28 photos included after text.

Hesperia, CA is a medium sized town somewhat east of interstate 15 and is served by exits #147 for the Bear Valley Cutoff, and exit #143 for Main Street.  It has a population of about 70,000 people.  The tracks are about 4.5 miles east of the interstate, and go north and south through town and then turn west along Hesperia's southern border, continuing west toward Cajon Pass.

There are plenty of the standard amenities at both the exits for the interstate and on the roads going toward town.  Plus there are more amenities on Main Street to the east of "C" Street.

There is also a short cut in Hesperia to get from Main Street to the Bear Valley Cutoff.  This will come in handy after you learn more about Hesperia and Victorville, CA.  Go east from "C" Street several blocks to "I" Street.  Turn north on "I" Street and go through about 3 stop signs along the 3.7 miles to the Bear Valley Cutoff.

GETTING TO SUMMIT ON INTERSTATE 15

Continue west on interstate 15 past exit #143 for 12 miles as it goes down the mountain side in the pass, to exit #131 for Route 138.  Turn left on Route 138 and follow it back up the mountain for 3.6 miles, to the summit at Big Cut.  Just that simple.

GETTING TO SUMMIT THROUGH HESPERIA

Exit interstate 15 at exit #143 and turn east on Main Street.  Follow Main Street for 4.5 miles, and through 13 stop lights, to a bridge over the tracks.  Another .2 miles will be another light for "C" Street.  Turn right at this light and go one block to Walnut Street where you need to turn right again.  Follow Walnut Street to its end at Santa Fe Ave where you will turn left.

Now on Santa Fe Ave, follow it for 10.6 miles all the way past the airport where it will change its name to Summit Valley Road, and continue to Route 138.  Along the way it will pass the area parallel to the tracks, Lugo, and the new Martinez signal tower.

At Route 138 turn right and follow it 1.7 miles to Big Cut.

SANTA FE AVE

After you turn onto Santa Fe Ave you will notice the BNSF tracks right next to you.  Anywhere for the next 2 miles you can get good photos of trains going either east or west.  East bound trains are best in the early morning in summer, and west bound trains are best in the mid morning in winter or late morning in summer.  By Cajon standards the photos would be kind-of dull, with not to much in the background, and the train on a straight track.  But hey, it's a photo.

LUGO

A set of crossovers between Hesperia and Martinez is called Lugo.  They are north of the now Summit Valley Road just 1.7 miles past the entrance for the Hesperia airport.  Turn onto a dirt road that will go towards the tracks and go up a slight hill.  At the top will be another small hill you can stand on to get a better angle.  There is also a large open area to park your vehicle away from the tracks. 

There is a nice curve to your right, and the actual crossovers for Lugo to your left.  There is a service road that you can drive on to get to, and past the signals if you wished but be careful and look out for any security.  (I don't drive down that road.) 

Lugo is one of the remaining great places to get a photo of an east bound train with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background, and of course, it is even better if they are snow-capped for that early morning in winter photo.

MARTINEZ

I do not know if the railroad moved Martinez after the addition of the third main, but there is a large signal tower 2.8 miles from Lugo that makes a great prop for photos of trains in either direction depending on the time of day.  This is the begining of the third main.

East bound trains are best in the early morning in winter, and west bound trains are best in the late afternoon in winter.

VICTORVILLE

Victorville is a little larger than Hesperia with a population of about 75,000 people, and there are more amenities in Victorville than Hesperia.  Interstate 15 still travels along Victorvilles northwestern border at about a 45 degree angle with some curves toward the north side of town. 

There are seven exits that serve the Victorville area with only three of them having any direct railroad importance.  They are exit #147 for the Bear Valley Road, exit #150 for 7th Street and exit #153A for "D" Street.  The most amenities are at exit #147 with more at exit #150 and then downtown and other railroad locations at exit #153A.

AMTRAK

The Southwest Chief is the only Amtrak train that serves the Victorville/Hesperia areas and it arrives at the Victorville depot as the west bound #3 at 04:13 a.m. and the east bound #4 at 9:40 p.m.  The depot is located on the corner of "D" Street and 6th Street and shares the building with the Greyhound bus service. 

Remember to call 1-800-USA-RAIL (872-7245) for more information or visit their website at www.amtrak.com.  Always call "Julie" the automated answering service to get up to the minute information on arrival times.

Railroad locations in Victorville area are Thorn, Frost, the Narrows, the Mojave River Bridges, Oro Grande, and a good photo location just east of Silver Lake/Helendale, CA.

THORN

Thorn is where the Bear Vally Cutoff goes over the BNSF tracks which are 3.8 miles east of the interstate.  You could get photos from the embankments of the bridge if you wanted, but I have left this area alone because I am usually in Cajon Pass when the sun is in a good position for photos.  Explore it if you wish.

FROST

This place is interesting.  This is where the Santa Fe built an overpass for one track to crossover the other.  This made it possible for a westbound train on main 1 to crossover to main 2 and start its run to Cajon on a left-hand rule without disturbing the flow of any east bound trains.  It is generally known as the Natural Crossover.

To get to Frost, be on the Bear Valley Cutoff and turn north on Ridgecrest Road which is the first light east of the overpass for the tracks.  Follow Ridgecrest for 2.2 miles to where it goes down a large hill and turns to the right at the bottom. 

At the bottom of this hill you should now see Frost to your left.  Park in the open dirt area to the left and at the bottom of the steep "Ridgecrest" hill and prepare to climb.  When you get to the top of the hill, you will be in a great location for photos of westbound trains as they go over, or sometimes under, the "flyover".  Best time for these is in the early morning in winter only.

This would be the best place to catch an Amtrak but rarely is it that late to be in good sun here.  It would have to be running around 4 hours late, and I have only gotten one (not great), photo of that.  Oh well...

Notice the Mojave Narrows Regional Park to the right of the tracks.  This is a good place to park an RV if you have one, and want to hear trains all night long.  You could even get one of the spaces that put your RV's rear facing the tracks.  There are other things to do in the park and if you want more information on that call their non-tollfree number at 1-760-245-2226 or visit their website at www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/parks/mojave.htm.

There are a couple of other places you can get good photos around the hillsides next to the track that forms an "S" curve before it rises toward the flyover at Frost.

THE NARROWS

This is the place where the tracks go through a narrow short canyon between downtown and Frost.  Getting to the Narrows is easy.  From Frost, get on the dirt road that is on the outside of the curve for the lower track.  Go around the curve and past the Mojave Region Park.  After a short while you will see a grade crossing just past a pair of signals.  Turn onto that grade crossing and cross the tracks.  Turn right, and follow this service road to where the tracks curve.

You should be right at the edge of the rocky cliffs and the tracks form a shallow "S" curve.  Stand as close to the fence as you can and get your photo.  Best in the mid afternoon in winter or summer.  It is a good picture although more of a "power" shot.

THE MOJAVE RIVER BRIDGES

This area has abundant photo possibilities.  This is another area that you could almost spend an entire day at.  Get back onto the interstate and travel to exit #153A for "D" Street.  Turn toward the Southwest Portland Cement Plant and drive 1.7 miles to just before a large electrical substation.  You will see alot of high tension wires when you are close.

Turn right, and follow a dirt road that is right next to a chainlink fence on the south side of the substation.  Go to the end and veer to the left.  You are now at the south side of the bridges.  Park here. 

There is a large rock you can stand on for photos of westbounds as they exit the bridge in the mid afternoons summer or winter, or you could get on the other side of the tracks for another angle of west bound trains as they exit the bridge.  That photo is best in the early morning in winter.

On the other side of the river, you can climb up a hillside for great early morning photos of westbounds working past a very rocky hillside.  Best in the early morning in winter or mid morning in summer.  Change your angle to compensate for the shadows that the rocks form over the tracks in the early mornings.

Directly in front of you across the tracks, is a rocky hill that offers fantastic late afternoon photos of eastbound trains as they exit the bridges.  Just climb and shoot.  West bound trains are also good in the late morning in summer or early morning in winter.

ORO GRANDE

There are a couple of good places to get photos from off of the National Trails Highway before Oro Grande.  Just use the rocks as a background for your photos and find a good place that suits you.  There are several.  At another cement plant in Oro Grande, the road will go under the tracks and continue on toward Barstow. 

There are a couple of nice remote controled engines at the cement plant that you could get in the afternoon if you are lucky.  They are usually parked in a location that is not a good photo because it is toward the interior of the plant and there are just to many obstructions to deal with.

SILVER LAKE / HELENDALE

This is just a rocky hill outside of the community of Silver Lake in Helendale, CA.  It is about 9.5 miles from the underpass at Oro Grande and 1.1 miles from Vista Road which is the main road into the community of Silver Lake about .5 mile from the National Trails Highway.

Park at the dirt area going to a small rail-to-truck grain transfer location on the left side of the highway .8 miles past Vista Road, and walk alongside the road to the obvious rocky hill between the road and the tracks.  Climb up to the top of this hill for really nice photos of westbounds as they contniue toward Cajon.  These photos are best in the mid afternoon in summer or winter.

Photos from here of eastbounds are also great, but are better taken in the early mornings in summer or winter with the summer being best.

As you travel along this road toward Barstow, after another 9.2 miles you will come to a nice "S" curve just north of the road.  I would believe that mid afternoon photos in summer or winter would be good here, but I have yet to get one to demonstrate.  Again....next trip.