Above: BN 7877 is eastbound with four other units on a mixed freight approaching Tunnel 2 on March 11, 2001. RIght: C&NW 8637 exits Tunnel 2 heading east near Bealville, California on March 19, 2002.
grain each, totaling out around 16,000 tons. These trains consist of around 110 cars with mid-train and rear-end DPUs (Distributed Power Units). Because boxcar red is really more of a brown color, these trains of solid BNSF grain hoppers are sometimes nicknamed “earthworms.” Watching one of these monster grain trains wind down through the curves of the west slope of Tehachapi confirms the nickname is appropriate. These trains are dramatic to watch as they are limited in speed and are usually enveloped in a haze of brake shoe smoke. In the years to come, a solid prediction would be that an increased number of these unit grain trains will cross the Tehachapi Mountains. BNSF is loading more of these so called “shuttle” trains from loop track-equipped grain cooperatives throughout the Midwest. The parallel between loading a coal train on a loop track at a mine and one of these shuttle trains at a huge grain elevator complex is remarkably similar. The economies of loading one large train at one site are obvious over assembling parts of a unit grain train from several smaller elevators. The Tehachapi Mountains have also witnessed other fairly unique types of trains. One of these was the 14
NRHS Bulletin, Spring 2010