Railfan Road: California’s Central Valley

Railfanning California’s Central Valley offers diverse operations, wide-open vistas, and plenty of action. Even so, the Central Valley gets no respect. Fresno, Bakersfield and even Sacramento are the butt of jokes by Los Angeles and Bay Area citizens. Railfans make trips to Cajon, Donner and Tehachapi passes but seldom celebrate the tabletop-flat topography of the Golden State’s midsection.

But the Central Valley has trains — lots of ’em — from two Class I railroads, Amtrak with a California flavor, and a surprising variety of short lines. Tying this all together is State Route 99 down the valley’s heart. U.S. 99 formerly ran the length of the West Coast but was decommissioned when parallel Interstate 5 was constructed. California 99 — the Golden State Highway — now looks like an interstate while still running trackside for long stretches.

BNSF is the Central Valley’s busier Class I, averaging approximately 20 freight trains per day on its Bakersfield (south of Fresno) and Fresno (north of Fresno) subdivisions. The BNSF trains serve three purposes: local business (mostly ag and intermodal) for customers in the Central Valley; through trains (primarily intermodal) to the San Francisco Bay area; and north-south trains that use BNSF’s Inside Gateway route to the Pacific Northwest (these trains use UP trackage rights north of Stockton).

More track, fewer trains

Union Pacific has more Central Valley trackage than BNSF but runs fewer trains. Overlapping track from predecessors Southern Pacific and Western Pacific between Stockton and Sacramento accounts for the extra infrastructure, while UP’s east-west Overland Route siphons some traffic that would otherwise run through the Central Valley. UP also has its parallel former Southern Pacific Coast Line, but that route sees little through freight traffic.

Amtrak is a big player. Twelve San Joaquins run on BNSF north of Bakersfield, 10 to and from the Bay Area and one round trip connecting Sacramento via Union Pacific’s Fresno Subdivision. The San Joaquins rely on local equipment that is transitioning from F59s and California bi-levels to Chargers and Venture trainsets. Former NJ Transit “Comet” commuter cars — reconfigured for intercity use — can also make an appearance. ACE — Altamont Corridor Express — runs eight daily trains between Stockton and San Jose over Union Pacific’s former WP lines and is undergoing its own equipment transition. The line’s six F40PHM-3s and Bombardier bi-levels are being supplemented by four Siemens Chargers and 17 additional cars from Bombardier.

Small lines, big business

Short lines are big business in the valley. Of the 10 different short lines, Genesee & Wyoming’s San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SJVR) dominates after becoming UP’s and Santa Fe’s operator of choice for most branches between Fresno and Bakersfield. SJVR operates its 371 miles with more than 25 four-axle units including unusual NZE24Bs (Knoxville Locomotive units built from CSX gensets), PR30Bs (Progress Rail-rebuilt GP40s), and a BL20-2 (EMD’s 1992 attempt to penetrate the rebuild market). Best chances for SJVR power are Exeter (shop and headquarters), Fresno (UP yard) and Bakersfield (BNSF yard), but beware — the short line units are often a prime target for taggers.

Route 99 meets the railroads in Bakersfield, where UP and BNSF begin their separate paths up the Central Valley after sharing trackage over Tehachapi Pass. Amtrak’s modern Bakersfield station on BNSF was opened in 2000 after more than 20 years of “temporary” stations caused by the 1972 demolition of Santa Fe’s depot. Four trainsets overnight at the two-platform station, but the first train leaves at a bleary-eyed 4:12 a.m. Both UP and BNSF have mid-size Bakersfield yards and crews change here on some trains. UP’s yard is easier to see from public property, while BNSF’s is larger and busier. SP’s rambling station still stands (no longer used by UP) and can be photographed from Jackson Street. San Joaquin Valley operates several branches in the area and can be found running into both Bakersfield yards for interchange.

Heading north, Route 99 parallels UP’s Fresno Subdivision for almost 60 miles from Oil Junction on Bakersfield’s north side until Tulare. The mostly single-track railroad is right next to the freeway, often with no barriers or fence to spoil the view, and oncoming trains are easily visible. Two industrial operations add interest between Bakersfield and Tulare: Western Milling’s SE15B at Famoso, and J.D. Heiskell south of Pixley, who has SD9s of SP and Central of Georgia heritage.

You can scratch the shortline itch at Tulare by taking a 17-mile detour northeast to Exeter, the San Joaquin Valley Railroad’s home. SJVR’s shop is located inside a wye between E and F streets and there is a large railroad-themed mural a block south on F street. Make your way back to Route 99 through Visalia (don’t miss the former SP depot, now a restaurant). At Goshen, you’ll find another outpost of Western Milling with an SE15B and junctions with two branches of the SJVR. Just north at Traver Foster Farms features an SD38 and RP20BD, often visible from 99.

Stations and history

UP’s mainline is right next to California 99 for the first half of the 30-mile drive north to Fresno, but if you want to stay really close, switch onto Golden State Boulevard at Kingsburg. Kingsburg also boasts a beautifully restored Southern Pacific station (open Wednesdays 9 a.m. to noon) and a water tower designed to look like a Swedish coffee pot.

In Fresno, North Avenue (ironically on the south side) will take you to Fresno’s Calwa (California Wine Association) crossing of the UP and BNSF main lines. The site is busy and accessible, but not photogenic — light industry and highway overpasses pass for scenery. BNSF’s midsize Calwa Yard is north of the diamond and partially visible from adjacent Railroad Avenue.

Fresno has plenty of railroad history. Amtrak’s former Santa Fe station and division headquarters downtown dates from 1899, and is an easy side trip from California 99. After being closed to passengers for 40 years the building was renovated and reopened in 2005. Less than a mile away, the former Southern Pacific station predates the Santa Fe station by a decade and hasn’t seen passengers since 1971.

But passengers will return (eventually) when the SP facility is restored and incorporated into California High-Speed Rail’s Fresno station. The rarest artifacts in Fresno are two “wig-wag” crossing signals in service at Hamilton and Cherry Street crossings on a SJVR-operated piece of former SP. UP’s Fresno Yard can be found on the city’s north side, sandwiched between Route 99 and Weber Avenue.

UP and California 99 resume their side-by-side running just north of the UP yard all the way to Modesto, almost a hundred miles. Road and rail diverge only to bypass en route towns or accommodate freeway interchanges. Look for A.J. Gilbert’s facility on the west side of the road at Keyes, just south of Modesto — it has several locomotives of its own that are often visible.

Modesto is the inspiration for the movie American Graffiti, and although the original drive-ins are long gone, the city has plenty of railroading. Southern Pacific’s 1915 station is now part of a transit center and open to the public. But the real goal is to get a UP freight crossing I Street with the Modesto Arch (slogan: Water – Wealth – Contentment – Health) in the background. Since the arch is lit, the shot can even work at night. To the east, Modesto’s Amtrak station on BNSF features a Santa Fe 4-8-4 on display.

Classy Modesto diesels

Don’t leave Modesto without seeking out the Modesto & Empire Traction, a family-owned short line that replaced its long-time stable of GE 70-tonners with an 11-unit fleet of SWs and gensets painted in its classy red and silver. The short line serves the Beard Industrial District from its shop on McClure Boulevard.

California 99 continues to parallel Union Pacific for 10 miles north of Modesto, but you would be forgiven for diverting northeast to check out the Sierra Northern’s original Sierra Railroad route (of steam and Baldwin diesel fame), which connects to the BNSF at Riverbank. SERA’s yard at Oakdale is overflowing with gensets and other stored power, while the company’s last remaining Baldwin — S12 42 — is in the Riverbank Industrial Center but can be difficult to see from public property.

Heading north to Stockton, the railroad geography changes. UP’s Fresno Sub continues northward to Sacramento, crossing and paralleling UP’s Oakland Sub at Stockton. The Oakland Sub is the former Western Pacific main line, which comes east from the San Francisco Bay Area, turning north at Stockton towards Sacramento. The parallel Fresno and Oakland subs both serve UP’s Lathrop intermodal terminal south of Stockton. Closer to downtown, UP’s Stockton Yard is a former Western Pacific facility adjacent to the de-emphasized ex-SP yard. BNSF also has an intermodal terminal south of Stockton at Mariposa that is being expanded and has a carload yard (Morman) in Stockton proper.

Heading for the bay

At Stockton, BNSF’s route changes as it heads west out of the valley towards the Bay Area, complicating passenger train routings. Ten Amtrak San Joaquins follow the BNSF route and stop at the appropriately named San Joaquin Street Station, a former Santa Fe mission-revival depot dating from 1900. The remaining Sacramento-Bakersfield Amtrak round trip uses UP tracks to complete its route, so it instead stops at Stockton’s much grander former SP depot. The SP depot is also the endpoint for eight daily ACE trains between Stockton and San Jose.

To catch all the mainline trains — passenger and freight — head to the BNSF/UP diamond crossing at the former site of Stockton Tower, located off Aurora Street southeast of downtown. Construction to grade separate the crossing — which may be the busiest in California — started in 2024 so vistas are already changing even as train activity continues to flow.

Several Stockton short lines are worth a stop but can take work to catch. Central California Traction’s red SW1500s, hybrids, and gensets are photogenic, but the carrier does much of its work inside the Port of Stockton. The independently operated CCT is jointly owned by Union Pacific and BNSF. Omnitrax’s Stockton Terminal & Eastern has less activity, rostering an attractive SW1500 and a corporate-liveried SE10B.

Roads and rail are generally parallel for the 50 miles between Stockton and Sacramento, but not close enough for rail action while driving. Instead, head to Sacramento for an enthusiast’s bounty. On Sacramento’s south side not too far off California 99 you can find the Siemens Mobility factory, manufacturing light- and heavy-rail equipment including the Charger passenger locomotive. Downtown’s grand 1926 Southern Pacific Depot hosts 38 weekday Amtrak trains, including the long-distance Coast Starlight and California Zephyr. The station was restored in 2017 (check out the mural inside depicting the transcontinental railroad groundbreaking), but the platforms were moved about 1,000 feet away from the headhouse as part of a mainline realignment. Sacramento’s Western Pacific depot also stands and has been serving restaurant patrons for almost as long as it served rail passengers.

Sacramento’s railroad jewel is only three blocks from the Amtrak station. The California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Sacramento’s Old Town hosts a western-focused railroad collection ranging from an 1862 Central Pacific 4-4-0 to an Amtrak F40PHR from 1978. The museum’s exhibits are engaging and the equipment displayed inside is well restored. Outside, CSRM’s Sacramento Southern offers 45-minute excursions Friday-Saturday-Sunday during the summer (Pro tip: Spring for the extra fare to ride in one of the three first-class cars that rotate in the service). CSRM stores part of its collection in the former SP shop buildings nearby which have become more viewable as the site is redeveloped, but the buildings themselves are not open to the public.

Sacramento’s two hottest spots for freight are the Haggin and Elvas wyes, south of the American River. At Haggin, the former SP Overland Route to Oakland flies over the former Western Pacific main line, with connections including one used by Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. Amtrak’s pair of Sacramento San Joaquins use the nearby Evlas wye, which marks the end of UP’s Fresno Sub. While UP owns the area main lines, BNSF trains can be seen exercising trackage rights. Finally, UP’s Davis Yard in Roseville about 20 miles east is busy as the area’s carload hub. Look for Union Pacific’s Donner Pass snow-fighting equipment (including rotary snowplows and former F7B power cars) stored at the yard during warmer months.   

There are a few smaller operations around Sacramento. Sierra Northern serves the Port of Sacramento with first-generation GPs and gensets and operates the River Fox excursion train on a disconnected section of the former Yolo Shortline along the Sacramento River. Patriot Rail’s Sacramento Valley Railroad operates a pair of GP15s at the McClellan Business Park on Sacramento’s east side. If you are tired of driving, Sacramento’s light rail system offers enough mileage for a solid half-day of riding.

California 99 not only gives a front-row seat to today’s railroad scene in the Central Valley — it offers a peek into the future. Along the route travelers can see newly built bridges, viaducts and grading for California’s High Speed Rail project, which has focused its San Francisco-Los Angeles route construction in the Central Valley. The future high-speed route parallels California 99 between Merced and Fresno, and it is impossible to ignore the activity. Although service isn’t projected to begin until 2030 at the earliest (funding permitting), new structures will continue to change the railroad scene in the Central Valley.   

Worth a stop

• Railtown 1897. Although 45 miles east of California 99, Railtown 1897 (now a California State Park) does a remarkable job of preserving the heritage of the Sierra Railroad in the Sierra foothills. The park also pays tribute to the hundreds of movies and television shows that were filmed on the property.

• Short lines. Seek out some “non-chain” short lines: Modesto and Empire Traction in Modesto, Central California Traction in Stockton, and the several locations of the Sierra Northern.

• Ride a speeder. The former Amador Central Railroad and the El Dorado Western Railroad (both east of Sacramento) offer motorcar rides through increasingly rare rural landscapes. The nearby Placerville & Sacramento Valley Railroad offers both train and motorcar rides.

If time is short: Because California 99 is almost an interstate highway, you’ll make good time driving through the Central Valley, while tracks are nearby for most of the journey. Fresno is a good midpoint on the trip, where the BNSF and UP yards and the Amtrak station are all accessible with minimal detours.

A word of caution: While California’s Central Valley cities are smaller than San Francisco or Los Angeles, they have similar urban problems. Be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on your belongings. 

Besides the railroad

• National Parks. Yosemite is a headline national park and the entrance is only 60 miles from Fresno. But the Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are nearby and worth a look for their giant sequoia trees.

• Old Sacramento. The “Old Sac” historic district features buildings dating back to the 1860s, and includes the Old Sacramento Waterfront shopping and entertainment district. While the railroad museum is an anchor, don’t miss the Delta King steamboat, now a hotel and restaurant.

• Agritourism. The Central Valley produces half of U.S. fruits and vegetables, so opportunities abound to sample their bounty. The Fruit Bowl near Stockton and Hudson Farms southeast of Fresno are two of the better-known stops, but hours vary by the season. 

Check out the previous Railfan Road article, “Railfan Road: The Lone Star State.”