Pond is an unincorporated community in California's Kern County, in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley. It is located 8.5 miles (14 km) north of Wasco. Pond was established around 1889, and a post office opened at Pond in 1912.
Merle Haggard's song "The Train Never Stops At Our Town," was written by nearby Bakersfield resident Dallas Frazier about the struggle of life in Pond, and how difficult it was to leave the "Poor Man's Valley," compounded by the fact the train did not stop in Pond.
And although Amtrak's San Joaquins pass through town, they also never stop there.
This is the former Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe's line between Barstow and Richmond, in the San Francisco Bay Area. But it became the property of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in September 1995, when the Santa Fe and Burlington Northern railroads merged. This eastbound freight, heading "compass south, " is powered by BNSF Dash 9-44CW 709, BN SD60M 9266 and leased LMX Dash 8-39BE 8506. (Pond, California – March 12, 1999)
