slgwv's photos with the keyword: Union Pacific

Promontory Summit, Utah, where the US transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. The National Park Service runs the Golden Spike National Historic Site here, complete with a museum and operational replicas of the original locomotives (seen here). The Central Pacific built eastward from Sacramento, California, while the Union Pacific went west from Council Bluffs, Iowa. A symbolic "golden spike" was used to link the rails in a ceremony on May 10, 1869. We're standing by the Central Pacific's Jupiter here looking toward the Union Pacific's 119 (the UP just prosaically used numbers, not names). The wide funnel on the Jupiter shows it was a wood burner; as the Central Pacific was built largely thru wilderness, fuelwood was abundant. #119, OTOH, was a coal burner as shown by its straight stack. The replicas are identical to the originals in all details except for a handful of safety-related modifications. In particular, the locomotives really were this colorful! I tended to think of 19th century rolling stock as dull and gray, from all those old B&W prints, but in fact they were downright gaudy. The left inset shows the Jupiter, seen from the side; the right inset shows #119. Ironically, the railroad itself is abandoned here; it was bypassed in 1904 by the Lucin Cutoff directly across the Great Salt Lake. The rails were ripped up in 1942 for the war effort, but a mile and a half was relaid for the park in 1969. The old railroad grade continues westward as the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Transcontinental Back Country Byway (4WD recommended, but you'd probably be OK with high clearance.) It is surreal to drive along the old track alignment and see all the remnants from when it was an active rail line. It's remote and utterly deserted now. Being that it's an old railroad grade, it's also good for mountain biking. Here's the BLM writeup: www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/salt_lake/recreation/back_country ...

Just off Interstate 80 west of Reno, Nevada, looking west toward California. The California-Nevada state line crosses the slope in the background, running more or less horizontally just beyond the trees at the base. The railroad, part of the Union Pacific system, is the original east-west transcontinental route. Verdi was originally a tank stop for refilling the steam locomotives, but has morphed into a bedroom for Reno. Altho named for the Italian opera composer, it's locally pronounced "verr-dye" (!), with a long "i". The Truckee rises from the overflow of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada and flows thru Reno on its way to landlocked Pyramid Lake. Hence we're looking upstream here.

Looking back west. The railroad visible on the right is the Union Pacific, on its way between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The clump of trees (tamarisks) along the track in the middle distance is (IIRC) the former water stop of Crucero. There's nothing there now. The scraggly shrub in the foreground is a creosote bush.

Along the (usually) dry Mojave River in the middle of the Mojave Desert, California, on its route between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. This was the original route between L.A. and Salt Lake City, built in 1905. Las Vegas as a city owes its founding to construction of the railroad; the railroad located a settlement there because of a large spring ("las vegas" = "the meadows" in Spanish), and the city now celebrates this as its founding. For the first couple of decades of existence Vegas was a little railroad town--only the construction of nearby Hoover (Boulder) Dam in the 1930s started its explosive growth in the 20th century. The Mojave rises in the San Bernardino Mountains east of L.A. and flows northeast out into the desert. The canyon is of disproportionate importance to wildlife because the shallow bedrock locally forces water to the surface. Vehicle traffic thru the canyon is now effectively blocked because of several deep fords--even with my Jeep I didn't try them!

Feather River route (old Western Pacific), California, very near the Nevada line. There also used to be a railroad line running at the base of those mountains in the distance, but it was torn up some years ago. The economics of modern railroading--if you're not using the tracks 24/7, it's not worth it. Looking northeast.

Along the Humboldt River on the original US transcontinental route. The route of the Western Pacific (Feather River route) also comes thru this canyon (it's on the other side), and in fact parallels the transcontinental route for 100 miles or so. Of course, it's all Union Pacific now, but even back before the railroads had merged there was a joint operating agreement along the parallel tracks, such that one side was westbound and the other eastbound.

Where the US transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. The National Park Service runs the Golden Spike National Historic Site there, complete with a museum and operational replicas of the original locomotives, the Central Pacific's Jupiter and the Union Pacific's #119. (The Central Pacific was building eastward from California, while the Union Pacific built westward.) Note the differences in the locomotives' smokestacks. The wide funnel on the Jupiter was due to its being fueled by wood, while #119 was coal-fired. A screen over the top of the wide funnel on wood-burning locomotives was supposed to stop sparks, and thus keep the countryside from catching fire. It didn't always work... Ironically, the railroad itself is abandoned; it was bypassed in 1904 by the Lucin Cutoff laid directly across the Great Salt Lake. The rails were ripped up in 1942 for the war effort, but a mile and a half was relaid for the park in 1969.

Some historical background that may be of interest: This is the original route of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, built in 1905, between those cities. Las Vegas, Nevada, owes its existence as a city to this construction; in 1905, lots were platted and sold along the railroad line at what's now the intersection of Fremont and Main streets. Las Vegas now counts this as its founding, and even had a centennial celebration in 2005. Previously Las Vegas ("The Meadows" in Spanish, due to a large spring) had only been a stop on the Old Spanish Trail and counted only a handful of inhabitants at a couple of ranches. The railroad located a station there because of the spring, which furnished water for the locomotives. So, Las Vegas began its existence as a little railroad town! It remained so until the 1930s, when the construction of Hoover (Boulder) Dam on the Colorado River started its explosive growth in the 20th century. The Mojave River flows thru Afton Canyon, and usually has surface water here because the shallow bedrock forces it to the surface. It's thus an unexpected oasis in the desert. The Mojave rises in the San Bernadino Mountains on the eastern margin of the Los Angeles basin.

About to cross the Mojave River; which actually has surface water thru here.

Westbound on the old Feather River route (Western Pacific), about 10 miles east of Gerlach, Nevada.