This year Elizabeth and I planned on driving to Winterail 2022 in Corvallis, Oregon. Since there were places to visit on the way, we decided to take our time. We would drive to Stockton the first day, then ride the Altamont Corridor Express train to San Jose, ride Caltrains to San Francisco and return and finally ACE back to Stockton and stay in Lodi. The next day would feature stations and steam engines on the way to the Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir where just under two years ago, I proposed to Elizabeth in the Central California Traction caboose. This time, though, we would be staying in a Santa Fe caboose. March 13th called for more stations on the way to North Bend, Oregon and a visit to Coos Bay. The next day, some stations in both Oregon and Washington with an overnight in Centralia.
On March 16th, we planned to pick up Robin in Albany off the Coast Starlight then head north to The Dalles to enable us to visit the Columbia River Gorge for some railfanning before heading to Lebanon that evening. That brings us to the Trains Magazine Photo Charter featuring recently-restored Santa Maria Valley 2-6-2 205. That evening being just before Winterail, I would show "The Year of Trains in The Life of Chris Guenzler part 2". The next two days will be the Winterail event for this year, after which we start the journey home, spending the nights in Klamath Falls and Merced.
3/10/2022 Elizabeth and I had a good breakfast before we packed the car with Elizabeth driving. We took CA Highway 22 to Interstate 5 over Tejon Pass to the rest area. She continued driving north on CA Highway 99 to Tulare.
Just south of Delano, we caught Union Pacific 7443 East heading south up the San Joaquin Valley. Elizabeth then drove us to Tulare where we stopped for lunch at The Habit. Afterwards I drove us north on CA Highway 99 on the way to Stockton.
Western Milling GP7 1338, ex. BNSF 1338, exx. Santa Fe 2138, nee Santa Fe 2697 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1951 at Goshen.
Western Rail Inc. SD38AC 201, nee Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range 201 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1971 and Railpower Technologies RP20BD 5406 built by Railpower from Norfolk Southern B36-7 3609, Conrail 5021 and Norfolk Southern 3609. Orignially built by General Electric in 1983 at Traver.
Union Pacific 9050 East heading south up the San Joaquin Valley at Irrogosa. From here I drove Elizabeth first to Livingston so she could check if the city had a municipal pin, but they did not. I then drove us to Chemurgic for a railroad surprise for her.
Turlock Western S12 17, ex. US Steel 17, nee ARMCO Steel 706 built by Baldwin in 1955.
Turlock Western 44 ton switcher 25, ex. Stockton, Terminal and Eastern 25, nee Central California Traction 25 built by General Electric in 1946.
Bruggere & Monson (BUGX) VO-1000 621, nee Seaboard Air Line 1402 built by Baldwin in 1941.
Southern Pacific SD9 4401, nee Southern Pacific 5480 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1956.
A cab of a Burlington Northern switcher.
St. Louis-Southwestern GP40-2 7632 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1979. From here we left and headed toward Turlock then had to stop at a grade crossing of the old Tidewater Southern.
Railpower Technologies RP20BD 5403 built in 2007 from Burlington Northern B30-7AB 4088 at Turlock.
We then went to Stockton City Hall where Elizabeth was successful in getting a municipal pin. It was a short drive to the Red Roof Inn for the night and shortly after, I went out to Kentucky Fried Chicken and bought myself dinner and an A&W root beer and brought it back to the room. Elizabeth was not hungry. Much later, we called it a night.
3/11/2022 Elizabeth and I arose and after checking out, I drove us to McDonald's on Charter Lane as there were no other restaurants in the area and our train was scheduled to depart at 7:32 AM. We took the food with us and I parked in the ACE parking lot and we ate. We then bought a pair of round-trip tickets to San Jose and valdated them. With a San Joaquin train due, I set up for pictures.
The Southern Pacific Stockton station built in 1930, known as the Robert J. Cabral Station since 2003.
San Joaquin train 702 for Bakersfield came in, stopped and left.
ACE Train 7 came into Stockton and we boarded the car behind the engine.
Altamont Corridor Express InformationThe Altamont Corridor Express (also known as ACE, formerly Altamont Commuter Express) is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs. Service is managed by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, and operations are contracted to Herzog Transit Services. The 86-mile route includes ten stops, with travel time about 2 hours and 12 minutes end-to-end. The tracks are owned by Union Pacific Railroad, previously built along the Western Pacific Railroad main line. ACE uses Bombardier bi-level coaches, MPI F40PH-3C locomotives and Siemens Charger locomotives.
Service began on October 19, 1998, with two weekday round trips. A third round trip was added in May 2001, followed by a fourth round trip in October 2012. Saturday service commenced in September 2019. As of 2018, average weekday ridership was 5,900.
Our TripWe left a few minutes late, but we were off to San Jose.
We crossed the BNSF mainline to Richmond.
Elizabeth, my most beautiful wife. We stopped at Lathrop and later Tracy.
Windmills, Tracy and the San Joaquin Valley. Now sit back and enjoy a trip over Altamont Pass with the former Southern Pacific grade.
The crossing of Altamont Pass. The train stopped at Vasco, Livermore and Pleasanton before we reached Niles Canyon.
The Sunol Southern Pacific station from where most of my excursions on that railroad started.
Two semaphore signals along that route. Elizabeth and I kissed in both tunnels.
Coming into Niles.
The crossing that I have been over many times.
The train stopped at Fremont at the Southern Pacific Centerville station built in 1910.
The salt water ponds at the Morton Salt Plant.
Across the southern San Franscisco Bay are two blimp hangars.
The ghost town of Alviso before our train stopped at Great America.
Levi's Stadium and the San Francisco 49ers' training facility in the foreground.
We stopped at Santa Clara and saw the Santa Clara depot along with Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company business car 184 which built in 1912 and sold to the Oregon Shortline Railroad and later absorbed by the Union Pacific. It belongs to the South Bay Historical Railroad Society.
Caltrain F40PH-2 920 "Morgan Hill" built by Boise in 1998.
Caltrain F40PH-2 904 "Palo Alto" built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985.
Caltrain F40PH-2-CAT 908 "Redwood City" built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985.
Caltrain MP36PH-3C 923 built by Motive Power Industries in 2003.
Caltrain F40PH-2 914 "Atherton" built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985.
Caltrain F40PH-2-CAT 916 "California" built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985.
Our ACE Train had F40PH-3C 3105, built by Motive Power Industries in 2000 and 3103, built by Motive Power Industries in 1997 in San Jose.
Bombardier bi-level coaches and a cab car was used on our train. We bought two one-way tickets to San Francisco.
Caltrans SC-44 2108 built by Siemens in 2018.
Capitol Corridor train 527 arrived in San Jose.
Caltrans SC-44 2104 built by Siemens in 2017.
Caltrain F40PH-2-CAT 911 "San Carlos" built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985.
Caltrain InformationCaltrain is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as far as Gilroy. The northern terminus of the line is in San Francisco at 4th and King Streets. Caltrain has 28 regular stops, one limited-service weekday-only stop (College Park), one weekend-only stop (Broadway) and one football-only stop (Stanford). Weekday ridership in February 2018 averaged 65,095.
Caltrain is governed by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board which consists of agencies from the three counties served by Caltrain: Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo. Each member agency has three representatives on a nine-member Board of Directors. The member agencies are the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the San Mateo County Transit District.
As part of the California High-Speed Rail project, Caltrain is electrifying 51 miles of its route from San Francisco to San Jose.
Our Trip
Our train, Caltrain 239, arrived at San Jose Diridon station and we boarded the rear coach.
Elizabeth on Caltrain.
Santa Clara station built in 1923.
Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company business car 184.
Santa Clara Tower built in 1926.
Southern Pacific Lawrence passenger shelter.
California Avenue passenger shelter.
Southern Pacific Palo Alto station built in 1940.
Southern Pacific Menlo Park built in 1867.
Caltrain Redwood City passenger shelter.
Southern Pacific San Carlos station built in 1888.
Southern Pacific Hillsdale station.
Southern Pacific Burlingame station built in 1894. We ran the rest of the way to Millbrae where we had to detrain since the line was closed between here and San Francisco due to yesterday's incident of a Caltrain train hitting a boom truck and causing a fire in the locomotive.
Our train at Millbrae.
Caltrain MP36PH-3C 923 built by Motive Power Industries in 2003 at this station.
Southern Pacific Millbrae station built in 1907.
Chicago and North Western sleeping car "Civic Center" built by Pullman in 1941 and used on the City of San Francisco.
We took the train all the way back to San Jose and detrained.
Our train at San Jose. As we had about two-and-a-half hours to spare, Elizabeth walked to Subway for lunch and I enjoyed an A&W Root Beer from the store inside the station then looked around the depot before Elizabeth returned; we went up to the platforms to watch the trains come and go.
Caltrans SC-44 2108 at San Jose.
The Capitol Corridor train from earlier left the station and moved over to Track 8.
Caltrans SC-44 2124 built by Siemens in 2020.
Caltrain 249 stopped briefly into San Jose before leaving for Millbrae.
Caltrain 117 returning to the maintenance facility.
Former Metrolink coach JPBX 178 built by Bombardier in 1997.
Caltrain F40PH-2-CAT 915 "South San Francisco" built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985.
Caltrain F40PH-2C 922, built by Boise in 1998, leads another former Metrolink coach through the station.
Caltrain F40PH-2-CAT 900 "San Francisco" built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985.
Capitol Corridor train 541 came into San Jose Diridon station.
Caltrans F59PHI 2007 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1994.
Our ACE Train 4 came into Track one and we boarded the car behind the locomotive for the trip back to Stockton.
My roundtrip ACE ticket.
The current ACE train schedule.
Union Pacific GP38 733, nee Missouri Pacific 2233 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1980 and GP40-2 1448, nee Denver and Rio Grande Western 3101 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1972 at the Fremont yard.
Curving into Niles Canyon.
Later we crossed the California Aquaduct.
Curving to cross the San Joaquin River.
At the junction of the former Southern Pacific Fresno Line, a train was coming onto the former Western Pacific so we again would run via Lathrop. It had been a great day of train riding and we detrained at Stockton.
ACE SC44 3112 built by Siemens in 2019 had been the power for our train this afternoon.
Our train at rest at Stockton. We returned to the car and before we started off, Elizabeth put in the directions to Lodi. I drove us to Denny's for dinner and a very short drive afterwards to the Days Inn, where we checked in for the night.
3/12/2022 We arose and after checking the Internet, the two of us checked out and drove to the station here.
Southern Pacific Lodi station built in 1907. From here we went to the Black Bear Diner for breakfast. I then filled our car with petrol and we drove CA Highway 12 to Interstate 5, then US 50 onto Interstate 80 to Davis, our next stop of the day.
Southern Pacific Davis Tower built in 1913.
Southern Pacific Davis station, also built in 1913.
Southern Pacific sunset herald on the roof.
Southern Pacific name on the building. I then drove CA Highway 133 to Woodland.
Southern Pacific Woodland station built in 1911 and moved to its current site in 1992. It is owned by the Sacramento Valley Historical Railway Society.
Southern Pacific 0-6-0 1233 built by Baldwin in 1918 which was placed in the Yolo County Fairgrounds in 1957 and restored to service in 1989. Later it was used on the Yolo Shortline Railroad and moved back to the Woodland station where it sits today.
Southern Pacific caboose 1156 built by the railroad in 1942.
Yolo Shortline 50 ton switcher 50 built by General Electric in 1939 as Spreckles Sugar 1. After being leased to Yolo Shortline, they donated it to the Sacramento Valley Historical Railway Society in 1985. We moved the car to a parking lot across the street from our next quarry.
California Northern Railway 3GS21B 502 built in 2009.
California Northern Railway SE24B 2402 built in 2019.
California Northern Railway 3GS21B 500 built in 2010. From here I drove us to Esparto to our next station and a few surprises.
The Southern Pacific Esparto station built in 1888 for the Vaca Valley Railroad.
Southern Pacific coffee shop car 10401 built by Pullman-Standard in 1939 and used on the Morning Daylight. It was placed here in 2020.
Southern Pacific caboose, unknown number, in Esparto. We tried to locate the staiton in Capay but had no luck, then drove a two-lane road to Interstsate 5 en route to our next station in Arbuckle.
The Southern Pacific Arbuckle station built in 1876 and looking rather worse for wear. Our next stop was Orland.
Southern Pacific Orland station built in 1882 and re-located to the Glenn County Fairgrounds after 1982.
Southern Pacific bay window caboose 432 built by American Car and Foundry in 1949 as Texas and New Orleans.
A pair of wig-wag crossing signals.
This Southern Pacific steam engine is on the grounds.
The Wyo Junction car barn of the Orland, Newville and Pacific 15" gauage railroad.
Southern Pacific 2-8-0 2852 built by the railroad in 1919 and donated to Orland in 1959, which has been in the fairgrounds ever since. I drove Elizabeth to our next stop at Cottonwood.
Southern Pacific Cottonwood station built in 1909 and now home to a dentist's office. Elizabeth then drove us to Redding where we had linner at Jersey Mike's, then we made our way to the Railroad Park Resort at Dunsmuir.
Our caboose this time was Santa Fe 999584, built by the railroad in 1942 as 2080, with our car in this picture.
Anderson & Middletown Lumber Company Willamette 3 truck Shay 7 was built by the Willamette Iron and Steel Works in Portland, Oregon in 1926 as Anderson & Middleton Lumber Company 2 in Cottage Grove. In 1935, it was sold to the Western Lumber Company in Westfir, Oregon (later Westfir Lumber and then Edward Hines Lumber). It was bought and rebuilt by the West Salem Machine Company in 1949 and went on to serve another fifteen years as Medford Corporation 7 in Jackson, Oregon. It was donated to the Siskiyou Recreational Development League in 1965 and is now on display at the Railroad Park in Dunsmuir.
A wedge snowplow.
A view of the Castle Crag Peaks.
A semaphore signal.
There is a logging caboose on display here. I washed my hair then caught up the stories while Elizabeth caught up on e-mail and watched a couple of television programs on her laptop before we called it a night.
3/13/2022 We woke up in the Santa Fe caboose and after we did our usual morning routines, we checked out and drove north on Interstate 5 to Mount Shasta where we ate breakfast at the original Black Bear Diner. Afterwards, I continued north to the Grenada exit where we found the station.
Southern Pacific Grenada station built in 1918. We took County Road A28 north to our next destination.
Southern Pacific Montague station built in within five weeks in 1887 and houses the Montague Railroad Museum. It served the community for ninety years and was moved to its current site in 1978.
A semaphore signal outside the museum. We continued on County Road A28 north to Interstate 5 and I drove us over Siskiyou Summit into Oregon, making our way over to the City of Jacksonville for our next station.
Rogue River Valley Railroad Jacksonville station with tracks in the street. The Rogue River Valley Railway, which operated from 1891 until 1925, was Jacksonville's attempt to maintain regional economic supremacy after the main Oregon & California/Southern Pacific railroad line by-passed the town in favor of the flat valley floor. The RRVR hauled gravel, bricks, timber, crops, livestock, mail and passengers over a five-mile, single track spur line that connected Jacksonville with Medford. The Jacksonville Visitor's Center at the corner of Oregon and C streets was constructed in 1891 as the depot for the Railway. The depot originally faced Oregon Street and a small railway switching yard occupied the present-day entrance to the post office parking lot. Today, the building serves as Jacksonville’s Visitors' Information Center. From here we drove back to Interstate 5 north to Glendale.
Southern Pacific Glendale station built in 1908 and later relocated. It is part of a senior centre. Next we filled the car with petrol and took Interstate 5 north to connect with Oregon Highway 42 but at Remote we made a brief stop.
The Sandy Creek covered bridge in Remote. Elizabeth took off driving and then we took County Road 542 to another depot in Powers and had a surprise.
Museum scenes.
Coos Bay Lumber Company speeder.
Coos Bay Lumber Company Powers station also used by the Southern Pacific.
One last museum scene. Elizabeth drove us to Coquille.
Southern Pacific Coquille station. From here we drove into Coos Bay and found the Oregon Coast Historical Railway Museum which was closed so I took pictures through the fence.
Coos Bay Rail Line GP30 1909, ex. Larry's Truck and Electric 2448, exx. BNSF 2448, exxx. ATSF 2748 nee ATSF GP30 1248 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1963.
On September 21, 2007, Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad (CORP) elected to shut down most of its Coos Bay branch. The track was closed between Vaughn and Coquille, Oregon (south of Coos Bay). This action was taken after it was revealed that the nine aging tunnels on the line required repairs that were internally estimated to cost up to $7 million. Some local opinion regarded this action unfavorably, as the railroad asked for state funds to repair their private rail line.
On October 23, 2007, the Port of Coos Bay filed a $15 million lawsuit against CORP, in response to its closing of the Coos Bay Branch. The suit claims that CORP failed to provide the required 180 days' notice that it would shut down a leased spur to the bay's North Spit. Among the line's many bridges are three swing bridges in Reedsport, Cushman and Coos Bay.
On November 21, 2008, the Surface Transportation Board ordered CORP to sell part of the branch to the Port of Coos Bay for $16.6 million. The 111-mile segment links Danebo, Oregon, in northwest Eugene, and Cordes siding, just north of North Bend. The price was much less than what RailAmerica, CORP's corporate parent, had desired ($25 million), and much closer to what the port had initially offered ($15 million). The Port completed the purchase of the line in 2009 and repaired the tunnels that led to the line's closure. The Port reopened the line as Coos Bay Rail Link. Service from Eugene to North Bend began in October 2011.
In 2012, the railroad continued with a $30 million rehabilitation of the line funded primarily by grants. Work commenced to fix the railroad bridge into North Bend and track infrastructure to Coquille as well as repairs to track, bridges and crossings on the entire line. The Eugene Register-Guard reported in its October 14, 2012, edition that the first locomotive to enter North Bend/Coos Bay in 5 years did so on October 12, 2012. It did not mark official reopening of this stretch of track. The locomotive was part of a work train hauling materials into the area to do repairs on the line.
On April 29, 2013, the railroad ran its first freight train out of Coquille, pulling the first rail cars of plywood from the Roseburg Forest Products mill in Coquille in five-and-a-half years. This run marked the restoration of service in the entire CBR line. Also in that year, the CBR and the Port signed a ten year agreement permitting the railroad to be the regulator operator of the rail line.
Oregon Coast Historical Railway MuseumRailroad and logging equipment in an outdoor display area and a mini-museum with photos and railroad memorabilia. The signature piece is a restored 1922 Baldwin steam locomotive that worked for many decades in the region's forests. Also displayed is a diesel switcher locomotive used in a local sawmill, along with roadbuilding machines used in conjuntion with railroad logging and two restored vintage cabooseses. Welcome aboard! Open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
Coos Bay Logging Company 2-8-2 104 is 100 years old this year! It was built by Baldwin in 1922 and delivered to the Coos Bay Logging Company, and served in the region's logging industry until the 1950s.
Trackmobile.
Southern Pacific caboose 1134 built by the railroad in 1942 and acquired in 2007.
Burlington Northern steel-frame and wooden-sided caboose 11269 built by the Great Northern Railroad in 1946. It was put into service by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad as 853 and operated on the Portland-Wishram-Spokane main line, as well as on branch lines from Astoria to Sweet Home. Burlington-Northern purchased it in about 1970, renumbered it No. 11269. It was sold to George Ackerman in Hood River in the late 1970s, and purchased by the museum in 2009.
Longview, Portland & Northern Railway S-2 111, built by American Locomotive Company in 1949 now lettered Oregon Coast Historical Railway.
Plymouth switch engine "Old Yellow" 099 built by the company in 1928 which started its career working on the construction of the Panama Canal. Later it was used in the construction of Bonneville Dam. In 1958 the government sold the locomotive to Harvey Aluminum (later Northwest Aluminum), which used it as a plant switcher for their facility at The Dalles until 1979. The locomotive was donated to The Dalles Chamber of Commerce in 1990 and placed on display near their office. Following their decision to donate the engine to our group, the society raised funds to pay for the move to Coos Bay.
George H. Chaney Timber Company crane. Elizabeth then drove us to the Quality Inn in North Bend for the night. Later we went to Subway for dinner before taking an indoor walk around Pony Village Mall then walked all the way outside. We returned to the room where I finished this part of the story as I did laundry. Elizabeth worked on her things then proofed this story before calling it a night.
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