I was just looking at some videos of the place and the cation was stating that the place was just recently banned by Union Pacific. The video showed a few of the Trespassing signs. Is this true??? Why? Thanks alot. Dillon Harrison
There might be a single reason,and that is next week Amtrak is taking the Coast
Starlite up that way with 3 private cars behind it.They might be starting that
6 weeks before National Railroad Day which is May 10…Also it might be the snow.
and for safty reasons… Dave Br
That’s what I hear. Why? Because UP could care less about railfanning and generally sucks at PR, too.
If this is true it is probably due to a small group of people who ruined it for everyone else. UP may be reacting to complaints from crews i.e. people shooting at trains from the lookouts…who knows.
My wife and I were there last fall and were inside the loop. After a short time a hi-rail truck came along and asked us to leave. He told us we had to be behind the fence on the outside of the loop. We were not the only one he asked to go and he was real nice about it. The place to view trains then is at the dirt road crossing at the loop. I have to add that this is one of the coolest places to watch trains!
When is this suppoed to happen?
UP has banned all trespassers on the property, and that happens to include railfans. UP doesn’t have any animosity to railfans per se, but if they make an exception for one group they open themselves up to liability and resulting lawsuits.
The UP Police will nicely ask you to leave the first time, but repeat “visitors” may wind up with a pricey citation. Vandals and thieves get a free night in the local “graybar hotel” pending a court appearance.
Please note that employees, agreement and management both, have been told to report trespassers for security reasons.
Both UP and BNSF have had problems w/ theft of merchandise from trains in that area. The slower speeds of the trains on the grades there allow the bad guys easier access. Keeping everybody away is the simplest way of trying to sort out the bad guys from the ok guys.
On my 2 visits there, I was largely on public right of way and found tons of places to photograph. This wouldn’t discourage me from going back.