BNSF train Q-NYCLAC6-08L (Guaranteed Service Intermodal, New York NY to Los Angeles CA) is running nearly 84 hours behind schedule as it rounds the curve at Milepost 694 on the BNSF’s Needles Sub. A large derailment near Marceline, Missouri, occurred on July 8 when train H-GALBAR derailed 35 cars, blocking both mains for quite a while. One main reopened, but that only eased traffic to a degree. Then, there were several washouts along the line following that, causing further delays.
The Q-NYCLAC of late operates with solid consists of Norfolk Southern power, and this particular iteration of the train included one of NS’s Heritage units on the point (!) – NS ES44AC 8104, decked out in the old Lehigh Valley Railroad’s markings – MUed with NS ES44DC 7589. A surprising number of NS’s Heritage units have wandered into California over the last decade, and I’ve been fortunate to have seen twelve of them here in the Golden State.
The temperature on this day was a mere 107oF (41.67oC) as the Lehigh Valley Heritage unit passes through a decidedly non-Lehigh Valley landscape in the heart of the Mojave Desert. (This train was almost delayed by another derailment this day, but the train that derailed BNSF H-KCKBAR1-11, was about an hour behind it, shutting down both mainlines around 17:00, before this train passed my camera at 17:53. (Ludlow, California – July 14, 2021)
