Steam & Excursion > My ride on the Sunday RailGiants excursion 10/13/2019

This is my trip report on the Sunday Oct 13, 2019 RailGiants excursion. (No links needed)
 
Everything here is fact or what I believe to be reasonably true.
 
Before I begin, I say a big THANK YOU to RailGiants (Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Southern California Chapter) and the Union Pacific Railroad.
 
At the very end of September the stars aligned just right and I was going to be able to ride the Sunday excursion train. While I have ridden Amtrak LD trains a few times and commuter trains, I have never as of yet been able to ride a "first class" train. By the end of the first week of October I was able to purchase a Premier class dome seat ticket.
 
On Tuesday Oct 8 ticket sales closed and final information was sent by email. I was assigned seat 11A in the dome of the Colorado Eagle car.
 
ACTUAL TRIP REPORT
 
I arrived at the Metrolink Rancho Cucamonga station at 5:20 AM. By then there were already over 100 people there. The buses that would take us to Barstow arrived at 6 AM. We started loading the buses at 6:30 AM and departed Rancho Cucamonga at 7 AM for the trip to Barstow. We arrived at the Barstow station at 8:25 AM. That gave us about an hour before the train would arrive.
 
At 9:19 the train did a run by of the station. At 9:30 it backed into the station and stopped. (There were concerns about the track east of the station so the train only came into and left the station from the west.)
 
The train departed the station at 11 AM. At 1 PM the train stopped at the Silverwood crossover to service the BigBoy locomotive. We were on the move at 1:46 PM. The train stopped at Slover for about 15 minutes waiting for a light power move to pass then waited about 5 minutes for a signal to go east off the Mojave sub. (Must have been an interesting sight for those on the 10 freeway.) We then proceeded east enough to clear the signals so that we could then reverse direction west. The train then proceeded west in reverse direction to west of the receiving yard, again so that the train could get the signals into the receiving yard. The train came to a stop on track 159 of the West Colton Receiving yard at 4:20 PM. (SP WC track #, I do not know if it still is the same or has changed.)
 
The buses departed the receiving yard at 5:20 and arrived back at the Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink station at 5:45 PM.
 
It was a long (up at 3:45 AM) but very satisfying and worthwhile day and expense.
 
DOME CAR COLORADO EAGLE
 
This is the car I rode and it was absolutely wonderful. It was completely refurbished during winter 2018-2019 and still had that new car smell. This car is an example of the first class travel of yesteryear. Great woodwork, upholstery, carpeting and seating. Even the bathrooms are first class. Our car hosts were the Ferguson family (father, mother and son) and they did a great job. Was it perfect, no. But they were volunteers (as were all the car hosts) and did an outstanding job. Everyone in the car was nice to each other and we all kept a look out for each other in getting pictures and such. (No one hogged the front of the dome.)
 
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD PARTICIPATION
 
Union Pacific did this without any cost to RailGiants. Period, end of story. Union Pacific provided the RailGiants with 13 cars to use (plus a power car and 2 deluxe sleepers for crew only) in addition to pulling the train with 4014. Part of the deal between UP and RailGiants for the 4014 as that UP would do an excursion for the RailGiants within 12 months of 4014 returning to operational status. This is the only "public" excursion the UP is doing with a steam locomotive this year. This is also the longest train of UP Passenger equipment that has been done in many many years.
 
RAILGIANTS PARTICIPATION
 
RailGiants was responsible for everything outside of what UP provided. They had to line up and pay for the busses (for both the RailGiants crew and car hosts as wells as for ticketed passengers) and the catering (breakfast, lunch and snacks). They had to line up the car hosts. They paid for and coordinated the communitive items as well as all the printing and other logistics, including a paramedic crew. And they did all of that with an all volunteer force. Each ticket holder on both days received a great pack of commemorative items that was not cheap by any means. In other words, this COST RailGiants a lot of money to do. RailGiants also had to make sure the cars were cleaned and back in the condition they were in before they were used for the excursion.
 
THANK YOU to Union Pacific and RailGiants for that great opportunity.
 
CONCLUSION
 
The money for tickets to ride that I and about 650 others spent was well worth it. To be able to ride a passenger train from yesteryear, behind the largest operating steam locomotive in the US on main line active railroad in Southern California, was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Union Pacific went above and beyond whatever may have been required by the agreement in 2013 with RailGiants. Union Pacific put on a First Class show. RailGiants put on a First Class excursion. Everyone involved, from Ed Dickens to the car hosts and all in between did an absolute fantastic job and are to be commended for the time and effort each and every one put into making the excursion the truly great event and fundraiser it was.
 
ACTUAL AND OFFICIAL CONSIST
 
UP 4014 Steam engine with tender from 3985
Water car 814
Water car 809
UP locomotive 9072
UP locomotive 2551
 
The following 8 cars are the consist traveling with 4014 and are for UP crew only:
Art Lockman tool car
Steam Support car Howard Fogg 209
Lynn Nystrom baggage car
Experience/Museum car Promontory
Green River UP crew deluxe sleeper
Power Car 2066
Walter Dean UP crew Dome
City of Denver UP Crew Diner
Kenefick UP Crew business car and used for entertaining UP executive guests.
 
The following cars were added for the RailGiants excursion BUT for use by crew members (I do not know if it was for UP crew or RailGiants crew or what) only:
Little Rock Deluxe sleeper
Omaha Deluxe sleeper
 
The following cars were provided by UP exclusively for use by RailGiants for the excursion:
Challenger Dome Coach for Steamliner class passengers
> Portland Rose Coach for Steamline class passengers < (NOTE THIS CAR WAS NOT USED AND STAYED AT WEST COLTON)
> Katy Flyer Coach for Steamline class passengers < (NOTE THIS CAR WAS NOT USED AND STAYED AT WEST COLTON)
Sunshine Special Coach for Steamliner class passengers
City of Salina coach for Steamliner class passengers
Texas Eagle coach for Steamliner class passengers
Columbine Dome for Steamliner class passengers
Missouri River Eagle Dome for Premier class passengers
Power car 208
Colorado Eagle Dome for Premier class passengers
City of Los Angeles Diner served as a consession area for RailGiants as well as the area the caterer used.
City of Portland Dome Diner for First Class passengers
City of San Francisco Dome Lounge for First Class passengers
Cheyenne Business car for the Executive car (yes it was "purchased" for both days)
 

Glad it was such a success. I wish I could have afforded to ride, as it would have been a neat experience for sure!

Thank you for sharing your observations and details
of the excursion ... much appreciated!

I am glad that both the Rail Giants and the UP took the
effort and risk to go through with the 4014 restoration and
excursion ... I have thoroughly enjoyed following the 4014
saga and experienced major portions of the runs to and
from Ogden and then into Iowa and then on the return to Cheyenne
through Nebraska.

Had less success on the Utah portion of the Southwest run,
but that is OK.  Plan to follow again as the 4014 cruises through Kansas
and Denver to Cheyenne in November ...

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO