[?]

National Railway Society Convention in Sacramento 6/20-25/1999

This year's National Railway Historical Society convention was held in conjunction with the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society in Sacramento with the Central Coast Chapter organizing the event. It also coincided with Railfair 99, held at the California State Railroad Museum. My plan was to ride the Thruway bus to Bakersfield then catch Amtrak's San Joaquin to Sacramento and stay with my brother Bruce and his family. I filled out the registration forms and was successful in acquiring tickets for three of the convention excursions.

6/20/1999 I took the midnight Thruway bus from Santa Ana for Bakersfield before boarding San Joaquin 713 for Stockton then the Thruway bus to Sacramento. Bruce met me and we walked over to the Holiday Inn, the convention hotel, where I picked up my convention packet and tickets.

6/21/1999 I drove into Sacramento early to work with my brother Bruce and my activities started with breakfast in old Sacramento before Railfair 99 opened its doors. See Railfair 99 for photographs of the event. I then met Bruce and his wife Karla for dinner before we all called it a day.

After several times of riding San Joaquin trains through Port Chicago and wishing the route would remain on Santa Fe tracks into Richmond, today was my opportunity for this to occur. Bruce drove me into work again with him and I waited for our train to arrive from Oakland. The equipment was delayed as it ran behind Capitol Corridor 720, which was having some mechanical problems. The Coast Starlight arrived while we were waiting and two Union Pacific freights passed through town before our trainset finally arrived almost two hours late.

It was the Amtrak West excursion train running push-pull with F40PH's on both ends, including Operation Lifesaver 231, six Horizon cars, a dinette and former Great Northern dome "Mountain View". The dome car had been running in the San Diegan pool and I had ridden in it many times. We finally departed Sacramento and went east to Elvas Tower, where we turned south towards Stockton, passed the Siemens plant and crossed Calvine Road, where I had driven over the former Southern Pacific line to and from Bruce's house. We travelled south through Elk Grove and under Highway 99 before crossing both the Consumnes River and Deadman Gulch before going through Galt then went through Acampo before crossing Mokelumne River and rolling into Lodi with its nicely-restored depot.

The special next crossed Bear Creek before entering northern Stockton and we ran down to El Pinal, where the former Western Pacific now came onto the former Southern Pacific line through Stockton. We passed the Stockton Terminal and Eastern interchange and the former Southern Pacific station before coming to a halt at the interchange track with the former Santa Fe (now BNSF). Here we sat for the next two hours near where Stockton Tower stood, which had been demolished on May 27th. In that time, as the BNSF refused to take the train, Amtrak San Joaquin Trains 712 and 711 both went by, as did two of BNSF's own freight trains.

Once we were finally allowed onto the BNSF, we ran into Mormon Yard to switch ends before we resuming the journey, crossing the former Southern Pacific line and by the Santa Fe station where Amtrak stops then ran south of the Port of Stockton before crossing French Camp Slough. We proceeded out into California Delta country through Gillis and after Holt, crossed Whiskey Slough then made our way to Middle River, crossing branches of the San Joaquin River and at Orwood, crossed the main channel on a drawbridge. Our excursion train then ran west to Bixler before we curved to the northwest, going through Knightsen and Oakley where we turned to the west through Antioch along the south shore of the San Joaquin River.

The route passed the industries and steel mills at Pittsburgh then Suisan Bay was to the north as the river emptied into it. We crossed over the former Southern Pacific line to Tracy and passed through Port Chicago and the Concord Weapons Station before going by the interchange that the San Joaquin trains use to reach Martinez and I was now on virgin track. We passed the refinery and crossed Pachero Creek before going into the siding at Maltby for an eastbound BNSF freight, followed by a cab hop. Time was fleeting and the crew was wondering if they would die on the hours-of-service law. We ran behind Vine Hill and around the south side of Martinez, crossed the Muir Trestle and made our way up the canyon to Glen Frazier before plunging into Franklin Tunnel under Franklin Ridge. We emerged on the west side along Rodeo Creek and ran to Christie siding, then descended the canyon to Hercules, past the siding at Collier then went underneath Interstate 80.

Our train travelled through Pinole with San Pablo Bay in sight, after which we turned south running by UPS' North Bay facility before going into the siding at Rheem, where we sat for almost an hour after creeping there since the BNSF yard was having problems taking the two freights they had ran in front of us to the yard. We finally crossed the Southern Pcific line and went into Richmond Yard, where we pulled in front of the yard office. Boxed lunches were brought on for a rather late meal as the engine crew changed ends and the real prospect of them dying on the law. We high-balled from Richmond to Stockton and BNSF gave us the railroad and we made a fast return to Mormon yard, where where crew quickly changed ends again. Union Pacific had been notified about the crew's hours of service and took us with no delay, providing a fast journey back to Sacramento, arriving there at 7:45 PM rather than the scheduled 5:00 PM and the crew had fifteen minutes to spare.

My brother Bruce met me on the platform and we returned to the house. I had finally reached Richmond and was looking forward to my first solo Union Pacific 844 excursion tomorrow, since the other time I rode behind this steam engine was on a double-header.

I went with Bruce to work again to take the City of Tehama excursion behind Union Pacific 844, built in 1944 and never retired from service, which would be pulling the all-yellow excursion train. We waited for first for the Coast Starlight to depart Sacramento then a Union Pacific hotshot freight, whose crew was about to die on the law. Our train, which we could see over in the old Sacramento shop area, finally went out onto the main line before reversing down to the station and all passengers boarded quickly. With a long blow of its whistle, 844 and the train started moving forward and I was excited to be finally riding behind this steam engine on its own.

We made our way east to Elvas Tower before crossing the American River then paralleled the Sacramento Light Rail line for a few miles before running along McClellan Air Force Base then waited for a freight to clear at Antelope. After sitting for twenty-five minutes, we proceeded onto the bypass around the yard where we stopped to wait for a pilot engineer since one had not been called for and after about almost two hours, a pilot finally arrived and we resumed the journey. Union Pacific 844 went by the diesel shops then the Roseville depot, a stop on Amtrak's California Zephyr, before turning north onto the Valley Subdivision then crossed Pleasant Grove Creek before passing through Whitney where the chasers on the highway were trying to keep up with our special train.

We crossed Ingram Slough and Auburn Ravine before blowing through Lincoln then rounded a series of curves that led us to Brock before we bridged the Bear River into Wheatland then trestled Dry Creek, travelled through Olivehurst and crossed Yuba River before going through Marysville. Union Pacific 844 led us across the former Western Pacific (now Union Pacific) tracks at Binney Junction, over Jack Slough before stopping to allow us to detrain us for a photo runby.

Union Pacific 844 reversed around a curve before charging forward, billowing black smoke, and providing a great photo subject. The engine certainly lived up to its reputation. Once on the move again, we crossed the Feather River before going into the siding at Berg to let a freight past then with the Sutter Buttes to the west, we went out onto the main line, where all the pacers on the highway waited for us and after crossing Highway 99, we went through the "speed trap" of Live Oak then continued north through the towns of Gridley and Brigg before crossing the Cherokee Canal and into Richvale. It seemed that everyone was out to watch our steam train pass by. We crossed Dry and Butte Creeks before reaching Durham then bridged Comanche Creek and entered Chico where we crossed Chico Creek before passing California State University at Chico.

We spanned Mud Creek before going into the siding at Anita to let another freight pass so we would not delay him when we arrived at Tehama to turn the train on the wye. Underway once more, we crossed China Slough, went through Vina and bridged both Devon and Torres Creeks before passing through Los Molines then turned to the west, crossed the Sacramento River and proceeded into Tehama where the train was wyed. On the way back and since we were running so late, the second photo runby was cancelled and we returned to Sacramento.

The sun had set by the time we arrived at 9:09 PM with Amtrak Train 5, the California Zephyr, arriving over six hours late after problems in Colorado. I walked off the train satisfied after my first solo trip behind Union Pacific 844. Tomorrow I would be going over Altamont Pass, but only as far as Oakland, as the last two nights were taxing to my brother, who had to be in Oakland anyway, so I agreed I would drive back with him, allowing him to use the high occupancy lanes on the freeway. I slept soundly that night after two long but good days of train riding.

This excursion was going to be over the former Western Pacific (Union Pacific) line over Altamont Pass into Oakland and back via the California Pacific line to Sacramento. I rode in with Bruce again on his way to Oakland and this time, the train arrived in Sacramento early, the same trainset as the Franklin Canyon excursion. Everyone boarded and those of us who had been on board for all three trips so far were surprised that we departed on time. We went east to Haggin before going down the connection to the Western Pacific then across the American River before pulling forward under the California Pacific and travelled through downtown Sacramento, passing the former Western Pacific station before passing the old South Sacramento Yard.

Once out of town, we proceeded south across open countryside to Franklin and Thornton then entering northern Stockton, the train went onto the new connection that took the it onto the former Southern Pacific line. The Western Pacific line was ripped out after Union Pacific merged with Southern Pacific in 1996. We passed the former Southern Pacific station before crossing the BNSF at the former location of Stockton Tower. In a surprise move, we stayed on the former Southern Pacific, which put me on new mileage to Lathrop then we travelled through the Southern Pacific yard and by all the industries on the south end of Stockton before running on the west side of Sharp Army Depot.

We turned east onto the San Joaquin Subdivision for two-tenths of a mile before taking the connection back to the former Western Pacific line, then crossed the San Joaquin River and flew through Tracy, passing the Altamont Commuter Express station which was not there the last time I went this way behind Union Pacific 3985 in 1992. We went across Altamont Pass at a much faster rate than I had been before and it seemed that in no time, we were at the summit of the pass then descended the west side and crossed Greenville Trestle. We travelled through the Livermore Valley, passing through Livermore and Pleasanton before going through Niles Canyon with its pair of tunnels then exited the canyon, crossed the former Southern Pacific line at Niles that Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains use, and followed BART into Oakland. We then entered the new Magnolia Connection, new trackage for me, to reach the former Southern Pacific Coast Subdivision to Amtrak's Jack London Square in Oakland, where we all would detrain for about five hours.

I told my car attendant that I would not be back and he thanked me for that and for riding the train. With time, I had lunch and explored Jack London Square then was met by Bruce and we drove back to Sacramento.

To get back home, it was one more trip to work with Bruce, Amtrak San Joaquin 702 from Sacramento to Bakersfield, the Thruway bus to Los Angeles and Metrolink 662 to Santa Ana.

RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE