Tehachapi Railfanning

Even though it's not the right time of year for green in Tehachapi, we found some great views of trains in and around the world famous route that goes from the Mojave desert to California's Central Valley.
This video includes shots from high above areas such as Sanborn on the BNSF just east of Mojave, the gigantic S curve that wraps around the hills at Warren just north of Mojave, and several views in and around Cable of trains snaking through the narrows. Included in our footage are several shots of the Trona Railway taking a cut of loaded hopper cars from Searles Valley through the Pinnacles landmark up to the interchange with the Union Pacific. You will even see a nod to the past with a Southern Pacific painted locomotive leading the Trona local onto the Lone Pine branch out of Mojave!
||Equipment List||
|||Photography|||
Canon 7D Mark II - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Canon 5D Mark III - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Manfrotto MT055XPRO3 Tripod - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
I use hexagonal plates for my tripod mounts, though your usage may vary with those
|||Video|||
Canon XHA-1S - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Bogen 3040 Video Tripod - No link, but it's relatively easy to find on eBay for about $150
|||Misc|||
ATCS Monitor - groups.io/g/ATCSMonitor
Uniden Bearcat BC245XLT - wiki.radioreference.com/index...
Final Cut Pro X - www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/

[@isaiasmendez2598]

Awesome trains 🚂

[@paekokstationmaster5032]

Awesome watch as usual Zac and you guys certainly provide the best guide for Railfanning in California. Regards from New Zealand.

[@Nicola636128]

Excellent video !

[@RailfanRenato]

Congrats on toasting us on this unique tour of Techachapi on your Railfanjunction. Its leaving the trivial with the capture of sunny images made this video the best I've seen in two hours with the quality of sound and image impeccable ... greetings from Brazil to California in the USA !!!

[@joshswarens9409]

great video loved it

[@jw4620]

Very enjoyable! Thanks!

[@FishplateFilms]

Some great shots here Zach'! Makes me miss the US and Tehachapi even more. Spent 4 days being shown around from Bealville to Monolith and of course the "Loop". Very keen to get back there and get to more spots like yourself. Cheers from Down Under, Gregg:-)

[@RailfanJunction]

Thank you Gregg!

[@HighRail62]

Great video. I enjoyed it very,very much. A unique perspective at time Approx. 1 hour and 12 minutes. Thank you!

[@ryeistoasted8577]

Amazing video, second only to the BNSF Transcon one. You are truly inspiring and are a major cause as to what sparked my train photography. Thank you for another amazing video Zach. Cheers, Ryan.

[@RailfanJunction]

Thank you so much Ryan! I watched every Trains on location video when I was very little and was inspired by Paul Schneider, especially by his video of Tehachapi. I am glad that I could pass this along!

[@marcosinnes5999]

Thank you

[@scootosan]

Could be a Movie, I can appreciate your dedication and effort to make these videos. Well done Sir.

[@RailfanJunction]

Thank you! We appreciate you wanting to watch what we share on the web. Even if nobody watched the videos, we would still go out. It makes it that much more fun that people want to see the videos we have taken.

[@finaldraft151]

12:50 Mark - I had to watch it several times thinking that there was a quick transition edit from the rear DP on end of that UP to the Lead BNSF - Unless I've gone totally insane, there is no edit here - That is quite possibly the greatest shot ever - Perfect timing and camera placement. The composition of the shots in your videos are fantastic! Really well planned out vs just recording wherever the tripod happens to land after tossing it from the car. Add that to the lack of wind killing the audio, no annoying crossing bell clanging away for duration of train, the lack of someone stomping around the ballast and no background chatter really sets your work on a level far above a lot of the videos on here. Thank you for the excellent work. You mentioned a haze filter was used; I'd humbly suggest experimenting with stacking a neutral density + UV or maybe just a Polarizing ND and manually balance the Kelvin temp down a few degrees to cut/kill some of it but I think it adds ambiance as is. You get a true sense of the Mojave heat and sun. Keep up the great work!

[@RailfanJunction]

No gimmicks were done on the shots. It was just very fortunate timing, which happens maybe once every so often. Thanks for the critical analysis and praise!

[@Balerio2357]

Excellent Video, top notch Zach! - Larry (Balerio2357)

[@J3scribe]

Top notch. Love the new graphics too.

[@MilePostMunk]

awesome footage :D

[@kulovyblesk5173]

65/5000 Again wonderful video - it's not a mistake better than watching TV: _)

[@marcosinnes5999]

Top video

[@marcosinnes5999]

Greetings from luxemburg europ

[@RailfanJunction]

A long way from Tehachapi! Thanks for taking the time to watch the video :)

[@MudSharkMetalDetecting]

Hello from Scotland, your videos are always very professionally put together and enjoyable to watch. Great landscapes and trains. Looking forward to the next one.

[@RailfanJunction]

Many thanks! Say hello to the DMDC for us if you ever see them out detecting!

[@MudSharkMetalDetecting]

haha thats a good show, didnt know you got it in the States!

[@RailfanJunction]

We get it here but can't say that many over here actually GET it... get it? Great show- hoping for season 3.

[@MudSharkMetalDetecting]

me too, I heard they are filming it :-)

[@eddrck4679]

Nice shot of the SD59MX,those are rear units.

[@citadinman]

Great video! Beautiful scenes, amazing trains! The picture is stable and there is no background noise and that is nice! Continue like that! Do you plan a little episode behind the scenes? Greetings from France!

[@RailfanJunction]

Thank you for the kind words! We know all of the sun angles and potential viewpoints to go to and then wait to see how the traffic will play out. Even with the best scene, if there is no train it doesn't matter so we are at the mercy of when and what for the trains. So planning occurs years in advance with a mental checklist of possible shots and when the right train comes along at the right time we go to the particular spot.

[@giovanninalin5529]

ottimo

[@RailfanJunction]

Thank you!

[@irish00011]

I had no idea, that the desert heat would manufacture so much haze. It's a given, the heated air of the day, on the surface, reflects upward, and produces a distorted mirage condition, which the camera usually captures, but the haze was unexpected. I'm not absolutely convinced, but a haze filter over your lens, might have cleaned it up. Other than that, what a wondrous video, while you were being baked in the heat of the day.

[@RailfanJunction]

Believe it or not but that was WITH a UV haze filter. The desert has been very humid this summer as seen by the popup thunderstorms in the background in the shot from above Warren. Thanks for the observation and I'm glad that you enjoyed the video!

[@DadforSon]

Timothy M I have lived in CA only after a good rain are the skies really sharp blue

[@spacecalander]

WOW BNSF needs to simplify their roster and just go all A/C Traction, and they are still getting the c4's which have loading problems, just use an old GP60 if that's the case.