Just before Mojave, we suddenly see a train headed by 3 UP locos heading in the direction of Bakersfield. We quickly turn around and pursue it, but we're puzzled - the train wasn't very long, and what about the track work? Then William realised - the train was going to the cement plant a little further up the track at Monolith. We only had just enough time to overtake the train and photograph its arrival at Monolith. One of the locos was what William called a "Triclops" because of its 3-windows and apparently that type of loco is rare. It might have been a small fish compared to what we'd been hoping for, but at least it was a good catch.
We turned around and went to a spot where we could get the NS train heading for Mojave. While waiting, we suddenly heard and saw another Bakersfield train coming from the Mojave direction - luckily the spot we were at worked in both directions! This was a UP train, so added a different splash of colour for the photos. Not long after, the NS train came through and we caught it at the same spot. We later spotted a sign on a gate at this spot - "No White Trash"!
The day had started out with such promise, then such disappointment, and then completely redeemed itself by the end and we got to see what we'd hoped. Probably nothing more than we'd hoped for, but at least we'd seen it as for a long time it looked like we wouldn't! It had been a long, fun, hot day out in the heat, taking photos of trains as only two idiots would do - but also good to see that after all this time apart, it was just like old times out and about with William!