Hey there! I’m looking to plan a couple of rail watching trips for me and my girlfriend ( who, for the record, can tolerate railfanning but isn’t as excited by it as I am) and one of the potential trips would be to California. I was checking out Dunsmuir as the Railroad Park Resort is there and I know UP runs through town. Can anyone give me any other info/tips on the area or the best places to railfan/photograph nearby? Also has anyone stayed at the Railroad Park Resort before?
This trip wouldn’t need be exclusive to Dunsmuir either, as we are considering making this a 5-7day vacation if we go out west. We are considering the Oakland area (thanks to the TRAINS mag article) and I’ve been re-reading some of my literaure on the topic (such as North American Hotspots). We will have a car, whether it is a rental or we drive out there.
If anyone can suggest other places I’d appreicate it! Of particular interests are places that fit 2 or more of the following criteria:
1.) Lots of railroad traffic, preferably freight traffic but Amtrak is okay too.
2.) Rail related museums,parks, hotels, historic sites, etc.
3.) Good shopping, restaurants or store unique to the area.
4.) Non-rail related museums, parks, and historic sites.
5.) Nice hotels to stay at (By nice I mean clean and pleasant but preferably not too expensive)
6.) Other points of interest.
I must admit that I’ve never been to California (despite having an uncle who lives in San Diego) so the prospects of this trip really excite me! [:D] Thanks in advance.
Hey Mike,
Dunsmuir is a nice town and has a lot of railroad history. I don’t know about motels as I’ve never stayed there. I can tell you a little about the area. The Main UP line runs through there and it used to have a lot of steam facilities and such. It was and is a division point and crews from Klamath Falls,Or. and Roseville change there. There is a model rr club somewhere in town that has a layout. There is also a steam loco in the local park.
Going south there is Castle Craigs, There is a famous railroad photo angle of the Craigs there. Further down you run into lake Shasta and it’s activities. You can rent houseboats,jet skis and such. The line was relocated when they built the dam and there is a trestle crossing under the I-5 bridge that is a good place to enjoy water activities with the family and watch trains. Then there is Redding with it’s massive trestle over the Sacramento river. There is a nice park below it but I don’t remember it’s name. By the way I think my uncle is running between Roseville and Dunsmuir these days so be sure to wave at the crews [;)]. I haven’t railfanned that much in this area per say, but I have been through there hundreds of times.
Going north out of Dunsmuir there is Cantara loops, famous for an SP derailment.
This is a nice spot to kick it and mabee even do a little fishing.
Next you have Mt. Shasta City where the McCloud River RR interchanges with the UP. The MCRR is up for abandonment east of McCloud and probably will not see freight operations after that, so a MCRR freight would be a good catch. You might consider going up to McCloud and staying in one of the cabooses they rent (fixed up like rooms). I would make reservations there though. There is also the Mt. Shasta Dinner Train that runs out of McCloud. You will have to check there website for info on that.
Dunsmuir is a very good railroad town. Lots of railroad related things like signals and so on all around town. The same gentle man who handles the Dunsmuir web cam on train orders also has another web site (Los Angeles River Railroads) is a very good source of information. Every so often when the Bieber Line is down for repair the BNSF traffic travels thru Dunsmuir on the UP.
BLack Butte is the connection between the Central Oregon & Pacific and Union Pacific. However, it is very close to Weed. CORP does have a switcher that does work around Weed during the day, but for the most part the hauler trains that go over the Siskiyous are all-night jobs.
The Yreka Western is an interesting catch. They are very, very busy at the moment, as they have regained all of the traffic they lost due to the tunnel fire. Their steam locomotive is a 90-ton Baldwin logging mikado, #19, which served owners in Arkansas and Mexico before coming to the nearby McCloud River Railroad in 1924. The Yreka Western bought it in 1953 and have used it ever since except for the period of 1970-1988 when it worked on the affiliated Oregon Pacific & Eastern railroad in Cottage Grove, OR. There is a sign attached to the door of the Yreka depot claiming that they will have the #19 back up and running by May. Their freight locomotive alternates between an EMD SW-8 (dynamic-brake and m.u. equipped!) and an Alco MRS-1.
The McCloud Railway is also an interesting shortline. They are still using their three SD38’s to bring heavy lumber and diatomaceous earth drags out of Burney once or twice a week. The current management does have most of the railroad up for abandonment, but there are two Notices of Intent to file Offers of FInancial Assistance filed with the STB now. The current rumors have the current management ending operations east of McCloud sometime between now and March, but if events continue to unfold as they are they may be around longer than that. In the meantime they also run Thursday-Saturday excursion trains out of McCloud…these trains kick off with an excursion train that runs partway up the hill out of McCloud in the late afternoon, followed by the Shasta Sunset Dinner Train each night. TAKE THIS TRAIN IF YOU CAN! They do a first class job with their on-board food service. You can visit the Shasta Sunset’s homepage at:
If you have time and want some variety to North to Klamath Falls, Oregon. The BNSF joins (Northbound) UP and runs on trackage rights about 70 miles north to Chemeult. First half of this is along Klamath Lake which is very scenic.
Crater Lake National Park is to the West of this segment. Crater Lake is great scenery and geology, but it is a summer only trip.
Instead of going to Oakland, go east on I-80 thru Sacramento to Roseville. UP (nee SP main yard). Follow I-80 east about an hour and half up over Donner summit (look to your right and you will see the SP mainline over the Sierra Nevada’s.as you go up the mountain. Just over the summit is Truckee. A nice small town. Railroad passes through it. You can find good hotels and LOTS of trains.
