Railfanning U.P.'s Roseville Subdivision

Tuesday, November 19, 2019, I spent seven hours "railfanning' my favorite location in the Sierra Nevada: M.P. 159.1, between the stations of Baxter and Midas. During the course of spending about seven hours between M.P. 159.1 and 159.8, I managed to "catch" a total of only three trains, which would devinitely make today a "bad day" for the Roseville Subdivision, in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Photo: Today's first train of the day is an eastbound stack train, led by U.P. 9096, a GE C41-8. Today was kind of a "bust" as I caught exactly one freight train, and two Amtrak trains in seven hours.

This location, "Rawhide," as the local, non-railfan locals call it, is my favorite place to photo on U.P.'s Roseville subdivision. It's hard to get to, it's remote, it's a LONG way from the freeway - you hear trains, not trucks - you get lots of advance warning of either east or west-bound trains, and... very few people know about this amazing location.

Photo: At the rear of the lead units, I found U.P. #5331, a GE AC45CCTE, who is only 18 years old, but she looks very tired and weathered, but she seems to be pulling her fair share of the load, up the .8% grade.

Photo: U.P. #5878 does rear end d.p.u. duty on a westbound merchandise train.

Photo: Amtrak train #5, led by GE P40DC #821, hits M.P. 159.8 at 1107 in the morning, and is due to be on "the money" in nearby Colfax.

Photo: Eastbound Amtrak #6, with #144, a GE P42DC on the point, passes through M.P. 159.8, where Placer County Casa Loma road crosses U.P.'s tracks. In my "photographer" opinion, this is one of the best locations in the Sierra Nevada mountains to photograph mainline railroad action, due to the amazing scenery, the "serenity," and the lack of company of any kind.

Photo: The "tail end" of Amtrak #6, as she heads east up the .8% grade at M.P. 159.8, just past "Rawhide" crossing, as it's called by local residents.

"Rawhide," as the non-railfans locals call the location, is at M.P. 159.1, between the U.P. stations of Baxter and Midas, is one of my favorite locations on the Roseville Subdivision to railfan, as the scenery is great, it's a little-known location, it's hard to get to, and it's a long ways from the freeway, so you'll hear trains, not cars. But, shhhhh... don't tell anybody!