DSC_0246-6-Truckee
Zephyr over Donner, 2 Feb 2018
I took off most of Friday to not work over 40 hours, as my job does not want us working overtime unless there is an emergency.
Rather than sit around the house, I headed up Donner Pass to see what I could see in the way of trains.
I paralleled the UP Martinez Sub into Roseville. The only thing moving along there was light rail.
Roseville did not seem to have much happening, so I got set up at Galleria Blvd and got photos of the California Zephyr leaving town.
Onto the freeway and up to Bowman, just east of Auburn, California, were I shot #6 coming through the cut on the #2 track.
Rather than sit around the house, I headed up Donner Pass to see what I could see in the way of trainds. station, and I waited. And waited. An old car came by. The train's headlight dimmed. Still it did not move. I drove to the station to see what was happening and, of course, the train was gone when I got there. As a consolation prize, I went to the Red Frog Saloon and shot the train climbing toward Cape Horn. It seems to have crossed to the left main as it went through the tunnel rather than around the cliff.
My stomach was complaining, so I got a couple of burritos at Taco Bell before continuing the chase. Having lost time getting lunch, my next stop was Emigrant Gap, where I beat the train by a few minutes. Hardly any snow was on the ground at Emigrant Gap, elevation 5280'.
By Norden, the summit, things were a bit better in the snow department, but not the high walls of snow up there by this time in many years. The train passes through Tunnel 41 at the base of Mt. Judah and I've included a view from atop Mt. Judah from our hike last September to show the view looking the other way.
Continuing on Donner Pass Road, old US 40, I stopped at the Donner Lake scenic overlook and got a few photos of the lake, snowsheds and bridge before heading to the State Route 267 bridge east of Truckee to shoot the train leaving town. Mixed in with the sequence shot from the SR 267 bridge are view looking the other way from atop Mt. Judah in Sept 2017 and from trackside in Jan 2017, when Truckee had far more snow.
There is a short stretch east of Hirschdale where the railroad and highway are next to each other. I got there just in time to get a broadside of the P42 diesels as they passed and then the train on the curve. Another time, I'll try to get there in time for a slightly earlier shot.
Floriston was in shadow, but I liked the dramatic contrast with mountainsides still in the light.
By the time I got the car back on the road and caught up to the train, it was almost to Verdi, Nevada. The light was gorgeous just before Verdi, but I was not quite in position for shots there, so I kept going and stopped at a scenic overlook just west of the Mogul turnoff on the outskirts of Reno. A broadside of the train against the desert mountainside finished the day's train chase, and then it was a 2 hour drive back home to Sacramento.
Hope you like the photos. All taken on UP's line over Donner Pass in northern California. and Nevada
DSC_0246-6-Truckee
Zephyr over Donner, 2 Feb 2018
I took off most of Friday to not work over 40 hours, as my job does not want us working overtime unless there is an emergency.
Rather than sit around the house, I headed up Donner Pass to see what I could see in the way of trains.
I paralleled the UP Martinez Sub into Roseville. The only thing moving along there was light rail.
Roseville did not seem to have much happening, so I got set up at Galleria Blvd and got photos of the California Zephyr leaving town.
Onto the freeway and up to Bowman, just east of Auburn, California, were I shot #6 coming through the cut on the #2 track.
Rather than sit around the house, I headed up Donner Pass to see what I could see in the way of trainds. station, and I waited. And waited. An old car came by. The train's headlight dimmed. Still it did not move. I drove to the station to see what was happening and, of course, the train was gone when I got there. As a consolation prize, I went to the Red Frog Saloon and shot the train climbing toward Cape Horn. It seems to have crossed to the left main as it went through the tunnel rather than around the cliff.
My stomach was complaining, so I got a couple of burritos at Taco Bell before continuing the chase. Having lost time getting lunch, my next stop was Emigrant Gap, where I beat the train by a few minutes. Hardly any snow was on the ground at Emigrant Gap, elevation 5280'.
By Norden, the summit, things were a bit better in the snow department, but not the high walls of snow up there by this time in many years. The train passes through Tunnel 41 at the base of Mt. Judah and I've included a view from atop Mt. Judah from our hike last September to show the view looking the other way.
Continuing on Donner Pass Road, old US 40, I stopped at the Donner Lake scenic overlook and got a few photos of the lake, snowsheds and bridge before heading to the State Route 267 bridge east of Truckee to shoot the train leaving town. Mixed in with the sequence shot from the SR 267 bridge are view looking the other way from atop Mt. Judah in Sept 2017 and from trackside in Jan 2017, when Truckee had far more snow.
There is a short stretch east of Hirschdale where the railroad and highway are next to each other. I got there just in time to get a broadside of the P42 diesels as they passed and then the train on the curve. Another time, I'll try to get there in time for a slightly earlier shot.
Floriston was in shadow, but I liked the dramatic contrast with mountainsides still in the light.
By the time I got the car back on the road and caught up to the train, it was almost to Verdi, Nevada. The light was gorgeous just before Verdi, but I was not quite in position for shots there, so I kept going and stopped at a scenic overlook just west of the Mogul turnoff on the outskirts of Reno. A broadside of the train against the desert mountainside finished the day's train chase, and then it was a 2 hour drive back home to Sacramento.
Hope you like the photos. All taken on UP's line over Donner Pass in northern California. and Nevada