The night went somewhat more smoothly as the tracks across Utah and Nevada were smoother and there were fewer slowdowns for other trains and fewer station stops.
Thursday (Sept. 22) morning seemed similar to Wednesday in that our great scenery would start right after breakfast. I had to make sure all my belongings were packed and about ready to go as I would be transferring trains later in the day.
The Zephyr arrived in Reno, Nevada early in the morning and we had picked up substantial time, being close to three hours late as far back as Omaha. I was still concerned about making my transfer in Sacramento to Bakersfield. It looked totally likely now.
Again, I got into the Observation Car to get good views of our ascent over the Sierras. Much of this jaunt covers roadbeds cut through in the 1860s as part of the Transcontinental Railway working its way to the east.
A couple years ago I read a great book by Stephen Ambrose titled Nothing Like it in the World about the men who built the Transcontinental Railroad between 1863 and 1869. Workers from each direction met at Promontory Point in Utah. The book details the excruciating difficulty that workers had building the Central Pacific Railroad over the Sierras from Sacramento to Reno. Many workers, mostly Chinese, lost their lives during the construction. My grandmother frequently mentioned this part of the train trips she often made to the West Coast. I always wanted to share the same experience.
One gets a great appreciation for the growth of America by understanding the construction of this railway which united the East with the West and sped the time it took to traverse the great continent. The book is a fairly easy read and held my interest throughout. Now I would be able to experience a beautiful ride because of the sweat and equity of entrepreneurs and craftsmen a century and a half ago.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of docents who gave a commentary as we made our way from Reno to Sacramento over the Donner Pass stretch. They were from the California State Railway Museum in the state capitol of Sacramento. Although one docent spoke, another was in the Observation Car for awhile. He was not a fan of the Ambrose book and felt much of it was inaccurate. Hard to tell. It does seem to have a lot of annotated notes and a sizable bibliography.
Quickly the train makes its way up the Sierra uplift, following the Truckee River, an excellent trout fishing river. Many fishermen could be seen along the way, as well as a few kayakers and rafters. We pass through a small town of Boca, which holds the record for coldest continental temperature of -45 degrees in 1937. Soon we are at Truckee, a town of 16,000. For those snow lovers, this is the place…they average 204 inches per year, making it the fifth snowiest town in America.
Truckee River (above and below) with rafters below
Those yearly snow amounts came into to play in building of the railway through the Sierras; the mid 1860s had some of the snowiest winters on record. It also came into play in the famous Donner Party in 1844 tried to cross the then unnamed pass to get to California. Nearly half of the 81 emigrants were lost. Later the narrow pass was named Donner Pass. The Zephyr travels to the south of Donner Lake, nine miles west of Truckee, with good vistas of the lake.
Of interest are the concrete snow sheds built between cuts, or extended near tunnel entrances and exits to prevent small avalanches from blocking the tracks. When the sheds were built, they were originally constructed of wood, but frequently caught on fire from sparks coming out of the coal or wood burning engines.
Concrete avalanche sheds protect the trains near the tunnels and cuts in the mountains. You have to look at the upper right to see one that the train will soon pass through. Last year nearly 700 inches of snow fell in this area.
Red Mountain housed a fire viewing station at the top, as it was the highest point in the area. They could see if the wooden avalanche sheds wee on fire from train engine sparks.
After coming out the last tunnel at the highest point the railway reaches (6,939 ft.), the grade slope is longer and gentler toward Sacramento. The tunnel is a mile south of Donner Pass, which is 7,056 feet high. The pass averages 415 inches of snow per year, but in 2010-11, more than 700 inches of snow fell.
The train makes its way to Sacramento as the slopes decrease in size and beauty. I make it to Sacramento with plenty of time to spare and eventually hook up with the San Joaquin Train between Sacramento and Bakersfield. The train goes on to Emeryville, California, near San Francisco.
I make it to Sacramento with plenty of time to spare and eventually hook up with the San Joaquin Train between Sacramento and Bakersfield. This is the Amtrak of California train that caters more to commuters traversing the state. The seats in the car are not quite as comfortable as on the Zephyr, but they are not cramped and have convenient fold-down tables and plug ins at each seat. The train left on time and arrived seven minutes early. Most stops along the way lasted for no more than two minutes. I arrived in Bakersfield about 10 p.m. Pacific Time…54 hours after I left Chicago.
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My overall impression of traveling the Amtrak California Zephyr is great. Travelling by train obviously isn’t the fast way to travel, but this line is more of a tourist trip to see such great scenery. The service was good, food great, and meeting interesting conversant people a bonus.
Some of the travelers don’t like flying and have the time to take the train. But, if you have the time, at least once you should experience this route! Perhaps you can fly back home. In my case, I will be coming home via Los Angeles on the Amtrak Super Chief. More about that later!
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