A couple of weeks ago I was able to venture out and chase steel for a few hours. After careful consideration, I opted to head towards Union Pacific's Yuma Subdivision. In particular, I headed for the western edge of the subdivision which traverses the San Timoteo Canyon and constitutes the western slope of the formidable Beaumont Hill. While the traffic levels aren't as high as one might find on the BNSF's Cajon Subdivision, the area is extremely accessible and offers some great scenery and sweeping curves.
I arrived shortly after sunrise and picked a spot that seemed promising. I waited for a bit and then I heard a hotbox detector announcement on the radio that indicated a westbound would be passing my location shortly. Sure enough, I heard the horn blowing for the road crossings east of me.
For those of you who are curious, here is an audio recording of the IDILBF-08 (UP's Monster Train) going by the hotbox detector at MP 657.2 on the Yuma Subdivision. Never heard an axle count even close to this one before.
In case you didn't see it, here is the news segment that shows the UP Monster Train video that we allowed NBC to use.