Union Pacific Business Train in Alviso
Today the UP ran a special passenger business train they called the SLBOA1-27 up the old Southern Pacific coast line. The train went through Alviso, CA at 3:56 p.m. headed north. Power for the train was the Union Pacific locomotive 1995 that was painted in a special paint scheme to commemorate the Chicago and Northwestern a railroad that was assimilated by the Union Pacific.
Winterail 2009
The Bill Darrough Show we did in 2007 was very well received. This year we are putting on the sequel. I won't be able to post to the blog today, but will be twittering the event. Please follow the twitter stream here:
Ryan Martin shot this photo of the crowd in 2007 and it was on the big screen the day of the show, shortly after it was shot. I think that was very cool.
This is one of the photos that will be in the show my son Kenneth and I are doing on the Darrough Brothers, Jack and Bill Darrough. The photo of Southern Pacific C-8 class 2-8-0 Consolidation 2740 was taken by Bill Darrough in Bakersfield, California on November 30, 1937.
This show is a follow up on the Bill Darrough show that ran at Winterail 2007. If you want to see the 2007 show, a version is here!
Jack Darrough is still alive and plans to be at Winterail 2009. Hope to see you there!
Tickets are still available for Winterail 2009. Check this website for info.
Technorati Tags: Railfanning, Southern Pacific, Trains, Winterail, Railroading, ssloansjca
Big Boys
"Big Boy" is what Sue said when she saw this picture of a Union Pacific train at Tehachapi. The term was apt, I told her, because "Big Boy" was the term given by the Union Pacific to the largest steam engines ever built. It also is apt because this last weekend my middle son Jeff and I were like boys chasing trains over the Union Pacific's former Southern Pacific Tehachapi mountain pass. We had perfect weather and tons of trains. The grades on these hills are brutal and these modern Big Boys were working like demons pulling a heavy train around Tehachapi Loop. Jeff and I had a great time and we saw many, many trains!
An elegant conveyance
This evening I photographed a Union Pacific passenger special as it passed the historic former South Pacific Coast narrow gauge railroad depot in Agnew, now part of Santa Clara, California. This depot is also the home of the California Central Model Railroad club that is so much fun and that Kenneth and I belong to.
Scanning some of my old train photos
Kenneth and I have been sorting and I have been scanning some of my old train photos. It is cool seeing these old photos from so long ago.
Old trains on Flickr
I love trains! I have been scanning some of my favorite old train photos and placing them on Flickr. This is a slow process as each photo has to be scanned and then spot removed, color balanced and exposure adjusted in Photoshop. It is worth it to be able to share some of these gems. They don't serve much purpose sitting in boxes!
[Click Here to see more on Flickr]
Technorati Tags: Railfanning, Southern Pacific, Trains, Alcos, Railroading, ssloansjca
Part 3 of 3
I am a die hard train buff. This is the last of my three part coverage of the Spirit of Washington on June 8, 2007. This is the train on its former route between Renton and Woodinville, Washington. This provides an overview of all three short videos with special coverage of the return of the day's lunch charter and the dinner train on the spectacular trestle near Bellevue. This also features the Oriskany Strings song, The Train Don't Run Here Anymore.
Spirit of Washington Train, Part Two
On June 8, 2007 I shot video of the Spirit of Washington, a dinner train, that runs from Renton to Woodinville, Washington. It uses rare locomotives called F-units. The track it runs on is due to be removed for a highway project and it only has about a month left to run. They ran two Spirit trains on June 8, including a lunch charter train for employees of T-mobile. The Quicktime movie above is the train after it left Renton. This video focuses on the train in Woodinville, Washington. This follows part one, previously released.
Update:
This video is now available here on YouTube.
Railfanning the Blue Mountains, Redux
I love the Blue Mountains. The only place I have seen more trains is in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The train traffic was amazing and the scenery spectacular. What a terrific place to photograph trains this is. I really appreciate Leslie and Ed turning me on to this place, it rocks! Today Ed was able to join us and they showed me how to get to Durkee Loop. We had amazing luck with light and trains. Since this is double track here we got a meet on the loop that was sheer luck. One train (we saw three) that we saw on the loop had an Olympic unit on it. This was too much fun!
Technorati Tags: Railfanning, Union Pacific, Trains, Blue Mountains, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
Railfanning the Blue Mountains
I have wanted to chase trains here for years and years. Yesterday I did. Mid-day yesterday I arrived at Ed and Leslie's. They have a lovely home on a ridge just outside La Grande, Oregon. Ed is a Union Pacific locomotive engineer and he was out on the road. Leslie is also a railfan and so we spent the day chasing trains and exploring the Blue Mountains. The Blues are right around La Grande, and she gave me the cook's tour. Despite the overcast and occasional showers we had a great time and saw some very cool trains. When the sun broke through the clouds for a meet at Sago it was second coming light, unbelievable!
We went to dinner at a truck stop with a great view of the UP main line and I had a very good steak for $11. A very good day.
Technorati Tags: Railfanning, Union Pacific, Trains, Blue Mountains, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
I am in Yakima, which looks amazingly like Barstow
Except, it does not have as many trains as Barstow. Yesterday I had a great day of train chasing. I shot the Spirit of Washington, a dinner train, that runs from Renton to Woodinville, Washington. It uses rare locomotives called F-units. The track it runs on is due to be removed for a highway project and it only has about a month left to run. They ran two Spirit trains yesterday, including a lunch charter train for employees of T-mobile. The Quicktime movie above is the train leaving Renton, followed by the also soon to be retired freight train.
UPDATE
This video is, or soon will be, available here on YouTube
Meet at Mott, May 31, 2007
These two Northbound Union Pacific freights met today at Mott siding. Mott is on the former SP Shasta line, near Dunsmuir. As the trains met clouds rolled in from an approaching thunder storm. I am heading north and this seven minute Track Warrants video is the first for this trip. I am on the road! This was Quicktime Video shot less than five hours ago and edited in a campground near Ashland on my laptop and posted using a nearby open wireless network.
This video should soon be available here on YouTube.
I am on vacation
This is a time to visit family and play. Normally I go on a June bike tour. Not this year! We have many activities planned and will be posting them to this blog. Last week was busy. It was final's week at SJSU and I wrapped up my class. Stay tuned for more! Meanwhile it is play time. The photos shown here are from last Sunday's "Strawberry Fields" ride that Nancy Kenny and I went on. That was a lot of fun. I even got to photograph a train while on the bike ride. But, I sure dragged my butt to work the next day.
"Scab Trains" of Altamont Pass
In May of 1985 the Southern Pacific Railroad was preparing for a possible union strike. To train its management crews to operate trains in the absence of union crews, the SP conducted management training on the embargoed SP rail line over Altamont Pass. The union train crews called these the scab trains. It was SP's last use of this famous line.
International Stack Train on Tehachapi
Pardon my hobbies. On April 29, 2006 this double stack train was seen going over the Tehachapi mountains with locomotives from Canada, the US and Mexico. This power set contained BNSF, CN and Ferromex power. This train with its unusual power set is shown here at Bealville and Caliente California.
SP Commutes 1985, Volume 1
In the summer of 1985 the Southern Pacific Railroad's commute equipment stopped operating on the San Francisco peninsula and was replaced by Caltrain. This ended over 100 years of SP commute operations on the San Francisco peninsula. This short Track Warrants video, converted from silent Super8 movies, captures that period. As well as the film, this video features the music of Heather Sullivan.
