At this point, the tracks basically go into a deep pine forest as we continue down hill. One side of the tracks will be dug into the side of the mountain, and trees are growing along the downhill side, such that there are only glimpses of the river canyons and such as you wind down the mountains. So, after some frustrating photo attempts, I basically stopped trying until we entered Colfax Here's an old abandoned building, just behind where the station is. Of course, we came to a stop blocking the old Hwy 40 which crosses the track here. Some kid had a ticket to board the CZ here, but had been standing on the station-side (south) platform. Of course we came in on the right hand (north) track, and so ensued 5 minutes of getting him onto the train, while yelling at him "not to cross the tracks". Eventually, they opened the door in our car to let him in, since we were on the road, and it was "safer". Once that was over, we started up again, and I finally got to see the station. In the parking lot, this old car is used as the offices of a music camp And then came the station
Remember what I mentioned about getting mooned by rafters on the Colorado? Well, just as we pulled past the Colfax station....
Very bad me and timing... as we were coming down, nature called, and I missed getting pictures in Auburn :-( It takes about an hour to get from Colfax to Roseville by train, about twice what it takes to drive, but eventually, here we were, Roseville! Here's the station, a 2 story SP depot There were no good views of the yard, as the main line bypasses it to the north, and mostly buildings and trees in the way (plus a big feight with lots of auto carriers for a good portion of the yard on the nearest siding, blocking all potential view)
No, I found it in Google Images, and then my daughter photo shopped it to remove the freeway. I know exactly where it was taken from, and I have convinced my wife that on our next drive up there (it has been about 5 or 6 years), we are going to the spot so that I can take my own.
As we pulled out of Roseville, the conductor got on the intercom, and announced that 1) Amtrak was holding the San Joaquin for connecting passengers in Sacramento (we were now just under 3 hours behind) 2) There would be no further freight on the line for us between Roseville and Emeryville. We now had a straight shot, and, with a shortened stop in Sacramento, they were looking to make up some time As he said this, and as we were now out of the mountains, the train accelerated to freeway speeds of the cars driving on I-80 next to us. As we pulled past old McClellan AFB and the Arden Fair area of Sacramento, we crossed the American River. Downtown Sacramento can be seen in the distance We pulled into the new Amtrak platforms in Sacramento, which are quite a ways from the old station
Just after crossing the Sacramento River (all I got were bridge girders in the photos), you go through the town of West Sacramento, and then get onto the Yolo Causeway. Both I-80 and the tracks span this area which is a huge flood control region for when the Sacramento River floods. At other times, it is used by farmers, primarily for rice On the horizon, just to the left of center, you can also just make out Mt Diablo, the highest peak in the Bay Area. Mt Diablo sits by itself, and is the prime point in the west for the USGS. It defines the "Diablo Meridian". What is also cool about it, is, that from the summit, on a clear day, you can see more surface area of land than from any other spot on earth, except Mt Kilimanjaro. And it is only a 35 minute drive from the house After going through Davis, and riding past Travis AFB and Fairfield, we approach Suisun Bay and a better view of Mt Diablo The ships are the last remnants of the US Navy's Mothball Fleet, which use to be much bigger. There were Liberty Ships, Destroyers, Cruisers and even the USS Missouri was there for a while.
Another shot of the mothballed ships Then we were approaching the Benicia Bridge, and the longest railroad bridge out here, across the eastern end of the Carquinez Straits
Crossing the straits, looking westbound Almost home! Now in Contra Costa county and the next stop is the Martinez station. We were now only 2 hours and 40 minutes behind schedule! I have never been to this station before, and did not know 0-6-0 SP #1258 was preserved there Travelling along the shoreline, these rotting piers caught my eye
At the west end of the strait are the Carquinez Bridges, both old (east I-80) and new (west I-80) Coming around the point to look out over San Pablo Bay (the north part of the bay is San Pablo Bay, San Francisco Bay is only south of the Golden Gate), there was Mt Tamalpais - the Sleeping Beauty, with a blanket of fog by her feet. This was my home mountain, having grown up in Marin County
Pt Pinole ahead of the train (you can see the tracks) And then, the Chevron refinery at Pt Richmond A very quick stop at the Richmond Station (so fast, I never got a good view for a photo), and then... The Golden Gate Bridge And the San Francisco skyline
A few moments later, and only 2 hours and 30 minutes behind schedule, we pulled into the Emeryville Station. My sister was waiting to pick us up (with sandwiches for dinner) As a final farewell to our California Zephyr trip, a very big thank you to our porter, Nathan, who took care of just about anything we needed for the two days from Chicago (and provided cookies and candy for afternoon snacks, for his passengers). A big thanks to the rest of the crew, too, who made it enjoyable and pleasant.
Rick, thanks very much for sharing a wonderful trip. Also Nathan is the epitome of why riding AMTRAK is enjoyable.
With the July 2015 TB upgrades, all the links for photos for this thread were broken. Anyone wishing to view the photos can see them in this Trainboard/Railimages album: http://www.trainboard.com/highball/...erica-by-train-buffalo-to-san-francisco.1463/
Hopefully this is something Charlie can repair. Right now they all redirect to the TrainBoard home page.
