Western Railroad Discussion > FluggenTour- Yuba Pass

The second in a series- 
The idea here is to give those who've never been to some iconic Donner locations a kind of "looking over the shoulder" view.  LOTS of photos come out of Yuba Pass on Donner and right away you can see why- easy access.   Calif Highway 20 meets I-80 here and parking is rarely a problem, even in the worst of snow conditions.  The Highway Dept (CalTrans) always keeps a wide  (paved!)  shoulder carved out here and the track is only 100 feet or so away.  There is the added bonus of a signal bridge and therefore a clue as to anything happening.  You also get an extra warning on EB's- a detector at Emigrant Gap, about 5mi away, is easy to pick up.
All in all it's a reliable place to snag Donner traffic- even more so in the Winter!
SR

Photo 1.  Looking West.  The road just below is HWY 20 looking towards Nevada City/ Grass Valley.  The overpass is I-80 coming up from Sacramento.   This is about mid way on the short gauntlet of single track between Switch 9 and Shed 10.
Photo 2.  Looking East.  On the left is HWY 20 merging into I-80.   The RR passes under the signal bridge an makes a gentle S to Tunnel 35 and, just beyond it, Tunnel 36.   Yes, this is where the City of SF was trapped in 1952- although outside the two tunnels on the long gone Track 1.
Photo 3.  Bringing the camera back down, you can see the generous shoulder CalTrans provides.
 

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Still looks weird to only have a single track through there. The scout camp I went to was just over the mountains to the right and you could here the SP struggling up the Hill at night - a sound I’ll never forget.

Love the drone photos of the snow this year, now you just need the rotaries to come through.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

Super Stuff!
Thanks.
Go

Well done, sir, and good talking to you last night— esp hearing about your Donner “helicopter” days— stuntman, SR!
At your age, stick to the flugginfoaming drone— much safer and keeps BP lower, too!
BTW, a new series for you comes to mind in the last photo— a “Where’s SR?” Titled thread. We already play it on our job while we “look” for you across Donner ( with apologies to “Where’s Waldo” — Lol!).

Great pix.  More! More!

JB - Omaha

Yes, I'll probably do a few more of these.
SR