Western Railroad Discussion > Las Vegas Help

Greetings from an Eastern Board regular...I'm in Las Vegas this week for a combo work conference / family vacation (my wife and 25 year-old daughter accompanied me).  I have much of Tuesday and Thursday (especially mornings) to try to soak in the rail scene here.  Looked back through the archives and some other sites and see there's roughly a dozen or so daily moves through Vegas.  Would like to catch a couple moves with the casinos in the background, and some 'desert' scenes to the south (I'd like to stay within about 25 miles or so of the city).  Also, I see there are several LZM locals which serve the area, would like to catch a couple of those.  Coming up Las Vegas Blvd from the airport car rental faciltiy, we crossed a branch near the airport just below the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.  Would love to catch something near there.  Staying at the Excalibur, the conference is at he Manadaly Bay, just to give a point of reference.  Any suggestions or recommendations from the locals or regulars to the area?

Two other questions, besides 160.515, any other frequencies I should plug in my scanner?  And we are planning on hitting the Hoover Dam Thursday morning, is the museum in Boulder City worth a visit?

Thanks so much in advance. 

Drive south on Las Vegas Blvd. into the desert.  Great places :20 from the strip.  When you see these you are there.  Casino :05 south for food and rest stop.

---

---

When I was there in late June (hot, hot, hot) the local on the branch past the airport went east around 1:30-2:30 p.m.

There were typically a couple of northbound (toward SLC) intermodal trains in the morning, along with a southbound or two, plus some scattered southbounds in the afternoon. The best place for shooting trains with a casino backdrop is the parking garage at the Rio, and they seem to know about railfans there because the security guy just waved when he drove by me one afternoon. For the morning trains I was most fond of the area around Apex, where northbounds fight a decent grade out of the Las Vegas valley and the trains curve around enough that there are different light angles available at different times of year - although I'm not sure you can do the "skyline in the distance" shots as well in late October as I got them in late June. There also are several mineral-based industries around Apex and a local job is based there.

1) Here's the local to Henderson crossing Las Vegas Boulevard. You can probably do better than this. I was out of position; the train ran later than usual, so I went to the mainline junction to look for it and of course that's just when it was leaving the junction. Vegas traffic is not conducive to train chasing on city streets.

2) Standard view from the Rio parking garage.

3) Morning northbound aproaching Apex.

---

---

---

You can get a nice shot of the BMI (Henderson) local returning from Hendertson in the afternoon at the Pecos Rd (good) or Green Valley Parkway (better) crossings. This time of year you want to shoot from the south side of the tracks. I will send you a PM.

Old Bob here in Lost Wages

I love Las Vegas, Its Best Casinos  Shows, Restaurants,  to eat in in the World. Try some great place to eat in Vegas.

sscannella Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Two other questions, besides 160.515, any other
> frequencies I should plug in my scanner?  And we
> are planning on hitting the Hoover Dam Thursday
> morning, is the museum in Boulder City worth a
> visit?
>
> Thanks so much in advance. 

Unless UP has changed things, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are ZLADV days. Usually arrives into immediate Las Vegas between late morning and early afternoon, and with your scanner tuned to AAR 2727 (160.515), you'll most likely hear them come down Cima Hill in a hurry (calling most or all the signals regardless of color), so it should be a relatively easy and exciting catch to start your day. Most of the locals will get out of the way for this Z train, so if you are an early-riser, get them first and wait for this puppy next.

Hopefully, someone can help you with the Milepost/Siding names, so you have an idea of where the trains are. Altamont Press "Central West Timetable #1" is a good reference for both the Cima and Caliente Subs.

The Nevada Southern (the museum at Boulder) only run their excursions on weekends, but I believe they open at 8:30 am on weekdays, so I'd make a quick visit on your way to Hoover Dam. I think it's worthwhile, since it's not much of a detour.

Yes, the Museum in Boulder City is worth checking - especially since you go right by it on the way to the Dam!.  Thursday they usually have the train down at the station (for cleaning) so you can get a good shot and check out the interior.  Plus the static displays will be open, including the RPO you can go into.  www.nevadasouthern.com    I will probably be there in the late morning, if you care to introduce yourself.
Chuck/Las Vegas