On 2 and 3 February 2013, northern California saw two heritage units in two days, UP 1996, the SP heritage unit and Amtrak 822.?
I knew both were coming, but obligations on Saturday did not let me get out to track side for the 1996 going east through Roseville on the KOAMN (stack train, Oakland to Marion, Arkansas, near Memphis), instead I headed out later to see a manifest getting ready to leave town. It appeared to have originated elsewhere, not Roseville, perhaps it was a Fresno-North Platte train. I followed it east up the mountain, shooting it at Roseville, Rocklin, Newcastle, the Auburn Ravine trestle, Bowman, Weimar and then drove to Secrettown and started to hike in to the site of the trestle.?
Shortly after I arrived at Secrettown, I heard a train, which seemed odd as I should have been at least 15 minutes ahead of the manifest. The train turned out to be the KOAMN, with 1996 as the DPU. OK! After the stack train passed, I walked a bit farther east and shot the manifest when it showed up a few minutes later, then as I was getting ready to leave, the westbound signal was green and soon a downhill manifest, which looked like the MRORV (Roper Yard, Salt Lake City to Roseville) came around the corner. I shot that at Secrettown, Weimar and Clipper Gap.?
Later that night I went to the Rocklin station and shot 2 eastbounds passing it as streak shots, trying out long exposures at f/22.?
Amtrak heritage unit 822 was coming west on #5 on Sunday and I barely made it to Roseville Road west of Control Point Citrus Heights before the Zephyr arrived. I hung out for about an hour, hoping that a westbound BNSF train would leave Roseville yard. It was stopped in a spot that allowed me to see it, but photography was impossible with the buildings in the way. UP provided a some action, but eventually, I gave up and west home before the BNSF train left.?
Still, not at all a bad weekend of train watching.
The whole album is at?
Here are some of the photos:
The stars of the show.
2-2-2013, Rocklin, eastbound manifest behind 7826
2-2-2013, Newcastle, eastbound manifest behind 7826
2-2-2013, Bowman, eastbound manifest behind 7826
2-2-2013, Secrettown, eastbound KOAMN (Stack train, Oakland to Marion, Arkansas) behind 7729
2-2-2013, Secrettown, eastbound KOAMN (Stack train, Oakland to Marion, Arkansas) DPU 1996
2-2-2013, Weimar westbound manifest behind 7204
2-2-2012, Rocklin eastbound baretable train.
3 Feb 2013, Citrus Heights, westbound Zephyr with 822 as the second unit, behind P42 25
Mike Tisdale
