Western Railroad Discussion > Boy Scout (UP 2010) on the Fresno Sub

Back in September of 2014, jmf1910 (John) and I chased the QRVWCB-28 ("Quality" Manifest train, Roseville to West Colton, B section) from Roseville to Merced, spending most of our time along Union Pacific's Fresno Sub. The special occasion was the UP 2010, the Boy Scout Unit leading the train.

This time, I sat shotgun, and John was the driver. While catching a train at multiple locations along the Fresno Sub is considered difficult, we had several Z train chases under our belts already so we were up to the challenge. With the slower track speed of the manifest train (40-50 mph), we actually found the chase to be pretty easy compared to the Z trains which can run 60-70 mph.

Here are the locations covered in the video clips, in order of appearance:

- Antelope, west end of Roseville Yard.
- MP 97.7, Martinez Sub, west of Citrus Heights, across from former McClellan AFB.
- Fresno Sub, Elk Grove, near downtown.
- South end of Tomspur, at Eight Mile Rd. Entire train is shown here.
- North Lathrop, near the junction of Tracy, Oakland, and Fresno Subs.
- Along Hwy 99, near Ripon, pacing clip.
- Just north of Modesto, near Carpenter Rd.
- Ex-SP Merced Depot.

We also intercepted the train at Swanston, which is just a couple miles east of Elvas, where Fresno Sub begins and diverges south from the Martinez Sub. We met a railfan friend there, and hopefully, John has photos at Swanston as well as from the locations above.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/15 01:35 by cchan006.

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Excellent video, Charles! I really like the sound at Elk Grove and Merced with the train rolling by at a fast clip. That was yet another great Boy Scout chase from you, it seems to always bring you good luck. Thanks for your shotgun guidance as usual!

Here are some shots from the chase:

1) Departing Roseville at Antelope.
2) Passing the intermediates at Citrus Heights.
3) Cruising through Elk Grove in some nice sunshine.

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4) Passing the south end of Tomspur, just north of Stockton.
5) Just north of Modesto, with some glint in the early evening.
6) Highball the Merced depot.

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