Railfanning Needles (w/ Crew Changes) - 2/10/18

In conclusion to my railfanning trip out to the high desert, I made my way out, way out to Needles soon after railfanning at Barstow. Needles in particular is the furthest east Amtrak station in Southern California in addition to serving as a mid-route crew change point for BNSF crews. The city of Needles in particular is where the Needles Subdivision from the west and Seligman Subdivision from the east meet and is where Needles serves as the terminus for either of the two subdivisions. It is interesting to note that the original Amtrak station used to be housed alongside the BNSF office, however recent renovations and revitalization of the area has moved the station to the El Garces Hotel with more amenities in comparison to the previous building. Please note that at the discretion and courtesy to the train crews, I did not film in proximity to the BNSF office. Although the length of this video is rather extensive, it is specifically to illustrate how long/or short the crew change process happens here at Needles, as it is rather rare, especially in California, to see a mid-route BNSF crew change location in addition to being up close to idling locomotives from a public perspective. Due to the length of the video however, there are timestamps of the arrival and/or departures of all trains. Please note that due to the scheduling of the Amtrak Southwest Chief that serves these stations, I was not able to see any due to the scheduled times of the station stops either late at night or in the early morning.
Train 1 : BNSF Z-LACWSP9-10L with ES44C4 #7973, C44-9W #4497, #4611, ES44C4 #7930, & ES44DC #7268. This crew change for this train was rather quick in comparison to all other trains on this day. 01:14 / 07:30
Train 2 : BNSF S-LPCLHW1-08A with ET44C4 #3767, SD70ACe #9157, C44-9W #5251, & ES44AC #6048. 09:10
Train 3 : BNSF Q-RICALT1-10A with ES44C4 #6768, #7032, #6589, & ES44DC #7344. Just as S-LPCLHW1-08A heads out, Q-RICALT1-10A appears, rounding the corner into Needles. 14:48 / 19:39
Train 4 : BNSF Z-MEMLAC9-08L with C44-9W #5333, ES44C4 #8343, C44-9W #4658, & ES44C4 #6518. Just as one train pulls in, another one comes in not too soon after, this one being Z-MEMLAC9-08L. Also a nice departure with some extra horn action and an awesome sounding throttle up ! 18:28 / 22:06
Train 5 : BNSF Q-HOULAC1-09A with ES44AC #6035, ES44C4 #6770, C44-9W #4019, ES44C4 #7149, & #6967. Nice departure with the engines notching up ! 26:46
Train 6 : BNSF H-BARGAL1-10A with C44-9W #5373, #5293, #5253, & ES44DC #7527. This train appears around the corner just as Q-HOULAC1-09A heads out of town ! 30:07 / 41:11
Train 7 : BNSF M-KCKBAR1-09A with ET44C4 #4224, C44-9W #5241, ES44C4 #6522, #4298, ES44DC #7229, & ES44AC #6408(DPU). 35:23
Train 8 : BNSF Q-ALTLAC1-09A with ES44C4 #7029 & #6620. After Q-ALTLAC1-09A's arrival, the crew would eventually be relieved sometime after I left with a new crew, continuing onwards to Los Angeles. With the remnants of the day's light fading and the night lamps illuminating, I decided to wrap up my railfanning trip and make the three hour trek home across the vast open desert. 36:56
Thanks for Watching !

[@johnmclaurinmclaurin924]

Man I love the sound of those medium speed diesel engines

[@josephmurrill8530]

When i first saw this video, not only did i love it...... I enjoyed it. I still it and still enjoying it. Thank you, thank you. Excellent video.

[@BrentNguyen46]

Thank you very much Joseph ! I’m glad to hear you enjoy the videos !

[@TheSkunk1996]

I'll try to visit......

[@zarniwoop42]

Heading to Laughlin this coming weekend. Hoping to spend time at Needles to video some trains.

[@BrentNguyen46]

Nice ! Hope you catch some good action ! It might be just a little hot out there right now though, haha.

[@lvsluggo007]

Love the 6 idling engines at 6:20... 26,400 horsepower..... rattles my speakers!! I live in Las Vegas and used to drive down to Needles to watch these beasts come thru.. Can't afford to anymore so videos on youtube have to do... Thanks!!!! Opps... only 5 engines.. Just 22,000 horsepower

[@BrentNguyen46]

lvsluggo007 You’re very welcome ! Glad you enjoyed the video !

[@3ofus135]

Nice work! A couple of years ago we stopped by the Needles station after leaving Laughlin. Lots of activity in the 2 hours we spent there. It was so hot, though. It hit 121 degrees! Even in the shade it was rough.

[@BrentNguyen46]

Thank you ! I know how that can be ! Used to live out in Palm Springs where the summers averaged 120 at times ! Haha

[@jimsmoter4510]

Is this the favorite spot to meet for coffee and donuts... HaHa

[@nh_highlander1985]

Amazing the amount of freight that moves by rail and container but definitely a wise way to expedite materials. Kewl video and as always amazing quality.

[@BrentNguyen46]

Tweety Swauger Thanks ! Glad you enjoyed the video !

[@YardLimit]

Excellent job, Brent!

[@BrentNguyen46]

Yard Limit Thanks !

[@paekokstationmaster5032]

Awesome enjoyed that and what a great spot!

[@BrentNguyen46]

Paekok Station Master Thank you !

[@Rafael.Santos013]

Great vídeo my friend😃

[@BrentNguyen46]

Thank you Rafael !

[@jasonpetersrailadventures]

Great video

[@BrentNguyen46]

Thank you !

[@coppercruz3605]

Amazing Video:)

[@BrentNguyen46]

Copper Cruz Thank you !

[@coppercruz3605]

;)

[@bradleyjanes2949]

Great vid

[@BrentNguyen46]

Thank you !

[@rhettrossalbert]

Nice Video!

[@BrentNguyen46]

Rhett Ross Thank you !

[@SD70MAC]

Lots of GE but No EMD ☹️

[@butthurt8]

SD70MAC warren buffet is owner of BNSF, and biggest shareholder of GE. That’s why BNSF has a lot of GEs.

[@sdrailproductions]

Nice video

[@BrentNguyen46]

SDRAIL Productions Thanks !

[@peteyblack8890]

great job on the footage just wondering do any trains originate at needles and if so how many trains come out of there or come in to the yard besides the crew changes

[@BrentNguyen46]

Pety Black Thank you ! Needles is predominantly only a crew change point as there aren’t any local customers or interchanges. Virtually all freight is through traffic, so it doesn’t necessitate originating trains out of Needles. However the yard does serve as a place to hold trains for a longer duration and to set aside bad equipment occasionally. (There might be additional information, but this is the typical activity regarding Needles)

[@peteyblack8890]

Thanks for the information I just always wondered why they have that yard there but nothing really is in the yard besides trains going through there for a crew change because I railfan there as well as Barstow and Kingman since I live in Sin City

[@cameroncintel1284]

How did you not get kicked out by security

[@BrentNguyen46]

Carlsbad Rail Productions There wasn’t any security present when I visited at the time. I also asked the crews if they were okay with me filming them, so that could also be another reason.

[@Atsf1976]

How did you get all the train symbols?

[@BrentNguyen46]

Adult686 Typically, it is mainly through close friends that work for the railroad that have access to such information. Otherwise, if the symbols are unavailable, it is based on inference, but usually that is very rare.

[@ghosttrainsnorcalproductions]

Fantastic video. What camera are you using?

[@BrentNguyen46]

Thank you ! This video was filmed with the Sony FDR-AX33.

[@Jack-dw2sz]

nice

[@BrentNguyen46]

Thank you !

[@Ferromexfan4081]

Can you go railfanning in Alaska?

[@BrentNguyen46]

AmtrakMan42 Lover I would say probably not any time soon. Current goal is to get California done first. I actually haven’t travelled too far outside California for railfanning.

[@Ferromexfan4081]

Well, good luck!

[@BrentNguyen46]

AmtrakMan42 Lover Thanks !

[@staintedcards]

Q- RICALT not rialto I take it lol

[@BrentNguyen46]

David Schieler Haha, yeah. Looks close to Rialto. Q-RICALT1-10A is a Richmond, CA to Alliance, TX Guaranteed Service Intermodal train.