Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)'s photos with the keyword: rail

A Metrolink Arrow train arriving at the historic Santa Fe station in Redlands. The station was built in 1909 and was in service as a Santa Fe passenger train service for only a relatively short 29 years. In 1938 a trestle on the line serving the station washed out and, apparently due to increased auto usage, there was a decision to not restart service. Apparently the station was deserted for most of the intervening years, until the recent start of the Arrow service created a need for the platforms – the interior of the station is still deserted. For more details about the service and trains, click on the Arrow tag for all photos.

At the end of the day, a quick 'time-machine' shot across history. On the left side of the picture is a former citrus-packing warehouse from the times in the 1930’s when the area was a major citrus growing area. On the right side, the passenger depot that set unused for 80+ years while Redlands transitioned from agriculture to being just another automobile-dominated suburban city of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan era. And, in the middle, an Arrow train that’s hopefully a symbol of a move to public transit and away from automobile-dominance in the Southern California Los Angeles megalopolis. For a shot of the same area just four years ago, when it was still a largely unused railroad track, click here . For more details about the service and trains, click on the Arrow tag for all photos.

At least a standard theme for what you see out the window of trains these days in the U.S. – campsites of the unhoused. What you don’t see very often, and you have to look very close to see in the upper center of this photo, is rows and rows of rail car wheels. The photo is taken from the Metrolink Arrow, crossing the Santa Ana River wash, which is adjacent to Greenbrier Rail Services , a company that has some role in making or servicing the wheels for rail cars. For more details about the service and trains, click on the Arrow tag for all photos.

At the downtown San Bernardino Metrolink station, where passengers going further on Metrolink, change trains. I was surprised at the number of people on the Arrow who were transferring to Metrolink. Considering that the Arrow had only been in service 5 days, and it was a Saturday, I had guessed that everyone on the train were simply people curious about the Arrow. For more details about the service and trains, click on the Arrow tag for all photos.

Near downtown San Bernardino, a U-Haul franchise with an historic truck on top, taken from the Arrow train. I’m a little dubious about the authenticity of the truck, but I could be wrong. Per the previous Wikipedia link U-Haul, started in 1945, but this truck looks to be closer to 1930. BUT, knowing the history of U-Haul, they could have been renting 15 year old trucks! For more details about the service and trains, click on the Arrow tag for all photos.

The new Redlands Metrolink Arrow service at the University station that’s on the edge of the University of Redlands. The new service started on 10/24/2022, just 5 days before this photo was taken. \n\nThe University station is on the east end of the line and probably would not be busy on weekends (this was a Saturday). About 8 passengers got off when the train pulled in, and the ones that I spoke to were all riding it just to check out the service. I use Metrolink to go into LA some times and, since this station is the closest to the freeway and to Palm Springs, I expect to be using it fairly often in the future. For more details about the service and trains, click on the Arrow tag for all photos.

The county transportation authority’s description of the Metrolink Arrow focuses on their designation as DMUs (‘Diesel Multiple Units’) which are smaller, more efficient, and cheaper to operate than Metrolink’s standard locomotives. The design was chosen to fit with the increasing need for both expanded local service between Redland and San Bernardino, and for connecting Redlands with the larger Metrolink trains that run from San Bernardino to LA. The trains were built in Salt Lake City, UT by Stadler , a Swiss company with an 80 year history of building railroad equipment. For more details about the service and trains, click on the Arrow tag for all photos.