojave Sub track UP (ex-SP) Valley Daggett Union Pacific Jct. 64.68 5,140’ Westward Metrolink BNSF (ex-ATSF) 473 DED/HB track Hodge Parking Needles Like many former 65 CP SP404 Sub to Needles SP main lines, Mile 65 DED/HB Detector N. Lancaster CP SP406 BNSF (ex-ATSF)Cajon Sub 0 for the Mojave DED Dragging Equipment S. Lancaster UP trackage rights Sub is at the dock Mile 0 is at HB Hotbox UP/Metrolink of the Ferry Building Barstow depot CP SP409 Southwestern in San Francisco 4,746’ Water tank Denis Oro Grande CP SP416 Portland Cement 474 Keenbrook Discontinued station/siding CP SP414 CP SP428 Frost highway name Palmdale Victorville 66 Palmdale Jct. Vulcan Crossover for left- Depot UP (ex-SP) hand running for 66 Yellow tint Mojave Sub CP SP450 Hesperia favorable grades Main tracks KEENBROOK denotes private Metrolink (ex-SP) (Palmdale Cutoff) Phelan are signaled in property Antelope Valley Line CP SP434 CP SP462 both directions, to Los Angeles Wash Hiland but Mains 1 & 2 5,269’ BNSF (ex-ATSF) LucerneCushenbury 475 are generally CP SP465 475.1 eastward 67 San Gabriel Mountains Silverwood Lugo Valley Sub DED/HB Walker Martinez Summit 67 CP SP469 Cajon Setout Canyon siding San Bernardino Mountains Map area Keenbrook 5,263’ Metrolink San CP SP479 Verdemont 476 Keenbrook 68 Bernardino Line Ono N to Los Angeles Not all lines shown (ex-ATSF) San Bernardino 68 Main 1 0 Scale 30 miles UP (ex-SP) Yuma Sub built 2008 UP (ex-SP) Alhambra West Colton Sub to Los Angeles Colton to Yuma Yard To Los Angeles Main 2 5,125’ 477 69 Main 3 Original SUMMIT Post-1972 HILAND 1.0% 69 elev. 3,823’ elev. 3,775’ Elev. 3,849’ Keenbrook 3,800’ connection Main 3 LUGO track KEENBROOK westward All tracks Elev. 3,417’ blt. ca. 1986, track 3.0% 1.6% 70 3,400’ 478 rebuilt 5,289’ 2007 CAJON Mains 1 & 2 HESPERIA All tracks eastward All tracks Elev. 3,116’ 1.55% 1.5% To 3,000’ tracks 2.2% CANYON Colton Elev. 3,226’ 70 All tracks 2.2% © 2011 Kalmbach Publishing Co., TRAINS: Bill Metzger UP 2.2% CP SP479 2,600’ KEENBROOK BNSF FROST This material may not be reproduced KEENBROOK (new) Elev. 2,734’ in any form without permission CP SP479 from the publisher. 479 Elev. 2,217’ KEENBROOK GRADE PROFILE To To 2,200’ www.TrainsMag.com San Bernardino San Bernardino Elev. 2,108’ 2,000’