Adventures – Explore the Cajon Pass with Joe

Joe Fanaselle, Photojournalist

One of the areas of Southern California that I have always been obsessed with is the Cajon Pass. Most people are only familiar with what they see from Interstate 15 as they drive through on their way to Vegas, which isn’t much to look at. But this area is rich in history, and full of little gems such as tunnels under the freeway, sections of roadbed from the original alignment of Route 66, aircraft and train crash sites, and more.

The railroad traffic through this area is some of the busiest in the world, and can surpass 100 trains per day. Gavin and I love to come watch trains here on the weekends, and we’ve met some really cool rail fans (or “foamers”) from around the world. There are some great places to view the trains from – one of my favorites is known as Sullivan’s Curve, named after the surveyor who designed the section of the railroad line there.

These photos are from a trip I took to the area back in June. My goal was to find the site of the tragic Mercy Air helicopter crash back in December 2006, and pay my respects to the three souls that were aboard Mercy 2 that evening. I then spent a few hours exploring and viewing trains from various sites. On this particular day, I spotted a fully loaded coal train, an entire train of denatured alcohol (on the way to the Sherwin William’s paint factory), and a train loaded with brand new truck trailers from the Hyundai factory in Tijuana (on the way to be delivered to their customers).

Joe Fanaselle is a public safety photographer and photojournalist based in the Temecula Valley of Southern California. Having spent time as a volunteer firefighter and 911 dispatcher, he is passionate about first responders and documenting the work they do to keep the public safe. He loves to camp and explore in the So Cal Mountains and Deserts along with his wife and son, and loves photographing the outdoors.