Whilst in Gold Run today, I happened upon a "train meet" between UP 7834, a brand new Union Pacific General Electric ES44AC (the newest fuel-efficient and "greenest" locomotive from GE, an AC-powered unit with 4,400 horsepower) and Amtrak's #5 (westbound) California Zephyr, powered by GE P42DC (4,250 horsepower, DC-driven, manufactured in October of 2001) #206 on point.
From where I stood, just after #5 passed by westbound on the #1 track, UP 7834 hauled by and acknowledged my presence with a nice horn series -- thanks. Here's a video of UP 7834.
The new GE ES44AC sported pristine armour-yellow UP paint (that won't last long running through the tunnels over Donner Pass) and was followed by UP # 6439, a GE AC4400CW (AC-driven, 4,400 horsepower).
Capturing a train meet on film or video is a rare event indeed, completely subject to the whim of the variables involved.
While it was 99 degrees in Sacramento, it was 80 degrees in Gold Run.
MP 154
Wow!
ReplyDeleteDidn't realize you shared a love for the rails. While I only model the rails, the thing I love most is the operations.
Would that I had the room to model the Roseville sub, but I would have to concentrate on the old steam locos...
Good for people to know.
ReplyDeletePeople think I enjoy model railroads -- not particularly. I enjoy the REAL thing. There's a spot not far from the house where I put you at eye-level with the engineer, four feet away from a 15,000 to 20,000 HP consist of locomotives rumbling by at 25 - 30 mph. Trust me, once you've had your lungs shaken by POWER like that, you'll be HOOKED.
ReplyDeleteMP154
Believe me, I am hooked on the real thing. I grew up in Colorado, in a red brick school house that had been converted to a home, and the SP crossing was less than half a block away. I would get up every time I heard a locomotive coming and stand on the upstairs outer balcony or the mid-stair landing (if it was too cold outside) in my pajamas and watch the big steam of the early sixties pulling car after car past the house. If I was lucky enough to be outside when one came by, I would drop whatever I was doing and run to the crossing to watch. Of course, Mom would then scold me for leaving the yard without letting her know where I was going...
ReplyDeleteCary, once I get my sidebar blogroll set up by Bushwack (I'm an HTML idiot!), I'm going to be posting at least once a week, with lots of my photos. There's tons of traffic running by my cabin in the Sierras under all weather conditions.
ReplyDeleteMP154
Looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteAll I see nowadays is the BSF freights rolling slowly through the switchblocks at the Bethany Home and McDowell yards.