Trains on Cajon, 5 Discs, Steam & Diesel, Past & Present

Cajon Pass has seen trains, and railfans, since 1885. Here are 5 discs that cover Cajon from steam to diesel, from tragedy to triple-track triumph.

Tragedy at Cajon Pass The True Story of the Duffy Street Incident. Find out what happened on the fateful day of May 12, 1989 when a 69-car Southern Pacific freight train went out of control on California’s steep Cajon Pass and careened off the tracks into a residential neighborhood at 90 miles an hour. Shot by a camera crew who arrived on the scene even before the rescue workers, this dramatic video captures the whole story. You’ll be one of the first on the scene as this is primarily 1989 news footage and still photography from the scene.

Cajon 2, 2 Shows Cajon Pass is one of the world’s great railroading landmarks. From 1991 to 1993, Video Rails visited Cajon, capturing great scenes of Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and Amtrak trains at your favorite Cajon hotspots. The result was two entertaining videos that have been combined here on one action-packed DVD. This combo DVD features railroading in the ’90s with pre-merger railroading and Cajon Pass Cab Ride in SP locomotive 8537. Cajon II – Railroading in the ’90s It’s pre-merger days and Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, and Union Pacific are sending their latest motive power to tackle this famous mountain pass. You’ll see a wide variety of manifest trains and unit trains at classic photo sites and new locations as well. Long, heavy freights grind up the slopes to the summit and squeal downgrade to the desert below, filling the screen with non stop excitement. Cajon in the ’90s means mainline railroading at its best! Cajon Pass Cab Ride Climb aboard the cab of a Southern Pacific freight train as engine 8537 leads a five unit lash-up along the Palmdale Cutoff. You’ll ride from West Colton to Phelan on Southern Pacific’s Los Angeles Division. Along the way, you’ll witness spectacular meets with Santa Fe trains. The views from the cab of your locomotive give you a whole new perspective of this famous route. It’s a thrilling ride!

Cajon Highlights 1976 Cajon Pass is a magnet for railfans worldwide. With its striking landscapes and the sheer volume of rail traffic funneled through its challenging terrain, it offers variety, scenic beauty, and limitless photo opportunities. This was especially true in the spring of 1976 when railroad diversity was at its peak. Exciting action was captured then on the west side of the pass and Pentrex is proud to present this historic footage to you today! Our coverage begins in the Verdemont area and then moves to Sullivan’s Curve, Pine Lodge, and Alray. Along the way, you’ll see a huge mix of typical 1970s era motive power. This includes the Union Pacific GP9B, GP30B, SD40, DD35, and the mighty DDA40X. Santa Fe adds more excitement with the CF7, GP35, SD40, SD45, SD45-2, and the GE U36C. Southern Pacific struts its stuff with the SD35, SD45T-2, and U33C. And that’s not all! You’ll see Santa Fe’s famous Super C just weeks before its discontinuance, plus cabooses, reefers, and boxcars representing many roads that have vanished with time. Amtrak’s Southwest Limited also makes an appearance powered by the long-gone SDP40F. Here is your opportunity to enjoy railroading on Cajon the way it used to be before the mega-mergers of the 1990s and standardization of mainline road power that would make every consist look and sound nearly identical.

Triple Track Cajon California’s Cajon Pass has long been a favorite destination for countless railfans from around the world. The first line was built by Santa Fe in 1885 and years later the Southern Pacific constructed its own line through the pass. Now it’s Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe running the rails and Cajon is busier than ever with more traffic than the two lines can support. So, after several years of careful planning, BNSF broke ground in 2007 for a third main track linking the 15.9 miles between Keenbrook and Summit. This DVD includes a bonus cab ride! Pentrex brings you the story of this third track construction from beginning to end. We’ll take you back to the start of the project and show you the process of cutting new slopes and embankments; moving millions of cubic yards of earthwork and rocks, building culverts and retaining walls, eliminating two tunnels, creating five new bridges, and track laying. It was a massive undertaking, as you’ll see during the first portion of our show. Then we treat you to nonstop action on today’s triple-tracked Cajon, traveling from Verdemont to Summit with great before and after footage. A heavy winter storm gave us the opportunity to bring you rare, fantastic snow scenes. As a special treat, we’ve included Bonus Footage featuring a cab ride from Blue Cut to Summit. If you thought seeing dual movements on two tracks was a thrill, wait until you see the screen filled with the excitement of three trains operating simultaneously on three tracks!

Steam to Los Angeles It’s now known as one of the most dramatically exciting side-by-side steam locomotives scenes ever staged: UP 8444 and SP 4449 running on the parallel tracks leading up Cajon Pass. The two mighty locomotives were leaving the 50th Anniversary Celebration at Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in 1989 and Pentrex camera crews were trackside and onboard to capture incredible footage of this once-in-a-lifetime event! We begin with UP 8444’s journey from Cheyenne, Wyoming in April 1989 and follow the powerful 4-8-4 across Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, to California. With its matched set of 14 Armour yellow passenger cars, the train also included UP’s vintage E-9 diesel number 951 and its new SD60M number 6085 which would also be on display during the festivities. Steaming across the Western landscapes and through scenic canyons, the 8444 looks fantastic. Then, as both the SP 4999 and UP 8444 parade side-by-side into the LAUPT station, our camera catches the Grande Entry from the middle of the two tracks; it’s a classic shot! We spend some time seeing the displays at the celebration, especially the photographers’ special 3-across line up of Southern Pacific’s and Union Pacific’s E-9s and Santa Fe’s F-7 vintage diesels. The highlight of the show is side-by-side departure of SP 4449 and UP 8444 from San Bernardino over Cajon Pass, with UP running on the lower Santa Fe tracks and SP 4449 is on the upper SP line. You’ll see amazing coverage all the way to Sullivan’s Curve and beyond!