Southern Pacific 4449 ran under the US 197 highway bridge, which was the only highway we would go under in the canyon. We had climbed 900 feet from the crossing of the Columbia River.
The rear of our train south of Maupin.
South of Maupin were interesting rock formations.
More views of the Deschutes River Canyon.
Southern Pacific 4449 then entered the next tunnel in the canyon.
The Deschutes River Canyon continued to change as we rolled south.
We passed Dixon siding at MP 71 crossing the Deschutes just before North Junction as we travelled toward Bend.
The Deschutes River Canyon between Dixon and North Junction.
Crossing the Deschutes River just before North Junction.
Yet another tunnel and more interesting rock formations.
The fields at South Junction.
At South Junction, the train turned east to follow Trout Creek and left the Deschutes River.
We crossed the 390 foot long Trout Creek bridge.
Southern Pacific 4449 continued to climb out of Trout Creek Canyon.
We had climbed all the way out of Trout Creek Canyon and highballed through Gateway and onto Madras.
Southern Pacific 4449 than ran over the 970 foot long and 200 foot high Willow Creek trestle.
The Willow Creek Trestle as seen from a driving trip at the 2005 National Railway Historical Society convention.
Crossing Willow Creek Trestle.
I photographed the former Oregon Trunk station at Metolius built in 1911, which had been moved away from the BNSF tracks.
The chasers provided us with good entertainment as we continued south near Opal City.
A view looking back from Opal City.
Southern Pacific 4449 next crossed the Crooked River Bridge, a 340 foot long truss span which is 320 feet above the river.
The bridge from 2005.
You could see the old highway bridge over the Crooked River to the east.
Next we saw Smith Rock which is very popular with rock climbers as we passed through Terrebonne.
At Prineville Junction, we saw the Crooked River Dinner Train, which was getting ready to depart for Prineville as the steam excursion blasted through. We ran south through Redmond but had to take the siding and wait for a BNSF local to proceed north at Deschutes. Once it had cleared, we made our way into Bend, passing the BNSF station and the wye before we reversed into a yard track for the night. We all detrained and found the shuttle buses that would take us to the correct motels. It had been a fantastic trip behind Southern Pacific 4449 and now it was time for a nice dinner and a hot shower.
Bend, OregonChris and I detrained and waited in the dark with a group of passengers going to the Hampton Inn and had to wait for the bus to return from taking the first group.
The bus returned and took us to the motel at the north end of Bend. Chris and I received the key to room 148 and we deposited our bags in the room then walked to Riverfront Crossing, "The Best Steakhouse in Bend". There I had a filet mignon that took care of my hunger and we returned to the hotel for the night.
It had been a great day behind Southern Pacific 4449 and we were going to do it all again tomorrow. Does it get any better than this?
