Cajon Pass refers to an area between Devore and Hesperia, CA, where the Union Pacific and BNSF lines climb from the Los Angeles Basin to Victor Valley and the Mojave plateau. Devore, at the southern end, is about 60 miles from Los Angeles, and it’s about 24 miles from there to Hesperia.

Cajon is a real railfan's mecca, and the year round California waether means you'll almost always find chasers around. Some go to great lengths to get that perfect shot, and there are consequently tons of sites on the web showing photographs of Cajon, many the result of years of visiting by enthusiasts.

BNSF and the Union Pacific share trackage rights, so you’ll see trains hauled by either carrier on the different lines. Once in a while, you may even see a mixed engine consist.

I visited in September 2008 and February 2010. The photos on this page are from both visits.

A Union Pacific mixed freight climbs up Cajon Creek Wash out of Devore on what is known as the North Track and passes an eastbound BNSF intermodal freight descending on the South Track beneath Ruddell Hill.

These photographs were taken from the south end of Cajon Boulevard.

BNSF GE C44-9W #4083, coupled with BNSF GE C44-8W #731 and BNSF GE C44-9W #5370 westbound with a string of piggyback trailer truck cars on the South Track.

Just north, #4083, #731 and #5370 come out of Cleghorn Canyon.

They roll towards Cajon Junction. Traffic on I-15 is clearly visible in the middle of this view.

A little further north, the train is about to enter Sullivan’s Curve, the west spur of the BNSF line.

The head end of the train can be seen just left of centre of the top view. In the bottom view, it is just visible on the very far right.

These two photographs were taken from Cajon Boulevard near Cajon Junction.

BNSF GE ES44DC #7552, BNSF GE C44-9W #4010, BNSF GE C44-9W #4185 and BNSF GE ES44-DC #7679 with a double stack approach Summit on the South Track.

At Summit Post Office Road, BNSF GE C44-9W #4698 and BNSF GE AC4400CW #5685 pull a double stack on the BNSF grade east of Summit on the South Track.

The view above is looking west as the train heads towards Summit. Mt Baldy in the Saint Gabriel Mountains is in the background.

Related links:

www.maps.google.com

www.cajonpass.net

www.cajonpassrails.com

www.trainweb.org/cajongroup

Report a broken link or suggest a new one.

There are over 12 hours of Cajon action on the 4 DVD Pentrex Ultimate Cajon collection (click on the cover to search for this DVD on Bookfinder.com).

Chard Walker’s Cajon, Rail Passage to the Pacific, published in 1985 by Trans-Anglo Books, provides history, photographs and maps (click on the cover to search for this book on Bookfinder.com).

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UP EMD SD40T-2 #4511, UP GE C44-9W #8646, UP GE ES44AC #5404 and UP GE ES44AC #5432 pull a mixed freight west through Lone Pine Canyon.

Leaving Lone Pine Canyon, the locomotives approach Blue Cut on the North Track. These photographs was taken from Cajon Boulevard just south of Blue Cut.

UP AC4400CW #7216 and UP EMD SD70M  #5020 lead a coal train down Blue Cut on the South Track.

The California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the ATSF, built the first railway through Cajon Pass in the 1880s to connect Barstow and San Diego, CA. The line was completed in 1885 with a ruling grade of 3%. It is known as the South Track and is the lower track in the views above.

UP GE AC4400CW #5670 and UP C44AC #6589 are on the rear end.

In 1905, the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad began operating over the pass on ATSF rails via a trackage rights agreement.

BNSF GE C44-9W #5245 heads a double stack freight down the South Track at Blue Cut with BNSF GE C44-9W #5161, BNSF GE ES44DC #7402 and BNSF GE C44-9W #7550.

The characteristic blue-gray rock, Pelona schist, which gives this area its name, is evident in these views.

UP GE C45ACCTE #7650, UP EMD SD40T-2 #8586, UP EMD SD70ACe #8426 and UP EMD SD9043MAC #8191 take a mixed freight over the North Track at Blue Cut.

The train turns into Lone Pine Canyon as it exits the cut, the exhaust generated by the locomotives’ dynamic braking blurring the air

At the rear of this extremely long train (it took five minutes for it to roll by completely) is an unusual pairing of BNSF EMD SD40-2 #6937 and UP GE ES44AC #5531.

In the photos below, UP GE C45ACCTE #7614, UP EMD SD70ACe #8543 and UP EMD SD70ACe #8584 lead a train of auto rack cars over the North Track.

In 1912, work started on a second track north of the original ATSF  alignment. The ruling grade of the new track, which was known as the North Track, was 2.2%,.

Although two miles longer, the new track was used for eastbound, uphill trains, while downhill trains headed west on the original route. This meant trains had to run “left-handed”, with the crews effectively on the “wrong” side of the cab.

BNSF GE ES44-DC #7787, BNSF GE ES44CE #6600 and BNSF GE C44-9W #4043 are about to top the grade to Summit with a double stack freight in tow.

BNSF GE C44-9W #4065 and BNSF GE ES44-DC #7229 are just visible at the rear of the train in the upper photo.

The train at the Union Pacific-BNSF  crossover at Summit.

In 1967 the Southern Pacific Railroad built a new, single-track line from West Colton to Palmdale, CA, fairly close to the existing ATSF alignment between Devore and Summit. It was designated the “Palmdale Cutoff” and included two tunnels at Alray.

BNSF #4065 and #7229 pass through Summit at the rear.

BNSF GE ES44DC #7413, BNSF GE ES44-DC #5086, BNSF GE C44-9W #5067 and BNSF GE C44-9W #5014 roll south through the crossover at Summit.

On the right, the train enters the cut and then starts on the long down grade.

On the upper North Track, a Union Pacific mixed freight tracks a BNSF double stack running east beside Summit Valley Road on the South Track.

The BNSF double stack is hauled by BNSF GE ES44DC #7395, BNSF GE ES44AC #7408, BNSF GE C44-9W #5210 and BNSF GE C44-9W #5178.

In 1921, the Union Pacific gained a controlling interest in the Los Angeles & Salt Lake. The LASL trackage rights were transferred to the UP, which gained access through Cajon Pass, and the agreement is still in effect.

In 2007-08, the two tunnels on the Palmdale Cutoff were “daylighted” when a third track was laid by BNSF along the route. It increased daily capacity to 150 trains.

In 1996, the Union Pacific merged with Southern Pacific. The Palmdale Cutoff was then rolled into the Union Pacific and ATSF trackage agreement. Currently, both the Union Pacific and BNSF have joint trackage rights throughout the Pass.

In 1996, Burlington Northern and AT&SF merged to form the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF). The railroad has over 33,000 route miles in 28 U.S. states, as well as two Canadian provinces. The Union Pacific has over 38,000 route miles in 23 U.S. states.

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