Day 6: Western Pacific Land

The interesting stay in the "Reno-vation" motel was mercifully over and we eventually figured out our plan for the day. We didn't have the Wheelman with us any more but he gave us a lot of tips on how to proceed. The night in Reno put us relatively close to the old Western Pacific route. We even followed their old Reno branch north out of town.

We started with a scenic tour of Reno. We plotted the route to the Amtrak station and headed out (no we didn't use GPS). This took us through the downtown casino district, which was kind of fun in the morning since there was no traffic. When we pulled up to the depot we figured we had 20-30 minutes before the wb California Zephyr showed up. The challenging "tunnel" location could be figured out in that time. As we were unloading our gear, a uniformed Amtrak employee came out and asked if we were railfans (gee, what gave that away?) and told us the Zephyr had a crossing accident near Winnemucca and was 2.5 hours behind schedule. He also told us the phone number for updates. We were suspicious at first but as we drove away, Fiddler called and sure enough it was true. Next we tried to find a store where we could buy a case of water and other supplies which turned out easy but not at first. Apparently the major street through town was not one of those chosen by major mall and Wally World builders. It did take us through all social classes of neighborhoods and through a university campus. Turning around in the desert we decided that that McCarran Parkway looked promising (McCarran is the name of the distant Las Vegas airport - must be historically important) and it took us right to the stores we wanted, conveniently next to the road we wanted. Look at the stuff we would have missed with a smart GPS unit.

Getting back into California was easy but the law enforcement community was heavily involved. Cops of all kinds were everywhere. We even went through a roadblock just over the border. Next we got off the road at Hallelujah Jct. so the Fiddler could record the name of the place. I guess the name fit our quest that morning too. This was also our exit to go over to the mainline finally. The old WP's Reno branch was full of old boxcars in storage up this way and it was a short hop to the old "Feather River Route" mainline.

The first encounter we had with the line took us right over a long tunnel. We kept going and didn't see anything moving yet. We thought we heard a radio call from an MOW guy farther west who was told of an eastbound. Apparently, that was after the first eastbound because we got to see two eastbounds crossing the open desert plains from the highway. There were few places to cross the line and we were too far from the tunnel now to take a chance on returning. Those trains moved right along. Next time...

The train on the right features old TTX flats with four gondola containers each. They were full of old ties. We found out later that these travel to a nearby electric plant to be burned/recycled/properly disposed of.

Our first destination was Portola. This was a UP crew change point and home of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in the old Portola shops. We found a couple of great overlooks to photograph from as we explored the town and then headed to the museum. What a place! There was restored and unrestored equipment all over and most of it was something I wanted to see. The silver geep on the left was the reason I wanted to visit. Who can resist those barrel headlights! Real WP! A few samples of the variety of locos (all makes including an old IR boxcab) are scattered below on the left - especially where I ran out of photos to go with the text.

The facility contained lots of stuff in its original "as acquired" condition, which doesn't weather too rapidly in the dry climate. Here you can also drive a locomotive around for $150 an hour. The Sierra Pacific unit (above right) was doing the honors on this day. Fiddler was offered to split an hour, which probably still causes him some grief. It's a reasonable amount but not pocket change either. We also ran into a volunteer who works for the UP and was able to give us some estimates about the traffic due through the area (Thank You FRHS/WPRM!). We even got some good directions to the Williams Loop and some updates about the pull-offs at Keddie Wye. This gave us time to wander the museum and head out to our perches when trains were due.

We had time to get sandwiches from an old Red and White grocery store and walk over to a shaded picnic table overlooking the crew change building. A retired couple had the same idea and we ended up having a fun conversation with them as we ate and watched the trains to go by. We actually witnessed a meet at the shack. The line is single track but there is a long siding at Portola. The eastbound pulled up first to swap crews. Then the westbound pulled up. Both probably fouled the main of the other. The eastbound took off first and stopped when it was clear. Then the westbound headed out without stopping. The eastbound began to move shortly after the wb cleared. Quite fun to watch. Something was happening for quite a while during that crew change operation.

Another westbound was due so we waited that one out. The "dogcatcher" van was moving so it had to be close. Apparently the change took place to the east because the next train did not stop. We loaded up and headed west. Our goal was to capture this train as it went over the trestles at Keddie Wye. Had we known better we might have gotten it in at least one other place too. It was a good wait at Keddie and we didn't know for sure that we hadn't missed it. But, the wait was worth it. The sun was right for a westbound train (lower left).

Too bad BNSF didn't send us a wb too. They might have sneaked one by after the last westbound according to the prior estimate so we waited a bit in case another was hiding around the bend. The Fiddler also wanted to scout the area for future reference so he was looking over the area roads for alternate photo angles as we waited. Next time we'd allow more time, do more research and check out the Plumas County's "7 Wonders of the Railroad World" sites on their PDF's. At least we got a taste and there is never enough time anyway. As we headed back east to call it a day, we dropped in on the Quincy Railroad which serves a Sierra Pacific lumber mill in East Quincy (right). The switcher appeared to be tied up for the day, where we could see it but behind a fence. Log trucks headed here were constantly going by with their 40' logs as we sat around at Keddie. Further on we also walked in to the Williams loop to check it out. Nothing was moving but it was neat to see such an under-appreciated "marvel". This place was closed in by trees compared to the Tehachapi Loop but the engineering principles are similar. The area seemed to be less congested compared to other mountain resort areas we had seen, so that may explain the lower level of notoriety. It was a good road trip to get to this part of the state too.

We were done with the "Feather River Route" but not done railfanning for the day. Our hotel was reserved for the next two nights down in Rocklin, closer to Sacramento. We also wanted to see Donner Pass before it got too dark. The road we chose took us down to Truckee. True to our prior luck (the Wheelman was still with us in spirit) a wb train was waiting on the edge of town. We followed the tracks through the touristy part of town and parked next to the line by some signals. This guy had a green signal so he could leave any time. Little did we know that it had probably just changed from yellow as another train was ahead of him. It was getting dark and this guy didn't seem interested in moving. But, just as the daylight was about to quit for my camera, the train began to move. For something headed up the steep grade of Donner Pass this guy was moving along nicely. Modern locomotives are just less exciting to watch though (right). Far less drama in the form of smoke and noise. A set of SD40's would have put on quite a show.

We had plans to catch this guy at some crossing down the road. As we went down I-80 to find that crossing we encountered another westbound with mid-train helpers. What we needed was a lit crossing ahead of both trains. Well, that's not as easy as it sounds when you don't have a local guide or a DeLorme Atlas. We tried 3 exits that took us to dead ends. Apparently they were pieces of the old highway that still had signs of life, but no crossings. Argh! We then decided on a likely town that we actually heard of (a rail magazine) - Colfax. This got us way ahead of the trains but there might be lights and a depot.

Colfax turned out to be a pretty good spot for our purposes. They had a depot, platform, benches, lighting and a park where we wouldn't draw much attention. We knew the trains were coming, it was just a matter of waiting them out. As the came closer we heard more radio chatter but nothing in sight. Meanwhile an eastbound rolled our way out of Roseville. Good start.

Once again, the Wheelman's luck was still with us. As we waited around, the radio came to life and the "dogcatcher/paddy wagon" van was sent to Colfax to re-crew both trains. Cool! Trouble was we didn't know where in town. The answer came soon as the van crossed over the tracks in front of us then drove along the line east and stopped. The taillights were sitting at the base of a curve just within sight. It took a while but both trains arrived at that spot, changed crews and then proceeded west in front of the video cameras. While this played out, several people walked their dogs in the park and wondered what we were up to. Their first guess was that we were looking for the meteor showers - too much light for that. No, we were watching trains. One gent had a dog similar to the Fiddler's so that invited conversation about many things, including how the town changed since I-80 bypassed the town center. Interesting. They disbanded their police force recently to cut back, but we saw a very busy sheriff several times. The last time he stopped by the Videoman to see what he was up to. Friendly enough in the end. This stop turned out to be pretty neat! No still photos but the videos will be fun to watch.

On to the HoJo's in Rocklin. We had Roseville and Sacramento to see on our last full day in California.

BC