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During the late 1860's when the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad was underway, the town of Boca began as a railroad construction camp, and later developed into a town that, among other things, was famous the Boca Brewing Company, which produced the first lager beer brewed in California. As the years passed, the town faded away and today, it's a siding on the Union Pacific Railroad's Roseville Subdivision, complete with house track and abandoned spur tracks. Thanks to the beautiful mountain scenery, it's a great location to photograph Union Pacific mainline railroad action.
Photo: It's 08:20 in the morning, Tuesday, September 15, 2026, and I photo UP #7464 leading a short - about 25 cars total - manifest west, most likely train MSPRV, which runs cars between Sparks and Roseville on an as-needed basis. The location is Mile Post 208.5, heading into the east switch at East Truckee station, about four miles east of the town of Truckee, CA. I was shooting almost into the sun, so this shot was quite difficult. I had camped overnight beside the tracks at Andover, after enjoying the last couple days railfanning the Colfax and Andover area of Union Pacific's Roseville Subdivision. I woke up with the sun, looked at my thermometer which read a chilly 34 degrees, and decided it was time to enjoy breakfast. I got up, got dressed and drove into Truckee where I enjoyed a delicious breakfast of sausage and eggs at Coffee And (Restaurant,) located into downtown Truckee. The plan of the day was to railfan Boca station, and as I left Truckee, I followed the tracks east and at East Truckee, I noticed a green light, so I pulled over and waited a scant five minutes until #7464 appeared.
Photo: A grain car brings up the tail end of this short train, as it passes the signal at East Truckee. If you look closely you can see the two units, as this was a short train of perhaps 25 cars.
Photo: I finally made it to Boca siding, set up shop, and at 10:10 in the morning, I caught Amtrak #5, the westbound California Zephyr, working hard up the grade, with the smoke to prove it. The second unit is Amtrak #203 painted colorfully to promote California Operation Lifesaver, and I wish it would have been on the point rather than #13. Boca siding is located at Mile Post 214.2 and is at the site of the ghost town of Boca, which was once a thriving town, but faded into decline early in the 20th century. Boca means "mouth" in Spanish, as the Little Truckee River meets the Truckee River at Boca. The elevation of the siding is 5519 feet, and the area offers many photo opportunities. Besides the signals, the railroad infrastructure at Boca includes a seldom-used house track, a never-used derail track, along with a scanner and a drag detector. The remainder of the photos during this adventure were taken at Boca, Mile Post 214.2,
Photo: At 11:05, BNSF #4462 roared west, with a double stack train, Z-PVOSTO1, heading fast. This is one of the two BNSF "Z-trains" that have trackage rights over the subdivision, and they're always in a hurry to arrive at their destination, which is Lathrop. BN's symbol for a priority train is actually "G," but since this is Union Pacific territory, everyone uses "Z" instead.
Photo: BNSF #7178 is the end DPU as she is just about ready to cross over Boca Rd, and the signals at Mile Post 214.1. If the ditch lights were lit, this could pass for the head end of the train. Note the seldom-used house track to the right of the photo.
Photo: At 12:05, train ZG2LT west, led by #7219 caught me by surprise, as I was looking for new photo locations on the hill above the scanner. I looked up from my endevor and there she was... I barely had time to pull the lens cap off my camera and take the photo. This is a Global 2 train that originates in Chicago and is headed to the large distribution center in Lathrop, and it's one of the hottest east/west trains on the subdivision. On the other side of the tracks, a CalTrans employee is taking a break in the shade, and seems nonplussed by the passing Z-train. The gray Tacoma is my truck, which makes getting to railfan locations fun, safe and easy.
Photo: At 12:30, along came UP #7045 east, leading a intermodal train. By the looks of the train and the time of day, I'd venture to guess this is IOANP, who is bound for North Platte. Note the long-abandoned derail track to the left. By the looks of things, back it the day it looks like Boca enjoyed a small yard with a few local shippers.
Photo: Just 10 minutes later, at 12:38, here comes UP #8238 leading double stack Z-train, ZG2OAB west, with lots of Amazon and ONE containers, most likely bound for the Port of Oakland. Why weren't the ditch lights lighted?
Photo: I enjoyed a two-hour break between the action, but at 14:44 Amtrak #6, The California Zephyr interrupted my siesta, as it crossed Boca Road. The train's next stop will be in Reno, in about a half an hour.
Photo: At 15:57, mid afternoon, UP #8231 showed up on an eastbound manifest, with seven units behind her and two DPUs at the end of the train, which was quite an impressive show of motive power. My guess is this train could be MOANP, another Oakland to North Platte manifest over the Roseville Subdivision.
Photo: At 18:32 a special eastbound Amtrak train rolled through, with two very typical GE P42DC units, pulling a short train of seven 1950's-era lightweight passenger cars. I have no idea or information about this train, as it was, and still is a complete mystery for me. Due to the location and the angle of the sun, a "coming" shot didn't work.
Photo: This one is very interesting and illustrated a movement that I've never seen happen before on the Roseville Subdivision. It was almost dark, and at 20:05, an eastbound unit grain train was working it's way through the Truckee River canyon, on the #1 track. I got out my iPhone to attempt a photo, but there was hardly any light and flash would have been useless. Much to my surprise, a faster train on the #2 track showed to pass the grain train, utilizing Boca siding as a passing track. The faster train, which was an intermodal train, completely passed the grain train at about twice the speed. This was an interesting maneuver and a new one for me to witness. I wish this would have happened during the day. Most of the Roseville Subdivision is double tracked, with the exception of two areas, from Switch 9 to Shed 10, with the closest single track section from West Norden to Shed 47. This can create a bottleneck and a headache for the dispatcher running the show from Omaha. I camped out next to the drag detector at Mile Post 214.28, by the tracks. During the night, I counted two trains going by, but I didn't bother to look, as it was cold outside and warm inside my sleeping bag. Boca is at an elevation of 5494 feet, and is located on the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Thank goodness I brought my winter sleeping bag with me, as the temperature dipped to the low-30's. As a note of trivia, the coldest recorded temperature in the State of California occurred on January 20, 1937 at Boca Dam, about a mile from Boca siding, with a low of minus 45 degrees.
Photo: Wednesday, September 16, 2026 dawned bright and chilly, and I after getting up around 06:00, I waited over three hours for my first train to appear. At 09:02, an I or Z-train appeared, most likely IG2LT, with a full assortment of double stacks, with single containers mostly in the middle of the train. This train was really moving along.
Photo: Two DPUs in the middle of the train, which is very common on this section of railroad.
Photo: Solid double stacks of Amazon and EMP containers bring up the end of the train. I certainly wished this train would have been heading east, to take advantage of the mellow morning light, but today the sun gods didn't bless me.
Photo: At 09:23 UP #8827 thundered around the corner, leading four other units and westbound manifest, MGRRV.
Photo: There were no DPUs in the middle or at the end of the train, as it headed west, bound for J.R. Davis yard in Roseville. Two grain cars mark the end of the train, and the end of this trip for me, as it was time for me to head home and re-enter the default world. Twenty four hours in Boca netted me a great assortment of Roseville Subdivision railroad action, and proved to be a great location for photos, mainline railroad action and good times. Combine beautiful Sierra Nevada mountain scenery, easy freeway access and an ample amount of trains, and Boca siding worked out to be a great photo location. Union Pacific Railroad Copyright(c) 2026 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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