LUDLOW ADVENTURE 2008 - News At Eleven

[jeff]

First off, I have to say that Ludlow can be as windy as Frost... It blew hard ALL night long last night (Saturday night). I got good rest, but I can't say I got a good night's sleep.

I awoke, or rather ventured out of my tent at 6:06am this morning (Sunday Morning) with no sign of Marshall and Mike or their tent. It is likely that their Snooze-Liner-Extreem tent took them Air-Mail to Arizona or someother state to the east. The wind was reported as 40-50mpg, rather MPH. Dust blew right the tent and coated everything inside and out. The wind really took the fun out of today, so I packed up and was heading home by 7:15am or so... Got back to Costa Mesa just before 12 noon.

What an end to a fine weekend... will likely remember the wind, but so much more happened. I am just beginning to process images between trips to the laundry room and the garage as I totally break-down every item taken on the trip. Please feel free to add your images, video, or stories to this thread... The more the merrier !!

~ ~ ~

Here is my first RR related image of the weekend taken from the WB siding at Amboy after having breakfast in 29 Palms and stopping at the salt mines on Bristol Lake, just to the south of Amboy. Not sure if this was an LPG train or ethanol ?? Didn't look like an ethanol train as there were no buffer cars.

Just googled the HAZMAT number and found out that it is neither. According to the MSDS that I found, the contents were an "Isopropyl Alcohol Mixture". Whatever that is...

I am curious as to its origination and destination ??

~ jeff

[jeff]

And the DPU pushing onto the mainline at West Amboy.

~ jeff

[jeff]

Rick and I paused at Chambliss and Essex for a few photo ops of the two dying Route 66 towns. Our next RR stop was West Goffs. A MOW crew was working on a rail splice (my best guess) and had slowed rail traffic down to a literal crawl on Friday morning.

This WB stack train was rolling every so slowly up to the signals and the MOW crew.

~ jeff

[jeff]

Once clear of the repair site, they rolled westward and past my location.

~ jeff

[jeff]

The code line with the train adding some drama as they head west towards Fenner.

~ jeff

[jeff]

I prefer the previous vertical composition, but this perspective has its merits as well...

~ jeff

[jeff]

My goal for the day was to go to Goffs. No particular reason other than I had never been that far east on this section of the Needles Sub. I had previously been to Fenner, but would then bypass the old route and take I-40 to Needles and beyond.

We found an open air museum at the intersection of Goffs Road and Lanfair Road. A well kept and operational (weekends only) museum that has a variety of mining, farming, railroading and pioneering displays. We breached the property at a break in the fence and we began our self-guided tour. After two or three exhibits we were face to face with a golf cart and one of the museum's officers. We chatted for 20 to 30 minutes about local history, ghost towns, local lore and authors of books regarding Mojave history. Most of our questions were answered in a fashion that included the fact that the museum was closed.

Eventually we took Mark's hints and we found our way out without his escort. Rick said, "That was the kindest kicking-out he had ever experienced." I grabbed a museum brochure and a few photos on the way back out the break in the fence.

Here's an old Goffs station sign next to an outhouse. I bet few kids these days even have a clue as to what an outhouse is...

~ jeff

[cabcar]

Nice stuff so far, Jeff. The two shots with the code lines, are my favorites.

Here's some of mine, that I've edited so far.

First pic, one of my favorite trains of the day.

[cabcar]

Another...

[cabcar]

Messing around with manuel focus at Ludlow.