JAMIE'S RANDOM AMERICAN RAILWAY PHOTOS.

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Johann Marsbar said:

The Napa Valley MLW's are all dumped out of use now, as I found in September 2019.......

 

 

...and their trains seemed to be worked by "quality" locomotives like this......

 

 

 

I saw all 3 trains of the morning depart Napa, the third being a nondescript high-hood Geep.   The whole operation looked rather more downmarket than I was expecting it to be!

 

 

 

Certainly looks to have gone really classy... sad to see, the MLW's did look nice.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, roundhouse said:

I remember the MD 80 well doing many internal flights on them. They became Boeing 717's IIRC . I think the last time that we flew on one was a Hawiian one.

 

We were booked on the Napa Valley train some years ago but it was cancelled due to flooding. The train to Santa Cruz is another one we have yet to do as our visits to Roaring Camp were on days that it wasnt running those trains. We did manage to do the full length of the Skunk train from Fort Bragg to Willits in one of the petrol engined railcars when it was run daily to deliver the post.

Thanks Ian. I couldn't remember the Boeing model number but we did fly on a Quantas one in Oz in 2019, Brisbane to Cairns and back I think.

 

Jamie

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

I flew in a Delta MD80 just once, from Phoenix Skyharbor to Chicago.  I was at the back near the engines and when I got off I was stone deaf in my right ear and had one of the worst migraines I've ever had.  Passed out in the lav at O' Hare for an hour.  Just about made it on to my flight to Heathrow feeling like I was going to die.  As we were about to depart the gate, a Delta employee brought me my laptop which I'd completely forgotten in the departure lounge in my fugue state.  Nice customer service from Delta.

 

I've avoided MD80s and planes with engines nailed to the fuselage ever since!

[jamie92208]

13 minutes ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

I flew in a Delta MD80 just once, from Phoenix Skyharbor to Chicago.  I was at the back near the engines and when I got off I was stone deaf in my right ear and had one of the worst migraines I've ever had.  Passed out in the lav at O' Hare for an hour.  Just about made it on to my flight to Heathrow feeling like I was going to die.  As we were about to depart the gate, a Delta employee brought me my laptop which I'd completely forgotten in the departure lounge in my fugue state.  Nice customer service from Delta.

 

I've avoided MD80s and planes with engines nailed to the fuselage ever since!

Sorry to hear that.  There will be a story about an MD80 when we get to 2005.

 

Jamie

[ChrisH-UK]

4 hours ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

I've avoided MD80s and planes with engines nailed to the fuselage ever since!

 

I'm guessing that severely limits your choices these days with more and more routes flown by "regional jets"

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

14 minutes ago, ChrisH-UK said:

 

I'm guessing that severely limits your choices these days with more and more routes flown by "regional jets"

 

Careful choice of routes and airlines!  

[jamie92208]

Good morning from the Charente again.   The Tardis is still in the US of A. It's still 1999 and it's the 5th August. Our train is going slowly along the main street of Santa Cruz, CA.

When we arrived atthe amusement park there was off street parking for the train.  The loco was, I believe, a former AT&SF CF7 which I think is an F unit rebuilt to look like a Geep.

We eventually headed back towards Roaring camp.  The line is interesting, including a timber lined tunnel.

And someone had obviously tried off roading.

Back at Roaring Camp, this geared loco was simmering away. I'm not sure which type it is.

And there was no DCC there, fully manual point control.

A very good trip out.

 

Jamie

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[pH]

3 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

 

Back at Roaring Camp, this geared loco was simmering away. I'm not sure which type it is.

 

 Class B Shay - 3 cylinders, 2 trucks.

[Mike_Walker]

2600 is indeed a CF7 built as F7A 248L in 2/51 and rebuilt in 10/72.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning again on France's national day.  The Tardis however is still in California in August 1999.  After our visit to Roaring Camp Dave took me to a model shop in San Jose where I drooled over O scale models and also managed to buy a sought after back copy of Trains from 0ctober 1978. This has a great column in it by Don Phillips entitled "Solace on US 30". The attraction of this will be revealed when we get to 2012.  Anyway the next day 6th August the giels went shopping and Dave and I headed off by train to Sacramento. The local station was Martinez and as we waited for our train this UP local came through.

That was followed by an Amtrak California Train heading to Oakland.

Another local was coming east as the train departed.

The local was headed by an elderly SP switcher.  In the background a preserved SP steamer can be seen, plinthed.

Then our train arrived operating in push pull mode with the cab car leading.

We had a pleasant journey to Sacramento and then headed for the brilliant California State Railroad Museum where the outstanding exhibit is SP 4924, the last remaining cab forward.  I had last seen this in 1978 siting outside the shops near the station. Now it's displayed in the museum. Very difficult to photograph in a way that emphasises it's immense size.

More to come tomorrow if my liver survives the day.

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[Johann Marsbar]

The stop at Martinez has now been moved west to the other side of the level crossing where a new combined bus/rail interchange has been built. The old station has been preserved though....

 

 

 

 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente.  I seem to have survived the 14th celebrations without  headache so we can take the Tardis back to Sacramento on the 6th August 1999. Dave and I were still wandering round the CSRM, which is a great place to visit.  I did mange to get one more photo of the Cab Forward.

The view from the cab is great but must have been unusual to loco crews used to having the length of a boiler in front of them.  Having the throttle hinged from the cab roof just behind the window was interesting.  I was also fascinated by the displays about the building of the line through the Sierras.  The name of the surveyor was one to conjure with,  Theodore Judah.

Anyway there were more exhibits outside. This looked well.

The next day, Beth Rachel and I had a day round San Francisco and of course these had to feature.

Along with another visit to the museum.

 

One  more exterior shot.

And that was it for California on that trip railway wise.  One more day in Walnut Creek, then onto the silver bird for flights to Denver and a drive to Cheyenne.

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[F-UnitMad]

On 29/05/2021 at 07:50, jamie92208 said:

 

 

 

As you went to Cheyenne several times over the years, did you ever catch up again with Lieutenant Don?

[jamie92208]

45 minutes ago, F-UnitMad said:

As you went to Cheyenne several times over the years, did you ever catch up again with Lieutenant Don?

 

Unfortunately not.  Almost all my other visits I had family in tow and didn't quite have the freedom.

 

Jamie

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Inspired by this wonderful thread, I have sent off my defunct hard drive to see if the decades-worth of US railroad photos can be recovered.  If they can, look out for my equivalent series 'Dr G-Fs railroad travels'.   Pretty much covers several trips to Tehachapi, Cajon, San Jose and Bay Area, and the northern and southern transcon in Arizona, Arizona mining railroads, and one excursion to the Pacific north-west.

 

fingers crossed

[jamie92208]

23 minutes ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

Inspired by this wonderful thread, I have sent off my defunct hard drive to see if the decades-worth of US railroad photos can be recovered.  If they can, look out for my equivalent series 'Dr G-Fs railroad travels'.   Pretty much covers several trips to Tehachapi, Cajon, San Jose and Bay Area, and the northern and southern transcon in Arizona, Arizona mining railroads, and one excursion to the Pacific north-west.

 

fingers crossed

Good luck, will look forwzrd to your thread. I've still got 6 more trips to go.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a sunny Charente.  The Tardis is still in the US of A in August 1999.   We headed from San Francisco to Denver then hired a car and went north to Cheyenne for the night.  From there we went north and west to Thermopolis, which Beth had chosen as having hot springs and no railway.   Little did either of us know that there was a railway, a BNSF line from Billings Montana to Cheyenne and points south.  The date is now the 11th August. Thermopolis sits on one of the branches of the Bighorn river (We didn't see General Custer) and the river flows through a spectacular canyon just south of the town that we had driven through to get there.  There seemed to be only one or two trains per day but the southbound was during the day.

A nice mix of liveries.

Then a warbonnet.

The Wind River canyon is spectacular.

And a train in a giant landscape.

The next day we went to Yellowstone, saw Old Faithful and ended up at Jackson Hole.  The following day we went down to Rock Springs and this was taken between there and Green River on the 14th of August. Back along the UP main line that evening with an eastbound autorack train.

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[Wendell1976]

On 15/07/2021 at 00:19, jamie92208 said:

 

 

 

In this picture of San Francisco, the skyscraper in the background is the iconic Transamerica Pyramid.

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

[Wendell1976]

14 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

The Wind River canyon is spectacular.

And a train in a giant landscape.

 

 

Nice pictures of Wind River Canyon out in Wyoming.

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

[jamie92208]

Good morning from a sunny Charente.  We are now in the Rock Springs area of Wyoming on 14th August 1999.  I had a drive out to Green River and took a few pictures. Here we look east from the footbridge that spans the yard.

Slightly different view that shows the station.  A long time since it was a regular stop for Amtrak.

And looking west at what I think is Castle Rock that dominates the town.

The next day we headed towards Colorado so drove across the Continental divide, twice and the red desert which has Wamsutter at it's centre.  The geography is strange here as the divide splits and the Red Desert is a basin not connected to any of the other river systems.  Viewers of Lonesome dove will know about the red Desert.   Anyway we arrived at the second crossing at Creston, where the road down to Rifle, CO, turns off.  It would have been rude not to stop near the overpass and photograph this freight heading west.

6 units on the front.

I can't remember who the last two belonged to.

UP always had problems getting decent water for their locos in this area.

 

More tomorrow.

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[pH]

13 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I can't remember who the last two belonged to.

 

Look like Northwestern Pacific:

 

https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=465796

 

NWP sold a couple of locos to Omnitrax in 1996. I wonder if this is them, being moved between Omnitrax lines. 

 

 

 

[jamie92208]

On 17/07/2021 at 22:03, pH said:

Look like Northwestern Pacific:

 

https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=465796

 

NWP sold a couple of locos to Omnitrax in 1996. I wonder if this is them, being moved between Omnitrax lines. 

 

 

 

Thanks for that Pete.  As you will see I saw them at  Cheyenne as well. 

 

Anyway the Tardis is now in Colorado after we headed south from Creston, though Craig and past the mines at the end of the Craig Branch, then down to Rifle and along the Colorado valley to Glenwood Springs. It's now the 16th August 1999 and we were on a rafting trip down the Colorado back to Glenwood Springs. No UO freights but the daily BNSF manifest that was part of the merger agreement for the UP and SP.

Again a nice mix of paint schemes.

The trip did make my feet start to itch as there was a cycle track along the river below the Interstate.  The following day we drove through the Canyon and then over Vail pass towards Denver.  I noticed the cycle track following us all the way and my feet started to itch even more.  Anyway we ended up in Cheyenne, surprise surprise and this was the sight outside the cafe window with an eastbound waiting to get into the station for a crew change.

Of course I had to walk across the viaduct to get some photos of the blank space that I had walked round inside the roundhouse in 1978. And lo and behold here were the North Western Pacific units again.   A busy main line with trains stopping all the time for crew changes.

Here an eastbound is coming in on track 3 .  

 

Jamie

 

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jamie92208

[John M Upton]

4 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

viaduct to get some photos of the blank space that I had walked round inside the roundhouse in 1978. And lo and behold here were the North Western Pacific units again.   A busy main line with trains stopping all the time for crew changes.

 

Whilst the ex SP SD9's in NWP colours were what initially caught my attention, there is a very interesting clump of rusting demics in the mid background.  Is that a couple of E or F units I spy?

[JZ]

16 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

 

Whilst the ex SP SD9's in NWP colours were what initially caught my attention, there is a very interesting clump of rusting demics in the mid background.  Is that a couple of E or F units I spy?

Looks like an FA nearest and possibly a couple of Bs behind?

[jamie92208]

21 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

 

Whilst the ex SP SD9's in NWP colours were what initially caught my attention, there is a very interesting clump of rusting demics in the mid background.  Is that a couple of E or F units I spy?

 

3 minutes ago, JZ said:

Looks like an FA nearest and possibly a couple of Bs behind?

From memory they are the C&NW historical collection, all in a poor state plus at least one Rio Grande unit.

 

Jamie

Edited July 18, 2021 by jamie92208