Rails from Bakersfield to Mojave
View allAll Photos Tagged C45ACCTE
Im morgendlichen Streiflicht fährt ein aus Richtung Bakersfield kommender Manifest der Union Pacific den Tehachapi Pass zwischen Caliente und Bealville hinauf. Der Zug wird von UP 5322, einer GE C45ACCTE, angeführt. An zweiter Stelle läuft eine Fremdlok der mexikanischen Bahngesellschaft Ferromex mit.
Ich setzte zwar das Motiv aus einer etwas spitzeren Perspektive später mit Frontlicht nochmal um, doch durchs Streiflicht kommt die schöne Hügellandschaft im Hintergrund deutlich besser zur Geltung, daher entschied ich mich diese Variante zu zeigen.
EN: We had no expectations for train pictures at all when we decided to drive along Union Pacific's Ogden Subdivision. Just as we passed McCammon we saw a southbound sneaking on this line. Perfect time of the day for getting a photo at this terrific photo spot: C45ACCTE #5434, C44AC #6323 and C45ACCTE #7787 with a mixed southbound heading down to Ogden at Red Rock Pass.
DE: Aufgrund der Recherchen im Vorfeld sind wir mit 0 Erwartungen an Eisenbahnfotos entlang der Ogden Subdivision gestartet. Doch gerade als wir McCammon erreichten, wo die Strecke von der Pocatello Subdivision abzweigt, schlich ein Mixed Manifest auf die Ogden Subdivision. Perfektes Timing um an diesem grandiosen Fotopunkt zu einem Foto zu kommen:
C45ACCTE #5434, C44AC #6323 und C45ACCTE #7787 mit einem Mixed in Richtung Ogden beim Red Rock Pass.
The Union Pacific Delivers.
Fourteen thousand tons of coal gets ready to pound the west switch at Phillips, as the twenty-first loaded coal train of the year from Skyline, Utah to Metropolitan Stevedore in Stockton, California thunders through the lower reaches of the Sacramento Valley on it's way to the Port of Stockton. This train was a great catch in the afternoon, which was made possible in part to a nighttime unloading window at the Port of Stockton; and the outbound empty train occupying the trains run around track in the yard at Stockton. Once the crew gets this to Stockton the CSTST will take over with the run around process, as well as weaving the train through the Port complex and the landing and unloading of the train at the Berth Thirteen.
Sometimes the worst moments are blessings in disguise, and today could not be more true. Just to think, it all happened because I forgot my jumper box.
Today I made the decision to make my way up to the Feather River Canyon, a place I generally do not have very good luck with. Most times I've been there have ended up with me leaving empty handed, or dealing with brutal heat, and one time my friends and I had to deal with the car breaking down in the middle of the summer, and we saw one train that entire day. However, my plan today was to get a southbound BNSF that I knew was coming. I wanted to start at Tobin or Rock Creek and follow it back to Oroville, an easy trip. Oh my did that not go to plan whatsoever. With delays on the railroad everywhere, highway construction, and driving straight into the sun with tracks mostly in the dark shade, somewhere in all that I went right by the train and did not see it. I ended up at Lake Almanor before getting word that MGRRV was coming down. By this point I had already missed the BN and MNPRVX, but then I also couldn't find the GRRV. As I would later find out it got held up, I assume for MOW. Thinking I missed it as I had to get gas in Quincy, I headed down the canyon. Somewhere between there and Virgilia is when I ran into a major problem, this is where that jumper box comes in.
I was near Virgilia when my TPMS light came on. Originally, I thought it was just the elevation messing with the air pressure, which was no big deal. Regardless, I pulled off at Virgilia and checked my tires. Everything looked fine so I continued on. I got halfway to Rich Bar when from the back of my car I heard a consistent thud noise, I realized I had just got a flat tire. Pulling over, I looked and sure enough one of my rear tires had what looked to be a nail lodged into it, but thankfully I could immediately tell it was able to be patched. Unfortunately, I did not have the tools on hand to patch the tire, so the spare had to go on. As I started to work with the world's most inconvenient jack, a couple pulled over and helped me get the tire replaced. I had my hazard lights on and after replacing the tire I went to turn them off, put the keys into the ignition, and nothing. No lights, no clicking, the battery was completely dead from the lights running. The couple was gone by this point and after looking in my car I realized I had no box or cables I could use to jump the battery. I had forgot the stuff at home. Now I was completely stranded in the middle of nowhere. Now the long wait begins.
As people came by, I made several attempts to flag down cars, and after probably a half hour someone finally pulled over. Asking if the guy had jumper cables he said yes, but then realized he had forgotten his at home. Now I had to flag down someone else. That would take well over an hour. During this time is when I would finally catch my first train of the day, a northbound BNSF manifest. A few minutes later, I would finally see the MGRRV I spent the entire afternoon trying to find after missing the southbound BNSF in the morning. Finally, a Chevy finally pulled over and the guy had cables. After getting the car running, it was time to head home.
There were a few things to do before heading home though. First, I wanted a shot of the MGRRV at Pulga, and catching up to it at Rock Creek the train was only a few minutes behind me by the time I got there. After shooting it, I stopped at one other spot before heading to a shop. Once I was out of the canyon, I stopped at a tire shop and got the flat fixed. Turns out, that nail was a lot larger than I realized. Finally, I was able to get food, get home, and edit my few photos. Honestly, I'm just glad I didn't leave empty handed.
Casa Loma, also known as Rocky Point, is one of many famous locations on Donner Pass. Here the railroad runs right above the American River Canyon, overlooking the river 2000 feet below. However, on this day the fog was heavy in the canyon so the majority of it was not visible.
On a Friday morning the ZLTG2 roars uphill through Casa Loma. A couple minutes later, the westbound counterpart would meet it as they race downhill with a cloud of smoke and the smell of burning brakes following it on the steep grade. Not long after both trains cleared, the OCS would pass westbound following only a couple miles behind the Z.
East of Truckee is a small town called Hinton. The town is located along the Truckee River and at one point in time both the Lincoln Highway and the railroad ran through here. Today, the highway is nothing more than a lightly used road after the construction of I-80 retired the outdated Lincoln Highway. Despite this, trains still pass by the small town which is just a neighborhood.
Along Donner there are plenty of old signal bridges that set a reminder of what railroad once fought this fierce mountain. One of these signal bridges is seen sitting dormant at Yuba Gap as another ZLTG2 roars under it as they climb their way to the summit. Leading the way is a set of GE locomotives, which thirty years ago a train through here would have more than likely been some EMD tunnel motors.
Originally, the Truckee River was named Salmon Trout River by two men traveling the river. Not long later, the river would be renamed after a guide from the Paiute known as Truckee, which is how the name Truckee River was formed and later the town of Truckee.
The river runs between Pyramid Lake in Nevada and Lake Tahoe. Traveling between the two lakes, the river travels through the Truckee River Canyon which over the years has been used as a route to travel over the Sierras. Many early emigrants coming to California would hike this route until the Transcontinental Railroad was built in the 1860s. Years after the railroad was built, the Lincoln Highway would join it in the 1920s. Since then, the original Lincoln Highway has seen changes, it would be replaced by I-80 and the remains became the new highway alignment, lesser travelled roads, or old scars in the land. The railroad also saw change, but the majority of the route has stayed nearly the same to how it was originally built almost 160 years ago. Today, the Union Pacific still uses the old Transcontinental Railroad, and on an August morning the Chicago bound Z train rides along the Truckee River. In a few moments the train will enter the Truckee River Canyon as it descends the mountain into the city of Reno.
Can you see them? No, not really yeah me either.
Ken Kuehne did this better, but when driving to Vegas I was surprised to see the very expensive Rock Balancing art of Ugo Rondinone (who I had look up, to see who put this here in the first place) was still in place. Seeing that this was supposed to be removed from the desert floor a year ago, then reading that there's a permit extension which keeps the flintstonesesque artwork here through 2026 gives me another shot at a redo in the future. Or not we'll have to see maybe something else will pop up in the Mojave Desert that everyone has to go to.....
Mit einem der für die USA typischen Double-Stack Containerzügen rollen die Union Pacific 5954 (C45ACCTE, GE) und 8984 (SD70AH, EMD) vor der Downtown von Dallas über die große Brücke, welche den Trinity River überquert. Das schöne an dem Zug war, dass er nicht die in den USA allgegenwärtigen weißen J.B.Hunt 53 Fuß-Container geladen hatte sondern schöne bunte Standart-Überseecontainer geladen hatte. Die Szenerie konnte am 14.11.2024 festgehalten werden.
Union Pacific locomotives 5954 (C45ACCTE, GE) and 8984 (SD70AH, EMD), one of the double-stack container trains typical of the USA, cross the large bridge spanning the Trinity River in front of downtown Dallas. What was special about this train was that it wasn't carrying the ubiquitous white J.B. Hunt 53-foot containers, but rather colorful standard shipping containers. This scene was captured on November 14, 2024.
Union Pacific 5460 roars through El Casco Spur with three other slightly older General Electric products trailing behind it, as they take an Englewood bound manifest train up San Timoteo Canyon.
An Extra West Colton to Roseville Manifest gets ready to duck into Tunnel 3 as the train snakes down the mountain along the Clear Creek Ravine.
A short rack train screams eastbound up Archer Hill just outside of Cheyenne, WY on UP's Sidney Subdivision. This was the first of four eastbounds in about 1.5 hours that would depart Cheyenne.
A southbound manifest is only around ten miles from its destination of Roseville, CA. Recent rains had made for plenty of opportunities to get reflections. Notably, this train had UP 6706 on it, the last CNW painted motor active on the Union Pacific roster.
At the end of a gorgeous March day in southeast Texas, the Western Pacific heritage unit leads a northbound manifest on the triple track of the West Belt in north Houston.
MEWNL 17 (Manifest- Englewood Yard [Houston] to North Little Rock, AR)
UP SD70ACe #1983
UP C44ACCTE #6022
(Mid-train DPU) UP C45ACCTE #7818
Houston, TX
March 17th, 2021
Union Pacific's Valley Subdivision is not exactly known for being busy. However, sometimes traffic backs up and things work out perfectly, and on this day it did. Two Canada bound empty grain trains departed Roseville, at the same time the ZBRLC was coming south. Due to the grain trains following just a couple miles behind each other, the dispatcher decided that holding the Z train in the siding at Ostrom was the best idea, and both grains stayed on the mainline. Almost immediately after the second grain cleared the south control point, the Z train would be back on the move to Roseville.
If I’m remembering right, this eastbound manifest was running 3x3x1, which you can see the three lead and cut-in motors. Even if there wasn’t a rear DPU, the fact is this is the amount of power regularly seen on Donner trains. Where those cut-in DPUs get put usually is the separation between cars for Sparks and cars for the train’s destination.
With the last rays of sunshine basking on the side of the train, UP 7729 brings export grain loads for the Port of Houston down UP's Palestine Sub.
GSHYHO 03 (Grain Shuttle- Hayland, NE to Houston, TX [PTRA])
UP C45ACCTE #7729
CSXT CW44AC #322
UP C44ACCTE #5587
Westfield, TX
October 8th, 2021
Smooth sailing till you get to Basin then the railroad starts...
Union Pacific 7865 and 6310 drag thirteen thousand tons of coal past the oddball lights at Minneola Road after spending the better part of the morning in the hole at Basin (Just under five hours if you want to be exact). As this train which was suppose to be my afternoon entertainment finally gets lit into Yermo, to more or less spend the rest of the day waiting to add power for it's trip over the BNSF since the Pier S and Fresno Detour burned though the captive helpers....
This train has a companion video available, follow the rabbit hole here: youtu.be/2dNuyk47Op8
Thanks to a tip that a late-running CP #143 had a UP unit leading I was able to relocate from the CN and catch the train passing through Hamilton.
UP 5552 east works upgrade between West and East Norden on the Roseville Sub. The train will soon enter the "Big Hole" at Donner Summit.
UP 5552 C45ACCTE
Name the train after the thing it is directly competing against, that's bold...Then again the entire Corridor is named after it now.
After getting greedy and attempting to double down on trains, I rolled south to catch the ZLCTM's dupes somewhere then attempt to scream back to Phillips to get the meet there also. That didn't workout as once the fast mover out of The Shops got out of the Stockton area it really lived up to it's name, between me and the train the gap was closed pretty damn fast; and only warranted this consolation shot at New Hope as Union Pacific 5495 and 8796 glide through the outskirts of Thornton.
This train and a few others have a companion video available follow the rabbit hole here: youtu.be/sSMwJHaSo4g
Die UP Caliente Subdivision, Teil der Strecke von Barstow über Las Vegas nach Salt Lake City, führt durch faszinierende und abwechslungsreiche Wüstenlandschaften und bietet entsprechend unzählige Motivmöglichkeiten. Leider ist allerdings der Verkehr alles andere als üppig, bei meinen bisherigen Besuchen waren es immer nur einzelne Züge über den ganzen Tag verteilt. Am 25.01.2023 versuchte ich mein Glück an dieser Strecke rund um Caliente, Nevada. Nachdem morgens bereits ein Zug Richtung SLC geklappt hatte, kam der zweite Zug des Tages am späten Vormittag, nun in die Gegenrichtung, und konnte auf der anderen Seite von Caliente fotografiert werden. Den restlichen Tag tauchten danach keine weiteren Züge mehr auf.
Zu sehen ist UP 5490 (GE C45ACCTE) mit einer langen Schlange bunter Container bei Kyle, gut 30 km südlich Caliente.
The UP Caliente Subdivision, part of the route from Barstow via Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, leads through fascinating and varied desert landscapes. Unfortunately, the traffic is very light. On my previous visits there were only a few trains spread throughout the day. On January 25th, 2023 I tried my luck on this route around Caliente, Nevada. After one train had already left for SLC in the morning, the second train of the day arrived late in the morning, now in the opposite direction, and could be photographed on the other side of Caliente. No further trains appeared for the rest of the day.
Shown is UP 5490 (GE C45ACCTE) with a long line of colorful containers near Kyle, 30 km south of Caliente.
A monstrous eastbound slop freight/baretable train rolls into Cheyenne with a 3x1x0 engine configuration. What I thought was the end of the train turned out to be several thousand feet of baretables - a true PSR mashup, one of several such beasts seen on the UP in Wyoming.
UP 5388 leads a southbound wind turbine train through Larkspur, CO. This train consisted entirely of rotors and nacelles.
With some lingering fall color, an empty coal drag from Sheboygan rolls past a small lake in Cedar Grove on the UP Shoreline Subdivision.
A Herzog “Candy Cane” ballast train has just exited the Peninsula Tunnel under north Portland; the DPUs pass by as it approaches Albina Yard for a crew change. Operating as the WHAMWZ 07, this train originated out of the quarry at Harney, OR on the Huntington Subdivision, with a slow journey down to Mowich OR on the Cascade line.
Never mind the blowing sand.
A second look at Union Pacific 7809 and 5402, as the pair leads a train of forty foot containers in fifty-three foot wells which is viewed, as a classic loading style which makes for some crappy spotting in the harbor since all the yards are spec'd out for forty footers. The train itself is now on a quarter to third mile stretch of straight track as it approaches the old US Route 80 overpass, before the train starts to run along the edge of the Gila Mountains where the twists and turns will become more apparent from the long straightaways that they've been working on .
Ten minutes just flew by.
After waiting just under ten minutes for the Auto-train ahead to get some distance, Union Pacific's Long Beach, California to Denver, Colorado Z-train is back on the move on the Cajon Subdivision after connecting in at Silverwood for it's trip to Daggett. The train today is an absolute cruiser, with four up front and one on the rear the short 46 car 3,074 ton train ,all from the ramp at ICTF (no Toyota or Nissan Autos or On-dock traffic) has had no issues getting to the top of Cajon. In between the auto train and the Denver, passing the Summit cut a Yermo, California to Montclair, California manifest train rolled by and can be seen in the background now descending main track two for it's trip down the mountain.
With mountain peaks soaring above, the crew of ZG2LT is handling the task of bringing this high priority stack train down the mountain. For an August day this looked and felt far from summer, almost like it was still spring.
An export ethanol train rolls southward across the calm waters of Dickinson Bayou as it heads for Galveston.
UP would replace this wooden trestle with a concrete bridge in early 2023.
UEUMTG 09 (Unit Ethanol- Doulom, NE to Galveston, TX)
UP C44ACCTE #5678
UP C44ACCTE #5622
(DPU) UP C45ACCTE #5473
Dickinson, TX
January 13th, 2022
With a monster manifest in tow, UP 8680 and friends begin the long slog up to the top of Sherman Hill. In a short distance the train will reach Speer, where the line to Denver breaks off. This train will then turn to the west to ascend the Harriman Cutoff's gentler climb of the Laramie Mountains.
MNPPD 10 (Manifest- North Platte, NE to Portland, OR)
UP SD70ACe #8680
UP C45AH #8176
UP C45ACCTE #5318
(Mid-Train DPU) UP C45ACCTE #7612
(Rear DPU) UP SD70ACe #8523
Speer, WY
April 11th, 2021
Not long after departing Englewood Yard, UP 5468 jumps from Main 2 to Main 1 of the West Belt at Runnels in central Houston.
MEWFO 13 (Manifest- Englewood Yard [Houston, TX] to Formosa Plastics [Point Comfort, TX])
UP C45ACCTE #5468
UP SD70ACe #8565
Houston, TX
April 13th, 2020
Among the clutter of signals, wires, signs, and other industrial architecture, a Houston-bound manifest pulls into Interstate Jct in east Houston. The train will pull through the junction, then shove into Settegast Yard in the distance.
MNLHO 20 (Manifest- North Little Rock, AR to Houston, TX [Settegast])
UP C45ACCTE #7375
UP SD70ACe #8592
NS SD70ACC #1824
Houston, TX
December 22nd, 2021
This order of words is better let's stay away from large franchises owned by EA..
Union Pacific 7483 powers through the mainline at Need or Galt rather, but the railroad calls it what the railroad calls it, with what used to be the Brooklyn Trailers. At the time of this was was taken this train was the Stacks from Seattle to The Shops and now this train has become the Seattle Zip to finally match it's counterpart the ZLCTM. Progress maybe? Or just a front for peak UPS and FedEx season only time will tell.
Title seemed fitting enough since the California Department of Corrections training center is right here on Twin Cities Road also...
UP 6411 (ex-SP 365) is out front of a rock train tied down on the Union Pacific Choctaw Sub in Fort Worth, Texas.
Westbound C45ACCTE 7653 passing the crossovers @ Stronghurst, IL. running on the BNSF Transcon. (250454)*
It's a lovely morning in the Sacramento River Canyon near Castle Crags. UP 7789 is in charge of a long drag freight filled with loads of Douglas Fir and Canadian wheat.
Union Pacific 5483 and 7453 crawl through the north switch at Canyon in the early afternoon, as they struggle uphill with a beefy 155 car manifest train out of West Colton. The Northbound has been doing nothing but gain elevation for the past two hours just to get here, and will grind it out for another hour to the top of Cajon near Highland. Troubles for this train will reappear again near Rosamond for hot wheels and at Fleta where one of it's three mid-train units will drop a piston while setting out the rear end of the train.
After doing a saw-by at Shedd for Amtrak 508, a monster non-fitter MRVHK continues north, engines working hard to get the heavy train moving. When the weather's nice and there are actually trains to see, the valley is fun.
Precarious and fragile walls of unstable serpentine rock enclose the upper end of the Feather River Canyon between Virgilia and Rich Bar. This stretch always plagues road and rail with rock slides during winter months. This area of the canyon has always been one area where capturing trains has always been a priority. Here, UP 7776 west hugs the edge with a short manifest train, the MOGRV (Ogden, UT to Roseville, CA Manifest).
One of the heaviest and longest trains that traverse Union Pacific's Roseville Subdivision is the MRVRO (Roseville - Salt Lake City Manifest). Watching this train traverse the mountain is always a treat to the eye and the senses. The drama of railroading comes alive for the watcher when the Roper is on the mountain. Near the apex of the Roseville Sub, open at full throttle, the Roper passes the grade crossing at Soda Springs at a blistering 10 miles per hour.
© 2015 Patrick Dirden Photography
All Rights Reserved.
Coming up for air from classes and life. Lots of pictures to share, which will come soon. For starters, let's go to Feather River country.
2021 was a devastating year for Plumas County in Northern California. The massive Dixie Fire destroyed almost one million acres. Parts of the Feather River Canyon were destroyed. Lush forests of ponderosa and fir were reduced to match sticks. The altered landscape will take generations to return to its pre-fire beauty. Although the destruction is stark, it's the footnote in the story of this wonder of geology and time. The canyon is still wild, untamed, and a a delight for the eyes and soul.
If there is one selfish positive point of light for the railfan, the fire opened new angles. The fire took out some dreaded PG&E lines that obscured the view of trains in parts of Serpentine Canyon. Now open and unobstructed, one can easily photograph trains. Here, to the east of Rich Bar, the westbound MOGRV, moving slowly due to an approach signal, rolls west, clinging to the high cliffs.