love how ya recreated the desert line in HO - the backdrop is so cereal makes you believe it's real - love how ya weathered the rail cars - should glue in some tramps hobos with dogs riding the hot shots boxcars hoppers - good work adding realism in the video mixed in with the layout --
Fun Fact: Ash Hill is named in honor of Ben Ash. He was a railroad surveyor who died from lack of water while working out in the Mojave Desert. I learned that from the Pentrex program, "Santa Fe's Mojave Mainline: The Needles Subdivision."
@@RailwayProductions I didn't know that neither until I purchased that Pentrex program. And here's a fun fact about the town of Essex. Back in the early 1960's, entertainer Johnny Carson discovered that no one in Essex had heard of him. They couldn't get television signals there back then, so Carson purchased a TV translator for the town. It picked up signals off a mountain top and re-transmitted them to Essex. In a bit of showbiz glitz, Carson had the entire population come down to Burbank to be on the show.
As a commercial driver I parallel the route frequently from AZ into SoCal @Colton. Hope to one day follow the line and chase a few as you’ve done here. ‘A resident and desert lover, there are no more beautiful vistas for rail fanning.
The history of this line is very interesting. It's true that the tracks were built by the Southern Pacific in 1882, but as an attempt to block expansion of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The A&P, jointly owned by the Santa Fe and the Frisco had reached the California border at Needles, but could go no further. The A&P then constructed a line south into Mexico from Nogales, Arizona 250 miles to a port on the Gulf of California at Guaymas, Sonora. Southern Pacific feared the loss of the Pacific port business to the new route and negotiated a swap of lines. The Atlantic and Pacific got the line from Needles to Mojave, California and over the years, expanded further into the state. Soon afterwards, the Santa Fe took over ownership of the A&P, while the Frisco became financially hard up. The line to Guaymas became the Southern Pacific of Mexico. Years later, it was expanded all the way to Guadalajara. In 1951, the SP sold the line to the country of Mexico, and it became the Pacifico Railroad. Then in 1995, the Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern to create BNSF.
1:08:49 - there was a tragic accident at this exact location. On August 12, 2011 at 10:48 PM, the eastbound Amtrak Southwest Chief train crashed into a vehicle with four people inside - it was a family from Oklahoma on a long Route 66 road trip with 2 adults and 2 kids and sadly, three of them died. The eldest child (Abby Steiner) survived and was airlifted to the nearest trauma center in Las Vegas, but ended up becoming paralyzed with a permanent brain injury.
I know I'm a little old to ask, but could 1998's "The Alphabet Train" be uploaded? I just recently found the VHS of it but my VCR destroyed it. That movie had some great shots of D&RGW crews at their finest.
You know what, Andrew Diesel? I find the history of this line very interesting. It's true that the tracks were built by the Southern Pacific in 1882, but they were built as an attempt to block expansion of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The A&P, jointly owned by the Santa Fe and the Frisco had reached the California border at Needles, but could go no further. The A&P then constructed a line south into Mexico from Nogales, Arizona 250 miles to a port on the Gulf of California at Guaymas, Sonora. Southern Pacific feared the loss of the Pacific port business to the new route and negotiated a swap of lines. The Atlantic and Pacific got the line from Needles to Mojave, California and over the years, expanded further into the state. Soon afterwards, the Santa Fe took over ownership of the A&P, while the Frisco became financially hard up. The line to Guaymas became the Southern Pacific of Mexico. Years later, it was expanded all the way to Guadalajara. In 1951, the SP sold the line to the country of Mexico, and it became the Pacifico Railroad. Then in 1995, the Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern to create BNSF.
@@andrewdiesel487 And here's a fun fact I learned about the town of Essex, California. Back in the early 1960's, entertainer Johnny Carson discovered that no one in Essex had heard of him. They couldn't get television signals there back then, so Carson purchased a TV translator for the town. It picked up signals off a mountain top and re-transmitted them to Essex. In a bit of showbiz glitz, Carson had the entire population come down to Burbank to be on the show.
