ShastaRails || Railfan Trips

Railfan Trips
This is a list of all the major trips I've taken.
Union Pacific 150th - 844 Chase over Donner (September 27, 2012)
UP 844 chase from Sparks, NV to Old Sacramento, CA.
This trip includes: 4 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Dunsmuir Railroad Days 2011 (June 11, 2011)
It's June so it's time for a trip up to Dunsmuir for Railroad Days. This year, a chartered passenger train made up of four classic passenger cars (three are stainless steel domes) was in attendance. We traveled up on Friday afternoon a little too late to chase the passenger train up the canyon but we arrived at Dunsmuir and got to tour most of the cars in the beautiful evening sunlight. Saturday was cloudy and had some rain but we had a great time riding speeders, watching the parade, visiting model railroad layouts and also a ride on the turntable aboard UP 1996 the Southern Pacific heritage locomotive. In the evening, we boarded the Black Butte Daylight and enjoyed the views from the dome of the Silver Splendor. We had some clouds until sunset but what a sunset it was! Shortly after the sunset we headed back down to Dunsmuir but before we left Black Butte, we were mooned by at least a dozen guys. The rest of the trip was in darkness but we enjoyed the wind in our hair as we descended into the Sacramento River Canyon with a 10pm arrival at Dunsmuir. It was a great five hour trip! If they bring the train next year, we'll be there again!
This trip includes: 9 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Rotary Chase - March 2011 (March 25, 2011)
A rotary set with SPMW 209 leading and SPMW 211 trailing headed out of Roseville and worked their way up Donner.
This trip includes: 16 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Fall trip to Dunsmuir, CA (October 1, 2010)
On October 1, I took a trip north along I-5 on the way up to Dunsmuir. The first stop was Woodland where I was lucky enough to catch the end of the switching job there. After a quick stop, we continued north and found the southbound Woodland job heading back from Cortena. Both of these jobs were handled by a single 500-series genset in the red/white/blue scheme. We let the Woodland job go after catching it at a couple locations as we were backtracking from our northward destination. Since we caught it just 10 miles or so south of Cortena where it swaps cars with the Corning Flyer, I figured that we''d be able to catch it before it got back to Corning so we took the side roads. We made it to Corning without seeing it but after a quick look around, determined that we missed it. There was something to the north so we headed a mile north of town to find a single genset parked in the late afternoon sun. The Hat Trick was complete. We made it up to Dunsmuir and on Saturday, I took my sons to see the CORP in Weed and the UP at Black Butte and other favorite spots. There were many clouds around which hampered photos until close to sunset where they were perfectly highlighted.
This trip includes: 12 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Portola Railroad Days 2010 (August 22, 2010)
This year's Portola Railroad Days weekend was again a great experience! Two of the highlights were the Friday arrival of a 14 car passenger train from Oakland and the return trip on Sunday morning lead by the museum's own GP20 WP 2001.
This trip includes: 15 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Shasta in Late Summer (August 14, 2010)
A four day trip to Northern California
This trip includes: 4 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
California Northern Passenger Special (March 18, 2010)
California Northern celebrated the its new genset locomotives with a one car passenger special running between Davis and Corning. We first me the special a few miles north of Woodland and followed it all the way to Willows. We then turned back and caught up to the southbound freight working its way back to Woodland for the night.
This trip includes: 7 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Donner in March (March 6, 2010)
Saturday opened up so I packed up the dog and my two sons and we headed up into the Sierras following the Roseville Subdivision. Clouds ruled the day but the sun shown a few times when it counted. We caught a couple Z trains (double stacks in this case) along with a long mixed freight as we headed back down the hill.
This trip includes: 7 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Railfan Friends trip to Donner (February 27, 2010)
Donner starts to warm up in the last few weeks of Winter.
This trip includes: 10 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View) 1 Video clips
Cape Horn (February 14, 2010)
This mid February Sunday felt more like late spring with temperatures in the mid 60s even up past Colfax, CA. Spent the afternoon and was rewarded with three trains within a couple hours. Enjoy the photos!
This trip includes: 6 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Portola Railroad Days (August 22, 2009)
We spent 4 days in the Feather River Canyon including 2 days attending the Portola Railroad Days and enjoying the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.
This trip includes: 6 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Camping in the Feather River Canyon (June 25, 2009)
Our annual family camping trip took us to the beautiful Feather River Canyon.
This trip includes: 4 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Spring in Shasta (May 26, 2009)
A four day trip to the Shasta area starts with a chase of the California Northern at Corning. The next day we meet up with ''Photo'' Bob Morris and chase some trains south from Dunsmuir. We catch a Z train at Castella, Gibson and Salt Creek. The next morning, we get started a bit earlier and catch a Southbound approaching Dunsmuir. We then head over to McCloud and make a stop at the shops to see any changes and find a crew of contractors sorting reclaimed ties. On the final day, we start at Weed to find a single Central Oregon and Pacific unit sitting on the wye. Later, I catch a loaded northbound ballast train approaching Mount Shasta before I head to Cantara Loop to watch a pair of trains including the morning Z train heading south. A quick call to PhotoBob and we''re ready for a chase to a new location for me, a bridge crossing the Sacramento River after exiting a tunnel. As we head back to Dunsmuir, we hear a southbound so we decide to intercept at Mott before heading to lunch. After dropping off Bob and Rhian, I head back to Mott for another southbound and end up back near
This trip includes: 4 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Chasing Steam up the Feather River Canyon (May 2, 2009)
Union Pacific #844
This trip includes: 5 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Feather River Canyon: UP 1995 CNW Heritage (March 28, 2009)
Chase from Davis, CA at the Yolo Causeway up through the west end of the Feather River Canyon
This trip includes: 26 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Amtrak Special to McCloud (September 28, 2008)
An Alameda, CA software company chartered an entire train for its employees to travel to Mount Shasta.
This trip includes: 6 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Shasta Trip - Winter 2008 (January 19, 2008)
I took my first weekend railfan trip with my oldest son up to the Shasta area. We started by a quick stop at Woodland on the way up I-5. We continued north and saw headlights coming south so we pulled off at the next exit and caught up with the California Northern job at Harrington. After a quick pickup, they were headed back to Woodland at maximum track speed. We chased it for a few miles and then continued our northward journey. The next morning we stopped by the wye at Weed to see what was around which was a GP38 and SD40T-2 sitting with a loaded Centerbeam flatcar. Another fan arrived on scene and it turned out to be another fellow CORP fan Fred Harrison. We chatted for a bit and then both headed down to Mt. Shasta for a meeting with Jeff Moore to talk about his recently published book on the railroads of McCloud. After a nice breakfast where we met a few fellow railfans, we headed to McCloud. It was very quiet so we headed to Dunsmuir. UP 7703 south showed up just as we arrived. It was clean so we gave chase down to Gibson and finally Vollmers. Sunday was a short day since we needed to get back to Sacramento so we only had 30 minutes to drive around the Roseburg lumber mill in Weed. There were many cars there including black and red WCRC bulkhead flat cars. The clouds and rain put a damper on any photos on our trip home but it was a great first trip for us.
This trip includes: 37 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
McCloud Railway Visit (May 15, 2006)
I visited the McCloud and took a trip on the eastern part of the railroad which is up for abandonment. My destination was Bear Flat near Pondosa, CA where the railroad has stored many old boxcars. The railroad has been selling off these old cars and sending them to a scrapper in Canada so this was my last chance to photograph them.
This trip includes: 37 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
DINA 2005 (December 28, 2005)
CTC Board magazine's Day in North America photo contest was held during the last week of the year. I headed up to northern California despite a wet and cold forecast. I spent the day chasing the Central Oregon and Pacific around Weed, CA and alsmo made a trip to Dunsmuir.
This trip includes: 52 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Donner Fall 2005 (October 1, 2005)
Donner
This trip includes: 19 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
UP 3985 - Roseville to Live Oaks (September 5, 2005)
What a fun chase!
This trip includes: 17 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View) 5 Audio clips
N Scale Convention in San Diego (August 19, 2005)
Not exactly a railfan trip, but I did take a trip to San Diego for the 2005 N Scale Convention. Lots of photos of new products, custom contest models and great modules.
This trip includes: 66 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Dunsmuir Railroad Days 2005 (July 9, 2005)
Dunsmuir Railroad Days was great this year...great equipment on display, lots of people, good weather all coming together in a beautiful railroad town.
This trip includes: 78 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
NRHS Special from Oakland to McCloud, CA (July 2, 2005)
This was a great trip! Check out the photos...
This trip includes: 37 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Minneapolis 2005 (April 3, 2005)
I had a chance to take an early flight to Minneapolis so I spent a few hours touring the area.
This trip includes: 15 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
DINA 2004 (October 16, 2004)
CTC Board magazine''s yearly photo contest Day In North America.
This trip includes: 39 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Shasta Labor Day Weekend 2004 (September 4, 2004)
I took the weekend
This trip includes: 57 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Portola Railroad Days 2004 (August 28, 2004)
I took my wife, a niece, and a couple nephews this year and we had a great time riding the caboose train on the museum grounds. The center piece was the UP 6936 Centennial brought to town by UP from Council Bluffs, IA. There is lots of other great equipment at the museum and it's alwasy fun walking around the storage tracks.
This trip includes: 26 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Donner 2004 (August 14, 2004)
I took a day trip with a fellow railfan (RosevilleBill from Trainorders.com) to Troy up at Donner. We got an early start and arrived just after 7am. We had plenty of time to set up the cameras below the signal bridge at MP 185.3 for the morning eastbound Z train. We headed down the tracks and setup for the next couple trains. We caught the eastbound California Zephyr but its westbound counterpart was too late for us to catch.
This trip includes: 21 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Summer in Shasta (August 7, 2004)
Took a weekend trip up to Dunsmuir, Cantara Loop and Black Butte.
This trip includes: 51 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
California Zephyr over Donner (April 17, 2004)
A last minute decision to get a pair of tickets to the Saturday trip from Sparks to Colfax really paid off. We departed shortly after 8:00am and made our way out of the cloudy skies. As we ascended Donner, it began to snow (which we already knew from the early morning drive over the pass from Sacramento).
This trip includes: 28 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Sioux Falls, SD to Council Bluffs, Iowa (March 20, 2004)
I took a business trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and stayed for a couple extra days to railfan. I visited a few small towns near Sioux Falls and then headed south to Sioux City and Council Bluffs, Iowa.
This trip includes: 52 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Roseville to Blue Canyon (March 16, 2004)
I had a rare day off during the week so I decided to see what was happening on the Roseville Subdivision. I started in Roseville and found quite a few trains stacked up waiting to get into the yard. After about an hour, I headed east along the line towards Donner. I stopped in Colfax and found the rail grinder pulling into the siding after an early morning of work. After chatting with the crew, I continued east to Dutch Flat where I caught the Reno Fun Train along with California Zephyr #5. I heard the eastbound CZ #6 at Gold Run so I burned up the road to Alta and caught it coming around the corner. Things were a little quiet so I headed up to Blue Canyon and hiked down to Tunnel #1. After an hour and a half of no activity, I heard a west bound creeping downhill. I got ready and when the unit came around the corner, I saw that it was a new GEVO unit #5698. Being a worthy subject, I ran a mile back up the tracks to the truck and sped down to catch it at Secret Town and Applegate.
This trip includes: 10 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Truckee Railroad Days 2003 (September 6, 2003)
Truckee Railroad Days
This trip includes: 11 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Portola Railroad Days 2003 (August 23, 2003)
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This trip includes: 40 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Tehachapi - June 2003 (June 20, 2003)
This was my first trip down to Tehachapi. I figured that if I was going to continue to call myself a railfan, I would have to experience it. I planned a trip near the end of June so I could spend four full days camping in the area and spending all day taking photos. It was a great experience and I can understand why so many fellow railfans flock to the area every year.
This trip includes: 76 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Wind Turbines (June 11, 2003)
Wind Turbine train #6 (of 7) rolled into West Sacramento in the middle of the night and my girlfriend and I decided to go down to the Port of Sacramento the next morning. We arrived there and saw one of the strings of cars being set out inside the port facility. I met up with a fellow railfan who goes by YardDogh on trainorders.com. He had been there since 5AM and had lots of information on the movements the Yolo Short Line crew were making. We tracked the train back and forth as it brought each section of the train from the setout track that UP had dropped the train off on the night before.
This trip includes: 18 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
DINA 2003 (May 31, 2003)
This year's CTC Board magazine's annual photo event was a real success. I shot a couple rolls of slides in the Dunsmuir, CA area (where else!). My girlfriend and I went out and found some great spot and we met a couple fellow railfans along the way. I mailed in a few slides and a couple months later, I had one of the photos published in the magazine. This event is one of the most fun because any railfan can go out and shoot some slides and send them in
This trip includes: 16 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Feather River (February 18, 2003)
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This trip includes: 15 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Shasta in the Fall (November 2, 2002)
In the beginning of November, I decided to head up to Shasta to see the effects of Fall. It was a slow traffic weekend with most of the trains going through at night but I did catch some activity during the shortened daylight hours. Take a look at the photos from the whole trip including UP, CORP, and the aftermath of the derailment at Black Butte.
This trip includes: 27 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Truckee Railroad Days (September 7, 2002)
The fifth annual Truckee Railroad Days this year was really a great trip. My girlfriend and I drove Saturday morning from Sacramento up to Truckee for the events and were rewarded with beautiful weather and lots of equipment to tour. The highlights were a 3 week old UP SD70M #5010 along with WP 2001 and 707. View theses photos and more using the link.
This trip includes: 8 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Labor Day (August 31, 2002)
I left Sacramento on Friday afternoon and headed up to Shasta. I made it up to Dunsmuir at about 8:00 and stopped by the depot. To my surprise, they had moved all operations to a newly renovated building on the other side of the tracks. I made my way over and started a conversation with one of the UP employees who transports crews around the area. After a short discussion, I went in a picked up a lineup so I could trace the units for the next day and a half. From that, I planned what trains I wanted to catch the next day. I was able to catch a few notable trains including a CP train using CEFX SD90MACs and also a Z train with two flags flying from the front of the lead unit. Follow the link to view these photos and a few more from this trip.
This trip includes: 42 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Dunsmuir RR Days (June 14, 2002)
Dunsmuir Railroad Days is hosted by Union Pacific and the Dunsmuir Chamber of Commerce. This year it was on Father's Day weekend and there was some new equipment on display for the event. The Olympic units, UP 2001 and 2002, were on hand and the public was given the opportunity to take a tour of the inside of the units. In addition to the equipment tours, there was an HO layout of Dunsmuir modeled the way it used to be. I shot plenty of night shots, mostly of the Olympic units but I even got a few of the southbound Coast Starlight rolling through the depot about an hour late (1:30AM).
This trip includes: 25 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
DINA 2001 (July 21, 2001)
CTC Board's annual contest was back, this time in the summer. It was my second time to submit photos for publication and it was a success. I shot a series on Cantara Loop (north of Dunsmuir,CA) where the infamous chemical spill had occured 10 years prior. I caught the southbound RoadRailers along with the then new UP SD70M with wings over the same bridge, now protected by a new barrier rail. These photos weren't published but I did get one from the upper side of the canyon. To view all the photos from this trip, follow the link.
This trip includes: 1 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
DINA 2000 (September 23, 2000)
CTC Board magazine has an annual photo contest that is one of the most exciting to be involved in. The rules are simple: All photos must be taken in the 24 hour period of the specified day. This was my first DINA to be involved in and I wanted to shoot around the Dunsmuir/ Mount Shasta area. I caught a ride with a friend
This trip includes: 1 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)
Florida (March 16, 2000)
I took a trip to Florida for Spring Break and I took the opportunity to do some local railfanning. There was a mix of CSX and Conrail units along with a small shortline, the Florida Central Railroad. One of my surprises was a leased Canadian National wide cab GP40 running far from its home rails. Another treat was the then new FURX SD40s in fresh silver and green livery.
This trip includes: 3 Photos (Slideshow) or (Grid View)