Nostalgia & History > Preserving the Tunnels at Donner Summit

Interesting article on the Smithsonian site about efforts to preserve the tunnels along the abandoned ROW. "Built by Chinese immigrants in the 1860s, the caverns cutting through Donner Summit helped unite the country" Not behind a paywall, near as I can tell . . 
Craig
Santa Rosa, CA

Install some track and runs some trains by them, it's the best way to preserve them all.

Dave

Maybe a tourist railroad that runs back and forth between Norden and Eder?  Spectacular views of Donner Lake, with seats only needed on one side of the train.

kilroydiver Wrote:
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> Install some track and runs some trains by them,
> it's the best way to preserve them all.
>
> Dave

PasadenaSub Wrote:
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> Maybe a tourist railroad that runs back and forth
> between Norden and Eder?  Spectacular views of 
> Donner Lake, with seats only needed on one side of
> the train.
>

Besides the fact that all of the track and roadbed would have to be rebuilt (along with repairing shed/tunnel  damage) ($$$$$$) I doubt UP would want any part of that. They've done all they can to close off the area near the East Portal of T41. To many Yo yo's want to play around the tracks near the Tunnel Porthole. 

The great views of Donner Lake (for the most part) are between just east of Shed 47 and Andover. The view of the Lake from Eder (track level) is pretty much obscured with the Forrest now.  

I went to the Smithsonian museum websit, and when I entered Donner, this came up;  https://www.si.edu/object/1967-railroads-are-fun-winter-1951-52-donner-pass:yt_F368oU87DmE

Interesting montage of vignettes.  Opens with the CZ in Colorado east of the Moffat Tunnel.   The end segment looks like the City of San Francisco being extracted from the snowbound trip near Yuba Pass.