For no good reason, Staff has largely left train photography to others for many years. Here is a recent exception. For the last year, or so, we have been caught up in researching SP's more ancient history centering around the Coalinga Branch, in the San Joaquin Valley. One cannot dive into the subject too far without understanding the significance of Tulare Lake, once the largest lake west of the Mississippi. It dried up totally in the summer of 1893, and has only made mud puddle size appearances during winters since. Once in a generation, it attempts to regain its one-time glory by busting through its man-made banks into surrounding farmland. In Summer, 2023, the lake grew to its largest dimensions in several generations, which sorta behooved us to see the ghost lake with our own eyes. In the process, we witnessed a train at the lake's edge, a more than adequate reward for driving 500 miles. We shot these photos between Corcoran and Wasco, along the Central Valley Highway. Obviously the rising lake gave BNSF some difficulties earlier on. That's the train's DPUs, BTW.