This job hails from my hometown, so it's the BNSF local I'm most familiar with. Although BNSF has about only 1 mile of mainline track through La Mirada, it has a small yard out of which many of its LA and Orange County local operations are based. La Mirada has a 24 hour staffed yard office with a trainmaster and road foreman. It handles all jobs as far south as Irvine and out to Pico Yard in Pico Rivera. The La Mirada Local is actually two different daily (M-F) operations. One goes down to Irvine and the other switches industries in Fullerton, Anaheim, and Placentia. There are several long back-up moves made on both runs necessitating the use of a caboose. Some of BNSF's oldest power can be found in La Mirada, which is one of the last places where you can find 50 year old GP7's and GP9's working in daily service for a class 1 railroad.
This is near the La Mirada yard office. The power is parked on a small wye in the La Mirada industrial park. The Fairmont speeder is still lettered for ATSF and still used by maintenance crews who work out of the yard office.
This is one of the two cabooses used by the La Mirada Local jobs. #999716 is in service on the Fullerton/Anaheim La Mirada. It's in horrible shape with graffitti covering just about every external surface, but at least it's still running!
#999795 is the other caboose. This one is used on the Irvine La Mirada, and it's in much better shape.
The La Mirada Local works the "KC" Spur in Fullerton, so named because of the huge Kimberly Clark plant that receives daily loads of paper and ships out toilet paper. This is main customer of the Fullerton La Mirada. This short branch line can be accessed off Kimberly St. in Fullerton.
GP9 #1648 unleashes a volume of exhaust as it pulls cars out of the KC Spur.
This short branch line in Fullerton is accessed by BNSF off the San Diego Sub. To reach the branch, the train must back up for approximately 8 miles, hence the need for the caboose.
The branch begins at the San Diego Sub, about a quarter mile east of Fullerton Junction. It runs along Kimberly St. and terminates at a Con Agra plant.
The La Mirada Local slowly trundles down the rickety track along Kimberly St. in Fullerton.
Switching the Kimberly Clark plant is the primary duty of this job. The plant receives several boxcars of paper rolls each day, and also ships some products out.
Switching done, the power couples up to its battered and graffittied caboose. #999716 has been used consistently on this run for several years.
