Orange, California, as the name implies, was a hub of activity in the citrus industry's heyday. (Ironically, the city was not named for the fruit, but rather after the city of the same name in New Jersey!) There were a number of citrus packing houses in town, primarily located alongside the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway's Fourth District (Fullerton to San Diego). What packing houses are left, however, are being repurposed, such as the circa-1918 Villa Park Orchards Association Packing House (oddly, not located in the nearby town of Villa Park), which has become a 33,000 square foot dance complex and multi-use facility for Chapman University. Passing through the campus, and past the old packing house, is BNSF Railway train H-BARSDG1-23A, transitioning off Metrolink's 5½-mile Olive Sub onto Metrolink's Orange Sub to head south to San Diego from Barstow. BNSF ES44C4 8074, Dash 9-44CW 5300 and GP60 183 (ex-BNSF 8724, née-ATSF 4024) are up front, with ES44AC 5925 and ES44C4 6956 as the rear Distributed Power Units. (Orange, California – July 23, 2023)
