Combining history, photography, and railroad passions

I always have been a fan of history, especially history that indicates how cruel humans can be to each other—The Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, American Civil War, World War I, World War II….

My second favorite history genre relies on another of my passions, photography, for its best storyline: then & now.

Combine history and photography with my passion for trains, and all is well in the world.

Trains were instrumental in building America, bringing people closer to each other, and moving troops in times of war.

Much of the railroad infrastructure in San Diego was built by the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, such as the historic Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego:

The Santa Fe Depot is still used by the San Diego Trolley, the Coaster, and Amtrak. A careful search through historical records will reveal many pictures of Santa Fe trains in San Diego, such as this calendar picture of Santa Fe 3751, a steam engine built in 1927:

That picture is circa 1953 according to the calendar credits and shows #3751 rounding the curve under the historic Del Mar bridge just north of Torrey Pines State Beach here in San Diego County. The train is headed northbound with the next part of its journey being right above the beaches. Gorgeous views and one of the most scenic Amtrak routes in all of North America!

Santa Fe #3751 still is fully operational and makes several excursions a year to various train events. When I went to San Bernardino Railroad Days earlier this year, I had the pleasure of riding in the consist from San Bernardino to Los Angeles Union Station, about 90 miles, that was being pulled by Santa Fe #3751.

Here is Photographic Art based on a picture of the Santa Fe #3751 from 2012 National Train Day in Los Angeles:

Now let’s go back to that calendar picture. Although the location of the bridge was not disclosed on the calendar, I recognized it because I’ve driven over that bridge many times, and walked Torrey Pines State Beach many times. Here it is on a Google map:

The location is a great place to do a little train watching since Amtrak and the Coaster use it regularly. Northbound and southbound trains use the single track, so trains go by about every 30 minutes on a week day.

Following is my re-creation of the calendar picture with a northbound Amtrak Pacific Surfliner at the same point on the curve under the bridge.

There are about 60 years between the two pictures.

Look at the trees on the top of the hill in the background and you can see that the silhouette is very much the same:

The trees are Torrey pines. San Diego is one of only two places in the world where the Torrey pine grows. The other is an island off the Southern California coast.

Now I want to find that tall tree in the middle because I’m pretty sure there must be a time capsule at its base that is waiting for Russel Ray to dig it up. Inside will be all sorts of materials about the history of San Diego, photographs, an old Kodak Brownie camera, and maybe even a toy Lionel train, Santa Fe #3751.

Following is Santa Fe #3751 at the 2014 San Bernardino Railroad Days, preparing to take a couple hundred train fans—including me!—back to Los Angeles Union Station. I rode in the second car behind the locomotive and tender, or the fifth car from the rear.

Need a unique gift? Consider Photographic Art!

Visit Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos at Fine Art America.

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner in San Diego

Along with the weather in San Diego, which allows me to be outside quite often, one of the most enjoyable aspects of living here is the opportunity to ride trains, and at a reasonable cost. The red San Diego Trolley takes me most places, but there’s also the Coaster from downtown San Diego to Oceanside, the Sprinter from Oceanside to Escondido, Metrolink from Oceanside to Los Angeles, and Amtrak from San Diego to Los Angeles.

I recently rode the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to Los Angeles and back. Here is my train at the historic Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego.

The Pacific Surfliner normally has a single engine and six cars. My train this day was a double header with six cars! Trains between San Diego and Los Angeles use the push/pull system whereby the engine always points south. So when the train is traveling south from L.A. to San Diego, the engine is at the front of the train, pulling. When the train is traveling north from San Diego to L.A., the engine is at the rear of the train, pushing.

Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572

If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!