Calimus Hill
Chiloquin, Oregon
UP Cascade Sub (Former Southern
Pacific) MP456.0 to MP472.0
Railroad Photography
A Stockton to Vancouver manifest, led by a rainbow of BNSF
schemes pulls up Calimus Hill.
More of my railroad photography is
available courtesy of Railswest.
The
area of focus on this page is the section of track between Klamath Falls and Chemult, Oregon. The line was built by Southern Pacific in the
1920s. From Klamath
Falls to
Lobert, the tracks are accessible from Highway 97. There are numerous
good views. From Lobert to Chiloquin, the tracks run along a ridge on
the east side of the tracks while the Williamson River is on the west. All access is on private land.
Please don't trespass!
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The tracks are again accessible from Chiloquin to MP 460.0 via Old Korral Road and Forest Service Road #5811. Access to the north (east) switch of Calimus siding
can gained by taking Forest Service Road #43 (Kirk Road) to Forest Service
Road #4502. Keep the tracks on your left and turn onto Road #9731.
This road also takes you back to Collier State
Park
and US
Highway
97. The 9730 grade crossing is currently open. When you reach this grade crossing, an
access road on the west side of the tracks is available all the way to the
FS9731 crossing. There is also access
to the south switch area at Calimus along this road. During the winter, this road is plowed and
somewhat accessible. Between MP 460.0 and 470.3 (Kirk Road), 4WD is VERY HELPFUL if not needed any time of the
year. Mud can be thick, but seldom
presents passage except for the BIG hill at MP460. During the summer months, the pumice can be
very soft so you probably need to stay on hard packed roads and
surfaces. Train speeds are generally
40MPH or less between Chiloquin and Calimus as trains climb the 0.8% grade.
From Kirk to Chemult, access is fairly good, especially during the
summer months. Train speeds, however, are usually faster than 50 MPH in
this section and views are somewhat hampered due to the flat, forested
landscape.
Map of Calimus
Hill
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The
best times to observe are between 4:00am
and 10:00am for two reasons. Almost all of the access to the
tracks (without crossing the tracks) is from the east side. The natural
lighting can be used to a photographer's advantage. In addition, about
1/3 of the days traffic (BNSF H PASBAR1, H VBCBAR9, H BARPAS1, UP ZLCBR, QPDRV, QWPRV , QEDRV and AMTRAK #14
) occurs during those hours, especially during the summer months.
During the winter, the morning traffic is usually spread out between 4:00am and 11:00am.
Meets at Chiloquin are common during these hours all year round.
Afternoon and evening traffic (BNSF M STOVAW, Baretable, UP MWCPD,
MRVPT, QPTRV and the ZSELC), is generally sporadic during all the seasons.
Some summer evenings can provide numerous opportunities on days when
there are long MOW openings.
The busiest time of the day is between about 6:00pm and 11:00pm
when a fleet of southbound “Q” trains (QPDRVB, MEURV, QCORV, trains combine
with AMTRAK against a number of northbound manifests (MRVPD, MRVHK) and the ZLCBR.
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Scenery
includes numerous cuts and sharp curves. Backdrops contain the Cascade Mountains and the Williamson River Valley and Canyon. Groves of Ponderosa Pine and Aspen provide various colors.
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Places to Go
Calimus Hill Photographs by me
Calimus Hill Photographs by Greg
Brown
Calimus Hill Photographs by Kyle Pohll
A Budding Photographer (Kyle’s Page)
I5 Corridor Railroad Discussion Group
Western Railfan Links
Email Me