Western Railroad Discussion > Train watching on Donner

I recently moved close to Donner pass. I used to watch trains on Cajon often, and there was a lot of traffic there.
What is the best time to watch trains on Donner pass? Every time I go, there isn't any trains.

You  get a little spoiled on Cajon, the Donner pass line is much less busy.

A couple of ideas.
1. Amtrak uses track a train, so you can always monitor the Zephry's #5 and #6 to see where they are.
2. ATCS monitor is active on this line from Reno to Rossville.  I recommend you get that.  You can get the program and data files from https://groups.io/g/ATCSMonitor  There is a bit of a learning curve but it is very valuable one you get used to it.
3.  Not sure where you are, but Truckee has a webcam so you can at least see when trains are rolling through town  https://tahoetopia.com/webcam/downtown-truckee

There are a couple of almost daily trains I know of, I am sure there are more

INPOA and IOANP - Intermodal from Oakland to North Platte
ZG2LT and ZLTG2 - High priority intermodal Global 2 (chicago) to Lanthrop CA
MFRNP and MNPFR - mixed freight from Fresno to North Platte



 

The Truckee Cam and the RR Radio feed are very useful and cheap. Not sure of the best place to hang out but there's a number of things to be aware of. On the lower section where the two tracks are seperated, the trains don't always use the same track that they used yesterday. On the upper section there's all sorts of rules for parking during the snow season, which is based on a large number of people being there to play in the snow at the side of the road. One day it's nice and quiet, next day its elbow room only. Be very aware of the weekend traffic, Sunday afternoon and evening are particularly nuts with folks heading back to the Valley.

Oh and watch out for crusty railfans driving old Subarus. Let us now how it works out.

Hey!
SR

Traffic is primarily Easbound - As observed at Dutch Flat/Alta Area:

Eastbound:
The Lathrop Z (mid-mornin)
IOACY - late morning/early afternnoon
MFRNP - late morning/early afternoon
MRVOG  or MRVSP afternoon.
Sprinkle in a Auto train, MT Coal, MT Ethanol or MT Grain . Most of these run in the afternoon.

Westbound:
Lathrop Z Train - early/mid morning. 
MOGRV - If I saw it it was mid/late afternoon. 
Light Engine Move from Sparks

Most of the Westbound Traffic runs Via the Feather River Canyon.

A scanner helps pick up DS 9 chatter plus detectors (entrance greeting only now) as well as the FRED and DPU chirps from trains.

Lineside signals (on the newer signal installs) will light up 10-15 minutes ahead of the train. The entire section between Colfax and Switch 9 does this.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/21 14:41 by donner_dude1.

I too lived in S. Calif. now some 15 years ago and absolutely loved Cajon. The never ending frequency
and the evolution of diesel models, doublestack trains and the slow demise of Amtrak's F40's, all
visible and able to be witnesse. I moved to N. Calif. to Auburn and now live ahalf mile from the #1
(descending) track which was the original alignment. If you go to watch trains, be prepared to enjoy the scenery!
Trains are few and far between. Also, when you go on remote frontage roads, especially above Colfax
stay aware of running into encampments of folks trying to live off the grid for whatever reason. They 
don't care for visitors. Also, don't go around locked gates.
Having said all this, by all means go to the 
classic Donner areas of Gold Run, Yuba Gap, Soda Springs, Truckee, the Truckee River canyon (east of Truckee)
and what's left of the snowsheds. Sit trackside and appreciate the immense history
of building this with hand tools and black powder Poner  the fact that that this area saw everything from the cab-forwards to the F units
and at the time we all thought then that these eras would never end, till they did....oh and enjoy the scenery!
One of my favorite places is China Wall, which is a massive interlocked rock embankment from
the original build era. It's visible and accessible off old Hwy.40 between Soda Springs and Donner lake.
Oh, also look at the posts from Boiling Man, my hero of the hill. His writing and captioning is as good as his photographs.
I have picked up a lot of the history of this region by just reading his posts.
George Andrassy
 

Dwalker999 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is the best time to watch trains on Donner
> pass? Every time I go, there isn't any trains.

It's relatively easy to find a good place to watch trains on Cajon Pass, due to lack of trees and good visibility of the ROWs from a distance. Not necessarily so on Donner.

I highly recommend you study maps and go scout locations along Donner Pass. What people have described above will make much more sense once you do. My advice is based on the fact that "mountain section" of Cajon Pass (Devore to Martinez) is about 18 miles. For Donner (Rocklin to Truckee) it is about 95 miles, longer if you go further east toward Verdi.

Many of us "hunt & chase" on Donner, using some of the tools (ATCS, scanner, EOTD "chirps", lit signals) described above. Waiting for trains to show up can waste a lot of time.  Once you have experience, you can drive along I-80 and close in on trains quicker, as long as you don't mind using up some fuel.

Thanks for all the info folks! This is really helpful. So far I have been using a scanner, listening for the talkers, and watching
the signals. Does anyone know if there is much traffic on the Reno Industrial Lead through to Beckwourth pass? I know there
is a lot of local traffic north into the Stead area, and there were some cars including some racks that were parked near the pass. They must have been damaged after the Loyalton fire. They were recently pulled up to Chillcoot, so I was wondering if they were planning on running traffic from Reno up north.

Dwalker999 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for all the info folks! This is really
> helpful. So far I have been using a scanner,
> listening for the talkers, and watching
> the signals. Does anyone know if there is much
> traffic on the Reno Industrial Lead through to
> Beckwourth pass? I know there
> is a lot of local traffic north into the Stead
> area, and there were some cars including some
> racks that were parked near the pass. They must
> have been damaged after the Loyalton fire. They
> were recently pulled up to Chillcoot, so I was
> wondering if they were planning on running traffic
> from Reno up north.

The Reno Branch/Industrial Lead (even before the fire) did not see any through traffic from the Roseville Sub to the Canyon Sub. The Southern end is served by locals based out of Sparks and the rest of the line does serve as car storage frequently.

I would agree that The Hill is primarily about history, scenery, light, and weather.  The trains themselves are a nice bonus, but really only one part of a greater whole.  On Cajon you can simply pull up a chair and enjoy a parade.  Donner just isn't like that.  It's not passive.
SR