Tracking West
Lamoine Blue Hour
During the summer, one can go up the Sacramento River Canyon and see the northbound Coast Starlight as it winds up the mountain at first light. On this particular day, there was a reason to be up in the canyon that early for this train.
The day started at 01:00, I was tired, and only running on a few hours of sleep. A little after an hour later, two friends arrived at my place and I hopped in the car. The goal this day: catch a rare set of power on the Coast Starlight with a few specific shots in mind. After driving up and discussing our plans for a few hours, the first sliver light could be seen in the sky. We would eventually reach our first spot at Delta right before the beginning of blue hour. We waited for a little bit, knowing that the Coast Starlight was not far behind us, and eventually it showed up. The chase was on.
The reason we were out this day is kind of obvious. An Amtrak dash 8 leading with the Pepsi Can heritage unit trailing, this definitely constituted an impulsive last minute decision to go up to Shasta. Usually, the Starlight hosts ALC-42s for power, and let's be honest those things are ugly. Besides, it was early summer and the perfect time of the year to go up to a section of railroad that doesn't see a whole lot of traffic.
Going back to the chase, after Delta we wanted a shot at Lamoine, but that was going to be a really close call. With the pedal to the metal up a dirt road and then getting on the highway, the train was actually a decent distance behind us when we got to Lamoine. After setting up, the train would peak out from behind the hill probably about a minute later. We got our shot and continued on, eventually dropping the chase just north of Klamath Falls. After getting Black Bear Diner for breakfast it was time to head home.
Lamoine Blue Hour
During the summer, one can go up the Sacramento River Canyon and see the northbound Coast Starlight as it winds up the mountain at first light. On this particular day, there was a reason to be up in the canyon that early for this train.
The day started at 01:00, I was tired, and only running on a few hours of sleep. A little after an hour later, two friends arrived at my place and I hopped in the car. The goal this day: catch a rare set of power on the Coast Starlight with a few specific shots in mind. After driving up and discussing our plans for a few hours, the first sliver light could be seen in the sky. We would eventually reach our first spot at Delta right before the beginning of blue hour. We waited for a little bit, knowing that the Coast Starlight was not far behind us, and eventually it showed up. The chase was on.
The reason we were out this day is kind of obvious. An Amtrak dash 8 leading with the Pepsi Can heritage unit trailing, this definitely constituted an impulsive last minute decision to go up to Shasta. Usually, the Starlight hosts ALC-42s for power, and let's be honest those things are ugly. Besides, it was early summer and the perfect time of the year to go up to a section of railroad that doesn't see a whole lot of traffic.
Going back to the chase, after Delta we wanted a shot at Lamoine, but that was going to be a really close call. With the pedal to the metal up a dirt road and then getting on the highway, the train was actually a decent distance behind us when we got to Lamoine. After setting up, the train would peak out from behind the hill probably about a minute later. We got our shot and continued on, eventually dropping the chase just north of Klamath Falls. After getting Black Bear Diner for breakfast it was time to head home.