Chasing trains east of Reno NV

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Itsed65

Well-Known Member
I was originally going to post these on my east bay thread, but there are so many pictures, I decided to make a separate thread for them.

So on another trip to Nevada, I had some time to head east of Reno and chase some trains again. Much higher speeds are required to get ahead of trains out there, as they really move across the desert! It was also refreshing to have this weird phenomenon of water falling out of the sky on me.

It was really cool to see some old EMD Geeps running a full speed (at least 65 or 70) pulling a local freight:
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Local in Motion by lennycarl08, on Flickr

This GP40-2 started life in the WP. Here it is crossing the Truckee River at Patrick Nevada
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Old School Power by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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UP 9992 East by lennycarl08, on Flickr

I caught it 30 or so miles east at the little junction of Hazen Nevada. Here the branch line splits off toward Fallon and parts south.
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Slowing for the Meet by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Local Freight by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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High Desert Railroading by lennycarl08, on Flickr

At the junction a westbound was holding for the local, and it slowly pulled away after the smaller freight took the branch line.
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Got the Green by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Desert Junction by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Pushing Hard by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Power UP by lennycarl08, on Flickr

One of my favorite shots of the trip
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A Good Push by lennycarl08, on Flickr

The westbound didn't get far though, as it hit the red at the very next siding. It seems for once I picked a great day to rail fan, as there was plenty of traffic. Even if the next eastbound was a bit…short. Must be kind of fun going solo across the desert at speed like that.
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Solo Trip by lennycarl08, on Flickr

Right after the light power though, was an eastbound double stack
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High Desert High Speed by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Feel the Ground by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Desert Express by lennycarl08, on Flickr


Feeling the action was done at Hazen, I decided to head down to US 50 and make my way to Virginia City. My little local hadn't moved much since taking the branch line. The crew had to manually align the switch.
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Throw the Switch by lennycarl08, on Flickr

Heading toward Fallon, the tracks run right along the highway
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Geeps on the Move by lennycarl08, on Flickr

After a sporting drive up the windy road to Virgina City, I caught the V&T tourist road taking some school kids out for a ride with their 80 Tonner providing power. The steam is saved for weekends I guess.
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V&T B&W by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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V&T 4 by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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V&T 2 by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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V&T 1 by lennycarl08, on Flickr

All in all a fun first morning chasing trains in the new Challenger. I will post the shots form the rest of the trip soon, but the first day was definitely the best, traffic wise.
 
So on another trip to Nevada, I had some time to head east of Reno and chase some trains again. Much higher speeds are required to get ahead of trains out there, as they really move across the desert!

So that is your excuse for buying the new Challenger.

This GP40-2 started life in the WP.

I am thrilled to see that some of those old WP GP40-2's are still alive and well. I photographed them when they were brand new when I lived in Sacramento back in the 70's.

After a sporting drive up the windy road to Virgina City, I caught the V&T tourist road taking some school kids out for a ride with their 80 Tonner providing power.

I'm glad you added a branch line to your home model railroad.
 
LOL, that's almost what I was thinking when saw the second V&T photo!

It's interesting that they're using a Hancock air whistle on that unit; that's the first time I've seen photos of one in use anywhere west of the Mississippi River.
 
Just fun with Photoshop. That paint-scheme looks like a trainset to begin with ;-)

The whistle is unique, and I think i read somewhere that it is not original. The 80 tonner started life with the US Army.

Bill I agree, its really neat to see old WP gear that used to run here in the bay area still going strong.
 
Even without Photoshop it'd still look like someone's backyard G scale railroad.:)

The air whistle was added by the V&T in 2010; none of the 80 tonners built for Uncle Sam had Hancock air whistles, nor would any 80 tonners have been given them while still under DOD ownership. (Hancock had intended for these air-operated versions of their popular three-chime steam whistles to compete with Nathan's and Leslie's products, but 90-110 PSI compressed air doesn't work nearly as well as 250-300 PSI steam, and most of these whistles were replaced with air horns on mainline locomotives. Most surviving examples are now found only on museum and shortline locomotives or are owned by collectors.)
 
The rest of the shots from my recent Reno trip…

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UP 8755 at CP Patrick by lennycarl08, on Flickr

I guess this is the modern version of the old PFE
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Part of the Scenery by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Symmetry by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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113 Year Old Bridge by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Perishable Express by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Shades of the Pacific Fruit Express by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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Running East in the Rain by lennycarl08, on Flickr

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East Through the Rain by lennycarl08, on Flickr

After that shot, it was time to head home. Sadly, I didn't see any westbound traffic to chase over Donner. Still for a little mini vacation, I did pretty well this time out.
 
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