Railfaning U.P.'s Roseville Subdivision

After enjoying an amazing breakfast of prime rib and eggs, at Edelweiss Restaurant 2, located in Auburn, it was time to hit the Roseville Subdivision, in the Gold Run area of Placer County, to enjoy a few hours of Saturday railfanning mainline Union Pacific Railroad action.

Today was Saturday, April 04, 2026, a bright, mild and beautiful day... which made a perfect day for railfanning.

Photo: Saturday morning, April 04, 2026, at exactly 08:51 the green light lit up for the #2 track at the Gold Run Crossover, at M.P. 152.8, and this began my day the right way. Naturally the #2 track is red.

Photo: At 08:59, the first train of my day was ILCKC, with #8039 on the point, a GE ES44AC, heading east at Lincoln Rd., M.P. 152.48, at the Lincoln Rd. Crossing, at the west end of Gold Run. This train was morning around 25 mph, up the 1.5% grade, and putting on quite a show.

Thanks to the steep grade, it took 8 minutes for the train to arrive after the green light was signaled.

Photo: Amtrak #100, a P42DC leads train #6 east, the "California Zephyr," complete in the Midnight Blue 50th Anniversary paint `” . This unit was a welcome surprise! The time was 12:05 in the afternoon, and she was right on schedule. Thanks to the drag detector located at M.P. 148.9, I heard he coming well in advance.

Just for the record, I'm a Amateur (ham) Radio Operator, with the call of WS6L. I've been into radio as long as I've been interested in railroads, which is my entire life. I use a ham rig, a Baofeng BF-F8HP PRO transceiver, which does double duty as a ham rig, and a railfan scanner. Keep in mind that anybody can listen, but you must have a valid Amateur Radio Operator license to transmit.

Photo: After #6 rolled by, I relocated to a new location, at M.P. 151.5, near the end of a dirt/gravel railroad access road. You have to be a local to know about this road, and if you choose to photo at this location, a four wheel drive vehicle would be highly recommended.

At 12:38 in the early afternoon, I was treated to eastbound MRVNP, lead by $5423, a AC45ACCTE. The grade isn't nearly as steep here, as it's around 1%, so she was making great time.

Photo: I never get tired of watching mid-train DPUs doing their part to get the train over Donner Summit.

Photo: My last train of the day was ZCSLT west, headed by #8834, a EMD SD70AH, which was a welcome change from the parade of all-too-common GE units that populate the Roseville Subdivision. This beautiful train was heading downgrade, into the beautiful sunshine when I photographed it at 14:46 in the afternoon, at M.P. 151.5.

Photo: U.P. #8834 gets "in my face" as she rounds the curve, pulling her "Z train" of double stacks, many of them from Amazon.com. Perhaps this train is bring the new ham radio transceiver that I ordered a couple days ago?

Photo: My 2020 Toyota Tacoma in it's natural habitat, beside the tracks, as the ZCSLT mid-train DPUs thunder by. I spend a lot of my time off paved roads, and my truck has the complete TRD Off-Road package with all of the goodies to keep my happy, whether I'm railfanning or exploring. The horseshoe on the grill brings me luck, as I've never been stuck or had any issues during my many adventures off the pavement.

Photo: The end of the train, and it's time for me to pack up, and enjoy an early dinner after a fun and productive day of railfanning Union Pacific Railroad's Roseville Subdivision, in the Gold Run, CA area.

Four trains in six hours wasn't too bad for a Saturday morning and afternoon on the Roseville Subdivision, as the day was pleasant and warm, so it was great to relax between trains, listen to the railroad radio and enjoy the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountain scenery.

After the last train passed, around 14:50 in the afternoon, I packed up, and left for Hangry Howie's, located in nearby Alta, to enjoy a "Firehouse Burger" and a side of tots. That's a fitting way to end a perfect day of railfanning on U.P.'s Roseville Subdivision.

Union Pacific Railroad
Roseville Subdivision
Roseville, CA to Reno, NV