BNSF Baretable at Stege

I caught another BNSF baretable as it was easing through the Stege crossover from the UP main onto the Waterside Drill. These trains usually do about 10mph moving off the main and are often well over a mile long. Aside from the time needed to slow for the junction and sometimes wait for a signal, these trains take about six minutes just getting from the main to the secondary track. It’s another 8-10 minutes to get onto the Richmond Pacific rails. All up, a train like this can easily be in view from the parallel I-580 freeway for more than half an hour as it crawls between Albany and the Bayview Ave exit - a distance of about two miles.

I managed to just get ahead of the power by pausing on the Bayview Ave exit which conveniently put me above the lead unit.

The two UP main tracks are on the other side of the locomotive. The tracks all look pretty similar from this angle reflecting the fact that they have all been maintained within the last few years. The Waterside track is actually lighter rail and sits about 12” below the level of the main.

Note the simple wooden culvert over the drainage channel. Key to capturing this look is the heavily bleached timbers that have turned various shades of grey. The fence is somewhat dilapidated and the wooden crib work is very weathered but still performing its job. The cross members appear to be mainly holding the retaining walls back against the earthen fill.

Since there is no place to park on the ramp where I pulled over to snap this shot, and since the very next car onto the ramp was a Sheriff, I decided to move over the grade crossing on Regatta Blvd to watch the well train come by.

Instead of posting the individual shots, I have collected them together as a video. Enjoy!

The last shot shows a simple detail that is easily missed. The road dips as it comes over the crossing and swings right to parallel the track. There is a simple concrete retaining wall topped with a low cyclone wire fence to protect crew walking beside their train.

This would be an easy detail to model and is a reminder that roads tend to follow the land while rails tend to modify the land to make a smoother, more even right of way.

Cheers,

Coxy