Madera, California [September 2000]

I first visited Madera in the summer of 1990 for the Gathering of Warbirds airshow. It's your typical Central Valley town, hot and sunny in the summertime. I wanted to photograph BNSF trains at high track speeds, especially after watching them crawl through Franklin Canyon and Marias Pass. Yep, Madera is a great place to spend a day when you feel the Need for Speed!.

The Madera Amtrak station is pretty sparse. After dropping off here in the mid-morning, the next train to arrive was a manifest freight, with steel coil cars out of Pittsburg.
	A northbound San Joaquin, led by Amtrak Californa B32-8W 2051, pauses briefly.
Warbonnet GP-60M 118 leads a string of baretable well cars into the siding.
	Once the baretable movement is tucked away in the siding, a southbound San Joaquin stops, then dashes around.
Another San Joaquin, led by Amtrak's old warhorse F40PH 340.
	...hustles out of town.

[September 2000]