In late August and early September, 2005, we took a cross-country drive
and caught up with the CZ here and there. These first shots
were taken in Winnemucca, NV, on the evening of September 1.
We're including two photos of the roadbed next to the station
platform. We've sent them to David Gunn, CEO of Amtrak. The terrible
condition of the roadbed might be a matter of concern. What
is so evident in the pictures is that terrible condition of the Amtrak
shelter, which had been shot up pretty badly. Note that we
did not have a tripod with us, so the platform shots were handheld with
our Olympus E-300 dslr.
Next, we see the train jjust east of Lovelock, NV on the morning of
September 2, running one hour late. Shortly after the photo
was taken, it was put behind a slow UP freight and lost well over
90 minutes on its relatively short hop to Sparks-Reno. We
followed the UP across Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California, and were
surprised at what appeared to be the rundown condition
of many of its freight engines, which were often very dirty.
Conversations with locals familiar with the situation commonly revealed
that employees were disheartened by poor management, logistics and
operations. A far contrast from the UP of old.
Finally, we caught up with an eastbound CZ on Sept. 2 in Colfax,
California. It was already an hour late out of Sacramento
but it made for an impressive sight, particularly with a restored CN
private car on the rear.
Here we have the CZ approaching Davis on its way to Chicago on a
somewhat foggy November morning in 2006; a rather dramatic shot..
We hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into an important part of
America's passenger train legacy. Check back because we'll be adding
additional CZ photos.
