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Welcome to Dunsmuir!

Dunsmuir is located in California near the Oregon border on the former Southern Pacific Shasta Line and is the main rail line between California and the Pacific Northwest. The town is situated on the Sacramento River within a lush alpine setting at an elevation of 2,000 feet above sea level. Seventy five years ago the town's economy depended on the railroad which employed most of the town's men. Today with the steam engine gone and the consolidation of maintenance facilities, Dunsmuir is no longer a company town. However, it's still used as a crew base, with engine men working the line between Dunsmuir and Klamath Falls, Oregon. South of Dunsmuir, trains are controlled by crews from the Roseville crew base near Sacramento.

The Line

Union Pacific's Shasta Route is also known as the I-5 corridor because it approximately follows the route of Interstate Highway 5 between Southern California and Northern Oregon. The tracks also hosts Amtrak's Coast Starlight which passes during darkness.

Leaving Southern California, most trains begin their journey at West Colton near San Bernardino and proceed over Cajon and Tehachapi Passes' before Continuing through the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys to Redding. There, trains begin ascending a 1% grade towards Dunsmuir. The first 30 miles were constructed in 1942 when the original line dating back to the 1880's was submerged following the construction of Lake Shasta. At a former station named Delta, the rails cling to the banks of the Sacramento River which in previous years have taken the rails during severe winters. For 30 miles the rails curve through the river canyon before arriving at Dunsmuir. Leaving town, the grade steepens and many trains require the use of helper locomotives to climb the 2.2% grades that lie ahead. At Cantara Loop, the most rugged point of the line, the rails switch back 180 degrees to climb out of the canyon. Usually one helper is placed on the point of heavy ascending trains, though lengthy trains are often broken in half and moved over the hill in two parts.

About RailCam

The Dunsmuir RailCam is a joint project of the Dunsmuir Chamber of Commerce and Trainorders.com. Dunsmuir hosts a number of motels and restraunts and is a great place to stay while railfanning the Shasta Route. Visitors from outside the area can fly into Sacramento Metropolitan airport which is served by most major carriers including Southwest, American, and United. From Sacramento, Dunsmuir is less than a four hour drive.

The camera is located at the northern end of the Dunsmuir rail yard just south of the Amtrak station and crew office. Directly in front of the camera is the helper siding where engines are regularly parked. To the left and just out of range is one of the last remaining turntables in California. Behind the camera, about one half mile is where trains are parked while waiting for fresh crews. It is also where helpers are attached or trains broken apart.

Interesting Things to Look For

"Every so often a locomotive fills the whole video frame"
To the right of the camera is the helper siding where engines are parked until they are needed. Helpers will sometimes exit the track in front of the camera explaining for the "in your face picture." Other times they will exit the north end and precede past the RailCam on the mainline.

"What is the main commodity moved on this route?"

The I-5 corridor host lots of lumber and paper products from the Pacific Northwest. In addition there are some unique operations that include the Swift Roadrailers that pass through both directions on Saturdays. Roadrailers are semi-trailers that have been jacked up onto a set of railroad trucks.

"Will I see some of these trains on the Tehachapi RailCam in Southern California?"

Certainly! Tehachapi is on the I-5 corridor and if you check often enough you may notice some of the same trains passing both locations. Under the best of circumstances a train will take 12 hours to travel from Dunsmuir to Tehachapi. However, most manifests (box cars, tanks cars, lumber, etc.) will take 20 or more hours to arrive at the Tehachapi camera.
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