Western Railroad Discussion > Altamont Pass

Can anyone give me some idea about general scheduling for UP trains on Altamont Pass?  I get to be in that area this weekend between Livermore and Tracy and wondered what I can see.

Joel Kirk

Not much action these days. In the morning there are 4 westbound Ace commuter trains between 4-8am on the pass. "The Shuttle" operates double stack cars from Lathrop to Oakland and return. I hear the Westbound in Oakland around 5am most mornings, and the return trip is usually on Altamont after the Ace parade.

There's a once a week baretable move to and from Radum(gravel pits in Pleasanton). I think it moves Eastbound Thursday around 9am.

The daily Eastbound freight train from Warm Springs to Roseville generally hits the pass well before the Eastbound Ace trains that come through Livermore around 430pm.

And once a day a short Z train sets out at Lathrop and then races to Oakland, but that guy can come at any hour.

Good luck.

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Just to clarify, ACE commuter trains do not run on weekends.

Thanks much for the help - we'll see what happens!

Thanks again,

Joel Kirk

And when it was WP, you saw:

--FordFast trains to Milpitas
--TOFC trains from OAKLAND
--manifest trains from Oakland
--reefer and manifest trains from San Jose
--locals

It's amazing how many trains used to go over tha tline, and how many businesses that manufacured goods have left. Many of them are now out in the Valley.

Until recently, I warched the passing parade from Trevarno at what is the east end of the Livermore siding.

The Livermore local seemed to call on an irregular schedule on both weekdays and weekends. There was traffic to various points on the former SP as well as a building supply location on the WP, which got a fair amount of rebar at one time. Usually a pair of locomotives, GP-60's or GP-15's. They would pull to the east end of the siding and then run around their cars on the main to shove onto the SP. The last time I saw it, they have 10 or 12 cars and worked a good two hours before returning west.

The one train I could count one daily was an east bound mixed manifest train mid afternoon. There was also an eastbound stack train, usually before ACE started the fleet east.

Overnight on weekends, there was usually a movement west to Oakland, passing Livermore at 230 am. Often light power, but there were respectable train lengths as well of loaded containers. I believe that's the Lathrop Oakland Shuttle. It has also taken empty well cars out to East Pleasanton for storage on the former SP.

Throw in occasional freights both east and west overnight weekdays.

And yes, the ACE fleet.

Not as quiet as you might think, but plenty of excess capacity.

Check for ticks when you finish walking through the grass:)

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