A Train Odyssey 7, AMTRAK "California Zephyr" (eastbound) Part 5
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- This is Part 5 of an 8-part mega-train Odyssey, consisting of my eastbound 3-day trip on AMTRAK's "California Zephyr" from Emeryville, California to Chicago's Union Station in August 2022.
Because the weather was so fine, and the time of year provided a lot more spectacular scenery during daylight hours, I decided to take a LOT of video, and edit to preserve as much good content as possible. I also decided to edit so that each of the 8 parts (except the shorter Part 1 "Prologue") was about 1.5 hours duration, rather than make a smaller number of longer video segments.
I have a MUCH shorter RUclips video of the California Zephyr, taken on a westbound train in late December, and that is only about 1.5 hours long by itself, if you want a shorter viewing experience or want to see the route in the Winter with snow-covered mountain passes.
The old railroad grade that you are seeing east of Thompson is the original narrow-gauge track alignment of the Rio Grande Western Railroad. The railroad was re-laid to standard gauge in 1890 and much of the old alignment was removed thereafter. The RGW merged with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in 1923. forming the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. The original narrow-gauge railroad alignment did not go through Ruby Canyon, but rather traversed the desert north of the canyon. There have also been several projects to straighten the railroad over the last century-plus. The D&RGW was merged with the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1989, which was absorbed into the Union Pacific Railroad in 1997. Cisco was also at north end of the eastern Utah/western Colorado uranium belt that was heavily explored during the 1950's uranium exploration boom. A goodly amount of the U.S. uranium supply was mined in the west/southwest Colorado/eastern Utah region, and the uranium for the atom bombs dropped on Japan were mined in SW Colorado. The Utah/Colorado state line is in Ruby Canyon, marked with a painted marker on the cliffs on the left side of the train (you missed it!). The nearby siding is appropriately named "Utaline."
Thank you for the explanation of the mystery roadbed that Paul went to some lengths to comment on and wonder about. And now we know!
Mr. Schmidt, thank you for these wonderful travel videos. I like the perfect amount of history sprinkled in as well. Thanks for your hard work.
Love your videos on my bucket list go on a train.
Please forgive my impertinence on a previous episode. Thank you for your very hard work on all of the fun and educational videos you send us. It’s a privilege to see how you live and what you live for.Hand Salute To You.
Thank you for the information about the rock slide detector. I often wondered and had no possible idea what it’s purpose was.
They are commonly referred to as "slide fences" by railroaders. The wires are energized with a low voltage electrical charge. If a rock breaks the wire, it breaks the circuit and will set the track signals red on either side of where the fence is broken. It may also trigger a "slide detector," which sends an automated voice radio report on the railroad road radio channel. The detector may say something like, "Slide detector tripped at Milepost 333.6."
I am really enjoying this video !!
I have watched just about every one of your train Odyssey videos I think this might be the last one today is June 17th 2023. I would like to thank you for all the hard work you put into these videos. It might be time to invest in a upgraded digital scanner. I live in Florida and the new high speed rail bright line they use a frequency that you need to have a Kenwood scanner. Technology keeps changing. I was thinking about getting a scanner but none of them will pick up police anymore and it's starting where a lot of the older ones are picking up less and less. Looking at all those bluffs and the TV and movies that were filmed there one of them comes to mind. The TV show airwolf. I bet they shot some of that there also
Seeing this trip from west to east is enjoyable. The longer days add so much more filming time.As you previously mentioned some of this we could not see due to the darkness. Fun to watch. Thanks again.
I believe he traveled from East to west during winter ( Shorter daylight)
I love the conductor she is really informative and funny. I also love the landscape.
Thank you, for taking us along.
Extraordinairy landscapes, bar, sand dunes, colorado vallley with some lush vegitation. Great !
I've been watching your journey for hours and I love living vicariously through you, but I've got to say, that lady conductor is making that trip!
Beautiful scenery, even though it is barren. Reminds me somewhat of my cross country trip (by car) with my daughter back in 2017. I did not realize until that trip how empty the entire middle of this country is. And then you realize that the pioneers plodded through this landscape in covered wagons for months on end!
The name of the conductor is Ranae (not sure of exact spelling) she is very good at her job. I think she was trained by Conductor Bob who retired a couple of years ago who was also very good and was very knowledgeable of this area. He and she is/are part of the operating crew who covers between salt lake city and Grand Junction. I am familiar with this run as I have gone out and back between Salt Lake City and as close as Holdredge Nebraska to as far as Princeton Illinois, and have made the trip almost every year for the last 12. (Planning my next trip now) I just ride the train to ride the train. You'd be amazed how much sleep you can get actually get in coach, but it's tough.
love it ty
The commentary that you give is very informative and excellent .
I hadn't realized US Highway 6 ran that far west! I often shop in Morris, IL on the weekends, and cross US Highway 6 just before crossing I-80 on the north side of town, if I need to go to Menard's. (Or turn briefly onto US Highway 6 to get to the local Walmart, Aldi and Goodwill.)
Hwy 6 goes most of the way across the entire country.
The interstate through Glenn Canyon seems like it could have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Even the color of the concrete matches the landscape.
I wish that train route we was able to view the Great Salt Lake during the day but the ride only passes through there at night time
Nearly 3 hours from Glenwood Springs to Denver... and that's assuming the weather and/or traffic don't interfere
UR still the best! How is retirement?
My guess about still having a restricted speed is the block is restricted. So until they get to a new block its slow we go.
I have no idea what else it is, but Thompson Springs is, for auto traveling, the jumping off place fpr Arches National Park. The train actually stops there from time to time/ What you would do when you got off I have no idea
:55; "a whole lot of nothin' out here." This may be where you pass at night going west.
Glenwood Springs is 3 hours from Denver on I-70 on a clear day when the usual nasty traffic is not there. I-70 wrecked Glenwood Canyon and should have never been built there--there were alternatives. It took 25 years to build the 12 miles and, when constructed, was the most expensive highway per mile built in the world. It has been an endless maintenance nightmare ever since. A complete government boondoggle.
I got to off for a lot less recently:)
Tom Davis, what?
The moon is okay, but show me the twins.
What was the conductor saying would get someone removed from the train if they did? It was too hard to hear. I thought she was talking about mooning the rafters on the river.
David Adler. I did not hear that. But each time a different conductor came on duty, and after each station where we took on new passengers, the conductor made a PA announcement about rules of conduct while on the train, and they highlighted how certain infractions would result in being put off the train at the next stop. But I assume that any passenger dropping their drawers for any reason would get them quickly evicted.
It has been a long tradition for river rafters on the Colorado River to "moon" or "flash" the train from their rafts. Train crews, as a result, have nicknamed the Colorado River through this area as "Moon River." Some passengers are amused by the very "politically incorrect" indecent exposure by the rafters, some passengers are offended, but the practice has been going on for at least 40 years that I know of.
It made me think of the time I was rafting on the New and the Cardinal went by. I could have given them the full blooded nuclear moon then.
What happened to the subtitles on part 5? JMS
KU84dh37, why not explain the issue rather than ask such a vague question? Do you expect others to spend hours looking at the video, guessing what you might be talking about?
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At about 1:16:00 in the video, the brownish horizontal "stripe" of vegetation about a third of the way up on the side of the hill across the river from the train and for several miles to the east is caused by the heat of an underground coal seam fire that has been burning since 1916. In 2002, spots where the fire burns near the surface ignited the Coal Seam fire which burned over 12,000 acres and 29 homes.
Your comment here piqued my curiosity so I looked up that 2002 fire. It erupted in Glenwood Springs, CO, which my rough estimation with the scale on the map lies about 100-120 miles to the ENE of the point you identify.
Without the subtitles, I am missing out on what the woman in the background was / is saying (not good). JMS
KU84dh37, I never put subtitles in my videos to tell viewers what other people are saying. Perhaps you are thinking of "closed captions".
I've heard on the Amtrak Unlimited forums that the second sleeping car was often removed from the western LD routes (including the California Zephyr) in 2022. Had this happened when you were riding the CZ this time?
DOSBoxMom, if you look at the Part 2 of this CZ video series, where the train pulls into the Emeryville station, you can easily see the 'consist'.
@@youtuuba I'm sure I did watch Part 2 earlier this winter (as my husband and I are planning a CZ trip for later this year), but I hadn't remembered the details of the consist.
And it looks like you recapitulated the consist during the fresh air break at Glenwood Springs, CO; thanks!
ESTRAONARY
3:20; This looks like somebody's model.
The Conductor’s Joan Rivers marriage to a snake comedy bit must have been a flop! To much information.