Alice's Road Trip

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Alice

Conductor
AU Supporting Member
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This is a road trip connecting multiple rail features, and a few non-rail items. The original purpose was to ride the Denver Post train behind UP 844. However, there is a steam festival the following weekend in Michigan, so that got added. I'll try to get caught up on dates during the next week or so.

Sunday July 12

I left home in the late afternoon via the Feather River Canyon. This is the lowest pass across the Sierras, "discovered" by James Beckwourth, who used it to build the Beckwourth Trail to the gold mines near Marysville. The Feather River route was much shorter and safer than Donner Pass for gold seekers. I prefer it to Donner for its stunning scenery, and in winter often find it dry when Donner has chain controls.

The Feather River rail route was completed by Western Pacific in 1909. Centennial celebrations are supposed to have been scheduled, but I haven't seen any announcements. It is considered an engineering marvel. The maximum grade is 1 percent, half as steep as the Donner Pass route. Two railfan features are the Keddie Wye (named after the route surveyer) and the one mile long Williams Loop (to gain track elevation on the west side in order to meet that 1 percent standard).

There wasn't any rail traffic in the canyon, which is unusual, and I spotted a possible reason near the Pulga Bridge: a hi-railer on a single-track section, so stopped looking for trains. Just past the summit I passed a freight moving westbound, though, so reversed course to get to the Williams Loop first for photos and a video of the train looped over itself.

I continued after dark across Nevada on US-50, "The Loneliest Road in America," beautiful country anytime, but especially by Milky Way-light and later by moonlight.

Article on railfanning in the Feather River Canyon

Photos and video (better video later).

Edit: Add railfanning link and photo link
 
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jimhudson said:
Thanks!Look forward to the pics and the reports from a real pro!
Click to expand...
Well, I don't know about the "real pro" part for either reports or pics! I'm very different than Whooz. He devotes extensive time every night of a trip to whatever he does to prepare a trip report. Me, in the time I've been gone so far, tonight is the first time I checked in before midnight, not counting the night I picked Whooz up in Denver for UP 844 trip. I would have stayed at the station looking at the train a couple more hours (like I did the night before), even though it was too dark to see well and certainly too dark for photos, but Whooz seems to have practical ideas.

I might try to get some photos up tomorrow night. Maybe. The front of the local phone book (I'm in Michigan tonight) lists several train stations as features, and I'm a sucker for that kind of detour.
 
Monday July 13

Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, NV, is running steam today.

They have quite a bit of rolling stock around, some outdoors and some indoors, in pristine to decrepit conditions. #93 runs coal, which comes from Colorado. They order coal the size of eggs or golf balls but have been receiving much larger pieces. The original coal dispensing tower is still present but isn't used because tourist excursions use nowhere near as much coal as mining trains, so they just use a frontloader.

One of the enclosed railcars is wheelchair accessible, but I use crutches because I want to be outside.

The engineer gets complimented for stoking the fire to generate smoke. Smoke represents waste in revenue service, but tourists like it for photos.

We go through two tunnels, one with not much clearance.

This is copper country, and it shows in the tailings we pass by. We also pass by "Garnet Hill," free pickings but the easy, good stuff is already picked over.

We wye in a clockwise direction at the end of the run. They reverse direction each month to even out wear on the tracks.

There are several communication shacks, each about the size of an outhouse. Before radios, the train had to stop at intervals at these shacks and call dispatch for permission to proceed.

There is an optional shop tour included in the price but I didn't take it because of the one mile hike back to the station that would be kind of challenging for me on foot. They have a large working shop, plus a shop building with other cars, so I suspect this is worthwhile tour. The guys who keep the trains running give the tours, along with the staff on the train after they get the cars separated and the engine turned around and into the shop.

Nevada Northern is actively seeking volunteers. Their application is online. They are happy to work with visitors who can come only occasionally, or who would like to plan their vacation around a couple of weeks of work. The economy is single-industry, copper, and the breakeven price is around $1.75, below which the mine lays everyone off and shuts down. Surrounding towns boom or bust depending on whether the local mine is operating. Locals would like to add more tourism to the economic mix.

In case you think you'd like to move to East Ely near the depot, you might like to know what property costs. I recommend the 1907 Copper National Bank building, prime corner location right down the street from the train depot at 11th and D, a definite fixer upper but a real nice design and mostly complete, and on the same block as some other fixer uppers that might better be torn down. Only $85,000 (and we don't even need to discuss what it would take to bring it up to code because local enforcement is rather spotty depending on how much they think you'll contribute to the tax base).

After the ride, I drive out to McGill, a very dead town. However, their city park is in pretty good condition, considering. More importantly, like many small town parks, it has interesting things "planted" in it, in this case mining equipment. The McGill Drugstore Museum (in the drug store) is closed because the store is closed.

I also drive out to Ruth, to the Robinson Nevada copper pit. This is currently the third largest open pit mine in the world. It used to be the largest, but China now holds that distinction. Last week they opened a new viewing area over the Ruth Pit. Their trucks operate on roads separate from ordinary vehicles, and have crossing gates operated by the women in the guard shed, kind of like rail crossing gates. Mining uses a lot of water, and the big project today is running pipes up the hill for a new section of this pit. I watch them maneuver a long piece around a corner, with one vehicle pulling the somewhat flexible pipe and another controlling the corner. The pipe would not bend enough so they had to cut it. They feed the pipe through a conduit under a road; it looks pretty inefficient. The foreman came over and explained what they were doing and why. He is from Texas but left his family there instead of moving them because he doesn't know how long the mine will keep operating. He said copper was around $2.25 and dropping.

Photos:

Nevada Northern Railway

McGill

Robinson Nevada Copper Mine, Ruth Pit

(Nevada Northern video later)
 
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Tuesday July 14

I have an errand in Salt Lake City.

Besides looking around some government buildings and Temple Square, I go to a free organ recital in the Tabernacle. This is one of the largest organs in the world, 206 ranks, 11,623 pipes. The organist, Andrew Unsworth, gives some demos about the building acoustics before he starts. First he drops a pin and a nail, to compare. They sound different, of course, but are equally loud. Then he speaks without a mic. He is plenty loud enough, but hard to understand. Now the screaming kid right behind me (pretty much centered under the dome)? Much too loud, can hear her very well, too well. The recital is designed to show off the range of capabilities of this instrument. I'm more a fan of theater organs (because they have train whistles, for one reason) but this is still a fine and enjoyable performance.

Whooz had told me about heavy rail and light rail in Salt Lake City (I think he had better names for them). Following the catenary to find the central station, I accidentally find Union Station and take a couple of shots from the car, but can't find it again that night even with the address Whooz quickly texts me on request. I also find the Rio Grande depot, now mostly an art gallery. The people at the Rio Grande thought I was odd for taking pictures of the interior and ignoring the items they had displayed. They still had a token depot bench back out of the way in an aisle.

On to Salt Lake Central, where you can catch Greyhound, Amtrak, FrontRunner, or Trax. I catch FrontRunner on a day pass, intending to ride to Ogden, come back directly, then ride Trax on either a day pass or the free downtown section. There is a lot of freight action next to FrontRunner. I spot a bridge from parking lot to station and make a note to get off there for a bit. I like the FrontRunner cars a lot for wheelchair access. All lower seats fold up so I can sit in any position, not just the dedicated positions with no windows. They have a simple ramp, nothing to stick or break, to bridge the gap between traincar and platform.

Ogden is another beautiful UP depot, restored into a couple of museums, a theater, restaurant, park service, etc. This wipes out my plans. There is rolling stock on the old platforms. There is a collection of restored rolling stock at the end of the depot. There is a collection that would be called "for parts" for other types of collections at the end of the yard. Even better, the stuff is not fenced, unless you count a fence on three sides of an area (4th side open) as"fenced." Two cars, a medical car from WWII and a mail car, have signs they'll be open tomorrow.

The depot is closed. One of the doors hadn't been pulled all of the way shut but the cleaning kid kicked me out. I spot a poster: "Much Ado About Nothing," starts in 20 minutes, $8, in the terminal. I go in (and get some photos where I'd been kicked out before). This is community theater, audience primarily children of actors or other theater students, and it must have been a fine performance because those kids gave their folks a standing ovation at the end. I had a good time, too, before making my way around a steam engine and a couple of cabooses back in plenty of time for the lasrt train back to Salt Lake.

The trip back was very different. The train was virtually empty. The train host was particularly friendly and talkative. I tied my chair out of the way in the bike rack and climbed up so I could see out the front.

I like the way Salt Lake Central looks at night better than in daytime. There are few people. This time I notice the odd sculptures of luggage left behind so long that rocks are growing around it.

(Photos later)
 
Great reports, Alice! I spent a week in UT and eastern NV (including Ely) last May. Stunning country, definitely. I'd like to do US 50 at some point in my life--and by night certainly sounds eerily cool! Sounds like you had a great time in SLC, too--I think that is truly one of my favorite cities, just because the atmosphere is so nice and everyone is so friendly.

Looking forward to further photos and reports! :)
 
Also appreciate the reports, particularly from Salt Lake. I went to college at the University of Utah 1978 - 82, and traveled through the city this summer for the first time in years. Tons of development, particularly with light rail downtown linked to the college and surrounding community. Felt lost at times in traveling. I was really impressed with how clean things remain in the city, with the exception of some homeless sleeping along main street in places. Both the UP and D&RG stations were extensively rehabbed in the 80's; however with development I think Amtrak is now at another location? Too bad, both stations were real impressive. I seem to recall the D&RG station was redone as offices for the state historical society, they used to have a narrow guage steam locomotive on the platform side of the station, and kept the interior of the station looking much as before (Amtrak used a side station in the same building)
 
MikeM said:
Also appreciate the reports, particularly from Salt Lake. I went to college at the University of Utah 1978 - 82, and traveled through the city this summer for the first time in years. Tons of development, particularly with light rail downtown linked to the college and surrounding community. Felt lost at times in traveling. I was really impressed with how clean things remain in the city, with the exception of some homeless sleeping along main street in places. Both the UP and D&RG stations were extensively rehabbed in the 80's; however with development I think Amtrak is now at another location? Too bad, both stations were real impressive. I seem to recall the D&RG station was redone as offices for the state historical society, they used to have a narrow guage steam locomotive on the platform side of the station, and kept the interior of the station looking much as before (Amtrak used a side station in the same building)
Click to expand...
Yes, Amtrak is now in a different place (in the transit center) and has minimal facilities. The D&RG station is still pretty original but I didn't go out back.

Now a question for you. The UP station serves as restrooms for the shopping center built behind the station where tracks should be. The street at the front of the station is at street level, as expected. The street at the back (where the shops are) is down a long ways, an elevator ride plus long ramp. Where were the tracks? All I can think of is maybe the tracks were at station level and there was a tunnel under them (like at Los Angeles), and the bottom of the tunnel is where the backdoor street is now.
 
the_traveler said:
Great reports!
Does Union Station in Ogden still have the model railroad museum? :huh: I enjoyed that back in 2003!
Click to expand...
Yes, the model trains are still there but I didn't go in. It is supposed to be a real good rendition of the transcontinental railway. There is also a Browning Firearms Museum, an antique car museum. several art galleries, a National Forest info center, an indoor train museum, and a research library about Ogden. I didn't go to any of these, just the performance and the outdoor train collection.
 
Aloha Alice,

Enjoyed the report. Evan missed you on the OTOL Fest. She wanted to wear the Fez Whooz gave her, but both mornings she forgot it leaving here house. She is a seven going on 20 year old night owl :rolleyes: , as I am sure you remember.

Mahalo

Eric
 
jimhudson said:
You mentioned something in a previous post about re-routing the CZ,did it usethis loop too,I can imagine how neat it would be in a car with good windows like the old lounges!More! :cool:
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Yes, when Amtrak ran over the Feather River detour on account of Donner Pass track work, we did use the Williams Loop. However, it didn't look like much, just an ordinary undercrossing then an ordinary bridge, because we were not anywhere near long enough to loop over ourselves. The only passengers who appreciated the loop were looking for it. The side of the loop where the train runs along the highway is the side where eastbound train traffic is actually moving west, but again, most people weren't aware of that.
 
Alice said:
GG-1 said:
The link above sends me to a "private" page, could not see those.
Click to expand...
Sorry about that, fixed. Thanks for the heads-up, Eric.
Click to expand...
Great pics Alice/thanks for fixing the link!Im glad to see that another city has found a use for

grand old stations instead of tearing them down,still would be nice if they could be used

for trains as originally built! ;)
 
Alice, Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009 Executive Assistant, has asked me to host & post these videos from earlier in her trip, which were uploaded to my laptop while we were at Denver for the Frontier Days Train. Slow putting them up due to intermittent communications from the road and my preoccupation with other projects.

. Commuter train getting underway on the Salt Lake City-Ogden Line.
EDIT: Oops. Nevada Northern video is now actually Nevada Northern, not duplicate of the loop. Sorry all.
 
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July 15

Today I'm driving north and east visiting rail-oriented spots until I run out of time.

Yesterday I found Union Station Salt Lake City by accident then couldn't find it again when I wanted to see more after returning from taking FrontRunner north to Ogden. So that is my first stop today, including the stunning interior, and stained glass at the back of the station facing the new shopping center.

Out back there is not much space at station level where I would expect tracks to be. Street level out the back doors is an elevator ride and lengthy ramp down. Where were the tracks, station level or street level? Was there once a tunnel under the tracks, with the current street located at the bottom of the tunnel?

Photos: Union Station Salt Lake City

Yesterday on the train, I had made a note to get off in Farmington on my return trip in order to take in the view from the bridge between parking lot and station. Since I was on the last train home, that never got done, so my second stop is the Farmington station parking lot.

Photos: FrontRunner Farmington station



Union Station in Ogden was fascinating yesterday but the hospital car and mail car were closed. Today I showed up as the only person on a free tour. I don't stay for the other exhibits I would ordinarily enjoy because I want to get to Golden Spike National Historic Site before it closes.

Photos: Ogden Union Station

At Promontory Summit north of the Great Salt lake, UP and CP rails were joined on May 10, 1869, completing the Transcontinental Railway. The National Park Service maintains a museum, replica train, and the roadbeds where tracks once ran. There are driving tours of the roadbeds but they are closed today, so I'll have to try again on another trip.

Photos: Golden Spike

Driving to Golden Spike, I had noticed a number of signs for a public rocket display, open daylight hours, only a few miles out of my way. The ATK Rocket Factory public entrance has a picnic area with samples and descriptions of a number of their products.

Photos: ATK Rocket Factory

I continue my drive east on the old highway along the railroad tracks to Evanston, a real pleasure to visit. I was here because I had seen a flier someplace else about a rail festival in a couple of weeks to raise funds for restoration of the old UP railyard, and thought it might be worth a visit even though I couldn't make the festival.

UP has donated much of their yard to the city of Evanston, in the SW corner of Wyoming. This is a significantly depressed area and they are trying to bring in tourists. I believe this facility has the potential to be the best rail museum in the country, even though plans are to use much of the roundhouse for non-rail purposes such as City Hall and a convention center.

UP donated 290 acres, including 22 acres of roundhouse-related facilities such as turntable and machine shop. Grants have paid for environmental assessment and cleanup, now completed except for groundwater monitoring. The machine shop restoration is complete as are some exterior lighting and walkways. The turntable is supposed to be operable but it sure has a lot of weeds in it, and tracks between the roundhouse and turntable are missing. One highlight mentioned in the festival flier was demonstrating a car turning on the turntable, but at this point it looks like there is a lot of work left to do.

The gardener and I are the only people in the parking lot, a surprise to me, because there is great freight spectating: frequent traffic and no fence.

Photos: Evanston Railyard

I head out of town along the tracks toward tomorrow's adventures.
 
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July 16

Today is a driving day. Although the interstate will get me to Denver quicker, I again opt for the scenic route as much as I have time for.

The Rock Springs, WY, station is now a visitor center. Today it is hosting the weekly farmers market. The historic buildings across the street are picturesque and fun, but nearly all of them appear to be vacant and/or boarded up.

Photos: Rock Springs station

Near dusk, I make it to Cheyenne for a roll around Lions Park and a visit to Engine 1242. Cheyenne has a number of historic locomotives scattered around town, is home to the UP steam shop, and continues to be an active rail corridor with excellent viewing. 1242 was built in 1890 and ran until 1954. it is Wyoming's oldest locomotive. Note the details in the fence.

Photos: Cheyenne Lions Park

I get into Denver fairly late but can't resist a visit to the back side of Union Station where UP 844 is parked. The light rail system shares Union Station with Amtrak. The full train is so long this year that it is split between two tracks so that it doesn't block the switches Amtrak trains need to get into the station. I'll bring Whooz out first thing after he flies in tomorrow.

Photos: Denver Union Station

July 17-18

Whooz joins me in Denver for ride behind UP 844 to Cheyenne. He'll write this portion of trip report.
 
July 19

Denver

Today, UP-844 is returning to Cheyenne carrying passengers arranged through the museum in Cheyenne, with a scheduled departure of 1pm. I swing by after dropping Whooz at the airport and find the cars and locomotives split onto two tracks, just as we found them Saturday morning. The UP steam shop sends twitter messages while underway and I set my account to receive them on my cell in case I'm near them.

The Platte Valley Trolley is billed as a replica but it doesn't sound electric and doesn't have a trolley mechanism. It runs two routes along the So. Platte River. They also have a caboose locked up. I didn't ride this.

Photos: Platte Valley (fake) Trolley

Instead I check my cell and start north. UP-844 left pretty much on time and is progressing nicely.

Fort Collins, CO

Fort Collins has a historical trolley that operates weekends and holidays during the summer ($1 adult fare RT). It operates with two volunteers, a conductor and a motorman. The conductor is a trolley fanatic who is spending his retirement riding trolleys all over the country. He just passed his motorman test. Max speed is 45mph but the city has asked them to stay under the speed of "the fastest bicyclist." It takes 20 volunteers to operate two shifts a day during the summer, and they'd like more. The trolley runs 1 1/2 miles each way on the restored Mountain Avenue line between City Park and downtown. Almost all of the track was new in 1985 although one section laid in concrete is original. The streetcar has to slow there to keep the trolley from bouncing off its 600vdc power source. The car is a 4-wheel Birney and it rocks pretty violently at times on account of the short wheelbase.

Restoring the line and the very deteriorated car took a lot of material and labor donations from local businesses and individuals. The bulk of the work on the car was done by two single guys who pretty much moved into the shop, including sleeping there, in order to devote all of their free time to the project. They did a beautiful job, even building a steam bath to bend the wood interior to the right curves.

There are lots of other things to watch in the park while waiting for the trolley to arrive. Today, the Society for Creative Anachronism was practicing and a child's train was making loops.

On the way to the park, I noted a boxcar parked in the middle of the street so went to take a look. Somehow I never got closer driving toward it ... because it was moving. After my trolley ride I went for another look. This is not a remote section of town or rarely used track. Where I took photos, city hall was on one side of the street and the transportation center (in an old freight depot) was on the other side. Two trains, one each direction, passed while I wandered around.

Photos: Fort Collins

(Video later)

Nunn, CO

Another cell check yields:

"Train traffic and a broken rail have slowed today's trip. Jul 19, 2:52pm" and

"Stopped near NUNN, CO at 07/19/2009 04:15:38 PM MDT"

The road east from Fort Collins reaches UP-844's route about 4 miles south of Nunn, so that is where I head. While dawdling on the highway along the tracks, a southbound freight passes by. Clearly the track is repaired, 844 will be getting ready to go, and I get serious about heading north. 844 has just started moving so the railfans are still running for their cars. This means I do not need to contend with anyone pacing the engine. I make it to a nice viewpoint with time to spare to park and get me and wheelchair out and situated for one last video.

Photo: Nunn

(Video later)

Then it is on to my reserved room in North Platte, NE, this time mostly by I-80 from Cheyenne.
 
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July 20

I'm on my way to North Platte, NE, home of UP's Bailey Yard, the largest "classification" yard in the world. Last year when I was here, I didn't allow enough time, so this year I spend the night. I start with the quick visits to steam around town.

UP #480 is in Memorial Park, and is well taken care of.

Unlike last year, both engines and all the cars in Cody Park are open for viewing.

I start with 4-6-6-4 UP Challenger #3977, sister to Challenger #3985 that used to get out of the Cheyenne yard on a trip now and then. These are huge, articulated (in order to make curves), locomotives designed primarily for freight but also used for passengers, at speeds up to 80mph. Each set of drive wheels has its own cylinder. #3977 started service in 1943 hauling freight between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City and between Los Angeles and Caliente. She retired in 1961 from the Nebraska Division, and was donated to the City of North Platte and installed in the museum at Cody Park in 1968.

My next car, a baggage car, contains a very nice selection of museum exhibits. Besides the usual items that everyone has, they have historic UP maps. I take particular note of cities along routes I might take toward my next errand location, Chicago.

Post office cars were ordinarily hauled by passenger trains for faster delivery. National Postal Museum Mail By Rail Exhibit in Washington, DC has a good exhibit about them, well worth a visit (and lunch stop in the same building). Mobile sorting facilities on rails were gradually switched to highways as passenger service declined, with the last rail post office run occuring between Washington, DC and New York in 1977.

Facilities in the steel caboose are pretty spartan. The beds look like they were designed for small females, although that is not the demographic who got jobs riding rails in the days cabooses were used.

I don't go up in the other engine, a diesel, UP Centennial #6922. 6900-series locomotives were billed as "The World's Most Powerful Land Vehicle" when first sold in 1969. They are two engines in one locomotive, deliver 6,600 hp, the largest diesel-electric locomotives ever built. Maximum speed is 80mph. This is the same class that accompanied UP 844 on the Denver-Cheyenne trip.

The museum also has a restored small-town depot moved from Hershey, NE (with appropriate contents including a working telegraph), several signals, and the water spout used to fill steam tenders at the North Platte roundhouse.

My real reason for coming again to North Platte is Bailey Yard. UP opened the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center in May a year ago, just a couple of months before my last visit. The tower overlooks the yard. Last year a retired refrigeration mechanic was holed up in the tower answering questions and providing a running commentary on activities. This year's docent was still working, going on duty at 8pm later tonight. He wasn't as talkative so I soent most of my time at the level with the open viewing platform.

Many of my photos look the same, but look closer to see where locomotives or cars have moved. Several coal trains go by on the mainline in the distance. Only one eastbound train passes over the hump while I watch today. Last year, both humps were in continuous use during my visit.

The yard covers 2,850 acres, is 8 miles long, can handle 15,000 rail cars per day, and can fix 750 locomotives per month. High value cars, such as those hauling coal or automobiles, can be serviced, sorted, and on their way in less than an hour.

Last year there was an automobile crushed by a train in the parking lot. This year there is a passenger car, Platte Valley #4613. I'm hoping UP intends to restore it.

North Platte is a great place for railfanning. Besides the locomotives and cars easily accessible in parks, the yard and viewing tower, and the frequent freight traffic, North Platte has built viewing areas for pedestrians crossing the Poplar Street Bridge over UP's mainline. I haven't been yet, but North Platte's annual Rail Fest includes tours of Bailey yard, including the shop facilities.

As usual, I leave driving a highway that parallels the tracks, and get great views of many freights, one EC-4 "Today's Data, Tomorrow's Technology" track inspection vehicle, and a great sunset.

Since photos are uploading at only 10KBps tonight, photos will be later.

Videos at Bailey Yard and along the road will also be later.
 
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