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BNSF 9868 • Fullerton CA • 12/28/12

Amtrak train 3, the westbound Southwest Chief, has arrived in Fullerton just a little behind "the advertised" – due to depart Fullerton at 6:34 am, the train departed Fullerton at 7:23 pm! The train lost three hours due to engine problems between La Junta and Trinidad, Colorado, (resulting in BNSF loaning a freight engine, SD70MAC 9868, to assist Amtrak P42DC 113 and Dash 8-32BWH 500), then three and a half hours to run from Lamy, New Mexico, to Albuquerque. And as the old saying goes ("late trains just keep getting later"), this train lost more time due to a four-hour stop at Albuquerque! Thanks to the internet, word was out about the SD70MAC, a rare bird in California, and rarer still in passenger service, and the station platform was swarming with railfans! (Fullerton, California – December 28, 2012)

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Uploaded on July 23, 2025
Taken on December 28, 2012