Steam & Excursion > Niles Canyon Train Of Lights In Full Swing

Train was decorated and is operated by volunteers of the Pacific Locomotive Association
and runs between Niles & Sunol through Niles Canyon, near the south bay city of Fremont, Calif.
Seems like every year the holiday season starts earlier.
TOL started this year on November 18th and will run until December 28th.
Motive power this year is WP GP7 713 westbound, and SP SD9 5472 working upgrade up the 1.5%
upgrade eastbound to Sunol.
This is an Evan Werkema photo from several years ago.
Regards, Jim Evans

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Too bad it can't run someplace populated so people could see and enjoy it. 

People can stop by the Fremont neighborhood of Niles to see it depart at 4:30pm near sunset, viewing from the restored depot and WP caboose area with good parking.  Lots of population around there (230,000 in Fremont as of 2020).

Also can be viewed moving after it crosses Mission Blvd at the Vallejo Mill park off of Niles Canyon Road.

In the central San Francisco Bay Area, about 6 million people live within roughly an hour's drive of Niles Canyon Railway. It is an oasis of unspoiled coast-range scenery surrounded by suburbia. 

Our passengers enjoy viewing the outside of the Train of Lights on the many sharp curves. Many also walk the train from end to end to enjoy all the different lights and decorations inside.

Most of Niles Canyon is far too steep to build on. The land is held as emergency watershed preserve, East Bay Regional Park, and/or privately-owned cattle ranches. 

- Doug Debs
Niles Canyon Railway volunteer

ExStarlightHog Wrote:
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> Too bad it can't run someplace populated so people
> could see and enjoy it. 

So the NIMBY's will complain about it? No thank you.

FiveChime Wrote:

> This is an Evan Werkema photo from several years ago.

The EXIF info embedded in the image by my long-dead Canon Powershot A620 says it was recorded 15 years ago, December 2, 2007!  Hard to believe it's been that long!  Thanks for giving me the ticket to ride all those years ago, Jim!

2007: That explains why the train is so short!  The Train of Lights is now 16 cars + 2 diesel locomotives. It operates 2 trains/night, generally 4 nights/week, Nov 18 thru Dec 28. That is a lot for an all-volunteer group.

- Doug Debs
Train of Lights volunteer
Commissary Dept.

Yes, this is a great ride and was completely sold out in mid-October!!  The only way to ride it now is to hope for cancellations.  What a testament this is to all the hard work these volunteers have done since the PLA's beginning in 1961.  My one regret is that we will probably never see the Howard Terminal 6, our first steam locomotive, in service for years to come.  But you can't have everything.😄

I'm glad they are still running the train.  Still haven't ridden Niles yet, but have seen it a number of times, including from the air on flights approaching Oakland.

Nathan