My first post here, and first I have to say what an informative and entertaining forum this is.
I'm at a conference in Santa Monica this September, and I'd like to do at least a days railfanning. Normally when I visit LA I take a long weekend up at tehachapi but don't think I'm going to have time this visit.
What I'm wondering is, where should I got that's within a couple of hours or less of Santa Monica? I can only think of West Colton or Cajon.
Frankly, I'd be a bit worried about railfanning at West Colton on my own, here in the UK LA has a bit of a wild reputation! Cajon would be a little safer? I've driven through Cajon a couple of times and frankly I'm put off my the presence of the freeway... compared to my beloved Tehachapi it seems noisier with cars and trucks...
So, what do you think fellow railfans?
regards,
Dr G-F
MPALMER Member # 125
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Dr G-F, Santa Monica tends to have heavy traffic. Unless you have a helicopter (or a motorcycle) it could easily take longer than 2 hours to get to any of the places you mentioned. September can also mean "fire season" so some of the dry hilly areas could be off limits. Fullerton is closer to Santa Monica and has a lot of passenger trains, and plenty of freights too because it is on the BNSF transcon.
MP
coleridge70 Member # 3870
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Try Fullerton Sit and have a cup of coffee at the station: the traffic is heavy BNSF.
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