Western Railroad Discussion > Southern Idaho Questions

I have some extra time in Boise - a Friday, Saturday and Sunday to be specific.

Looking at things, there's the Eastern Idaho, the IN&P, and of course, the Yellow Borg. I have never photographed in this area, so I'm looking for input and assistance.

I may live to regret phrasing this question as such, (and I do so with sincerity and not the invitation of flame:

Assuming that (1) you knew the operations in the area, and (2) had these three days to photograph operations, what operations / lines would you seek out and when?

I am armed with DeLormes, D.J. Cooley's maps, and the latest Altamont Press Timetable (educated tourist).

Thanks in advance.

KMS

The area around King Hill / Glenns Ferry is worth some time. Not a bad trip east from Boise.

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Saturday is a good day to catch the EIRR locos in the yards. Several call Twin Falls home and Rupert is good. Good roster shots at Rupert in the morning..Twin Falls is good mid day.. I forget the name of the town..west of Burley. where there is a ex GTW GP9. This can be seen from the wb freeway. Interchange is close to the UP mainline.
There is agood road east of Mountain Home along the UP where you can pace the trains. Lots of good places but its helpful to have an Altamont Press timetable for that area and a scanner.
Roger Beckett

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Lots of great railfanning to do in the Boise area. To the East, you can take a day and follow the UP main line east from Mountain Home through Glenns Ferry to Shoshone and Minidoka, and drop down to Rupert to check out the EIRR shops. Your DeLorme and Altamont Press TTs will provide you with the references you need - take a scanner if you have one and listen to the UP's road frequency - it'll help you find the trains. Very scenic line with very good access from the old highway - once you're off the freeway at Mtn Home, you can stay on the old US30 road all the way to Minidoka and Rupert w/o getting abck on I-84. For a detour, get off I-84 at the Orchard exit east of Boise and drop down to the mainline at the junction with the east end of the Boise line (old water tank still standing there). You have to go back to the freeway to go east, though, as the dirt roads out there are pretty dicey.

My favorite in the area is to follow the UP main west from Huntington, OR, over the Blue Mountains to Pendleton, by way of Baker City and LaGrande. This is a great, very pretty mountain railroad that climbs over three summits. Again, extremely photogenic and great access from the old roads - you can go virtually all the way from Huntington to Pendleton with only two small stretches on the freeway. Several dragging equip detectors will help you find the trains, and there's a nice brewpub in Baker City for dinner on Saturday (closed Sundays though). Again, an Altamont TT and an Oregon Gazetteer and you'll be all set. With the Blue Mountains as a backdrop, this is one of my all-time favorite fanning spots.

Closer to Boise is UP's yard in Nampa, but the access isn't all that good, and INPR runs the Boise branch on weekdays. Don't know 'bout EIRR, but the UP is so interesting and scenic (and pretty busy - you oughtta see 20-25 trains a day), my money is on the mainline stuff.

Hope that helps, and have fun!

I thought I had some slides scanned from the Reverse area, but I can't seem to locate them - that is a nice area for afternoon shots. If you are lucky, you might find something running on the Idaho, Northern and Pacific in the Payette area.

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Southern Idaho is one of my favortite places. It has the traditional UP look - 3 crossbar line poles and all. I would recommend spending some time on Meadbury Hill (east of Mnt. Home). During the grain rush UP uses manned helpers on grain trains up the hill. When I was through there mid March, the helpers consisted of two SD40-2s.

Enjoy!

Casey

Idaho Northern & Pacific operates 5 days a week out of the
Nampa yard to Wilder and Boise. On the other side the normal operation is on Wednesdays from Emmett to Payette and back.
The current power is the 1707. Best chance for any action
is at Horseshoe Bend on the weekends(Thunder Mtn. Line).

Bryan Loftin

Here's one from the Reverse area. There are a lot of interesting angles between Hammett and Reverse. Access is via a quiet secondary road.

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Make a stop out on Federal Way and Apple St. and see the Boise Motivepower shops. There are many older engines, mostly SP at the moment. Also, they do service for many GE locos. A neat place to look around and you can see a lot from the road. The INP usually make it out to the Federal Way area between 12 - 3 pm daily. They are a neat little operation to watch.

As for the ex GTW GP( Torpedo Boat?) mentioned above, I believe it is located in Bliss, Idaho, about an hour or so from Boise. Also, the Boise depot is a great place to check out, located on Vista Avenue. The depot will be open for it's 80th anniversary on the weekend of April 16th and 17th.

Oh, boy, that nasty-looking ex-CN WAMX crap on the EI really gets my railfanning juices flowing (not!). How much of their orange fleet is still around?

Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my inquiry. Also, thanks for the detailed responses. Your collective assistance will certainly make my trip planning much easier, and make for a much more productive trip.

KMS