Dualing Autoracks

I was driving back from a job interview in LA (I'd been planning to take a Surfliner but something happened and it didn't pan out the way I'd hoped) when I overtook an Eastbound Auto train at Stuart Mesa. I decided to crank the car up to 75 MPH and get off at Leucadia, figuring I'd have about five minutes to park and set up, and the train would be passing by at speed when it came. As I got to the Leucadia Blvd grade crossing I saw a Westbound Manifest had beat me to the crossing, which was actually a good sign as it gave me a few more minutes to find parking and get set up.

A few minutes after setting up the Eastbound Vehicle train I'd overtaken arrives, the Eastbound runs empty, bringing unloaded auto carriers to the Pasha Automotive Shipping Terminal in National City, CA. I noticed that the signal indicated the train would be taking the siding at Swami and waiting for *Something*. I figured that since the night dispatcher generally likes to clump all the freights together into the same window between passenger trains and no passenger trains were scheduled for a while that this must mean the Westbound Autos would be coming along soon.

I set up at the other end of the crossing and shortly thereafter I heard a horn as a Westbound train passed through Encinitas, about two miles away. Sho'Nuff the Westbound loaded Auto Train passed by, carrying about a mile and a half's worth of new Hondas, Toyotas, Fords, Mazdas, and Volkswagens for distribution all over the US. The cars are unloaded from ships in the San Diego Harbor, or trucked up from Mexico into San Diego to be loaded onto the train.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Burlington
• Northern
• Santa
• Fe
• BNSF
• GEVO
• autorack
• auto
• train
• manifest
• daygo
• leucadia
• encinitas
• pasha
• loop
• san
• diego
• harbor
• california
• ca

[SDRailfan]

Nice! What camera and editing software do you use?

[Rocketboy1950]

Videoing at night is always a little challenging, nicely shot.

[Locomotive450]

It's always nice to see Dash 9s on the San Diego sub BNSFs. It makes for a nice break from the usual boring traffic.

[AmtrakSurfliner768]

SWEEEEEEET two Dash 9s!

[Trains232]

Some nice night work there man!!

Thanks for posting East/West, now maybe some railfans will get that i wasn't making this stuff up.

[Surfliner462]

Awsome K3LA.

[andross51]

Haaha to bad you didn't come south a bit further jaanfo, me and xtremepadrefan were at encinitas station catching the same trains! Great clips though man!