Passenger Trains > AAPRCO Announces 2013 Napa Valley Limited Special train

AAPRCO has announced the planned routing for the 2013 Napa Valley Limited special train. The routing includes substantial non Amtrak mileage and some very rare mileage as well.

The highlights are as follows:

Stampede Pass Route

Tri-City RR the former Hanford Railroad (US Government RR) Kennewick, WA to Hanford Nuclear Site
Built in 1942 for the Manhattan Project. A passenger train has never operated on this line.

Oregon Trunk Line to Bend and Chemult, OR
Inside Gateway line to Keddie
Feather River Route to Oroville EX WP
Oroville to Sacramento EX WP
California Northern RR Suisun-Fairfield to Napa, CA

The complete routing is copied below. Please check the AAPRCO website or contact your favorite PV operator and make plans to join us.


Thursday, September 26, 2013 (Day 1)

0 L. Seattle, WA Via Amtrak route

22 Auburn, WA Interchange with BNSF Stampede Pass line

126 Ellensburg, WA BNSF Crew change

160 Yakama, WA

248 A. Kennewick, WA Interchange with Tri-City RR

279 A. Hanford, WA Reactor site tour for passengers. Train continues around

Hanford Railroad loop and returns to Richland, WA

310 A. Richland, WA Tri City RR Yard


Friday, September 27, 2013 (Day 2)


0 L. Richland, WA To Kennewick, WA join Amtrak Columbia River route

A. Wishram, WA BNSF Crew change Cross Columbia River to Oregon

Trunk Line

275 A. Bend, OR


Saturday, September 28, 2013 (Day 3)


0 L. Bend, OR Via BNSF Oregon Trunk

Chemult, OR Passengers detrain for Crater Lake tour

144 A. Klamath Falls, OR


Sunday, September 29, 2013 (Day 4)

0 L. Klamath Falls, OR Via BNSF Inside Gateway Route

A. Westwood, CA

202 Keddie, CA Via Feather River Route

268 A. Oroville, CA


Monday, September 30, 2013 (Day 5)


0 L. Oroville, CA

Sacramento, CA

Suisun-Fairfield Via California Northern RR Wye train at Napa Jct.

126 A. Napa, CA Napa Wine train Yard.

Remain parked in Napa for convention


Tuesday, October 1, 2013 (Day 6) – Convention Day 1

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 (Day 7) – Convention Day 2

Thursday, October 3, 2013 (Day 8) – Convention Day 3


Friday, October 4, 2013 (Day 9)

0 L. Napa, CA Via California Northern RR

Suisun-Fairfield Join Amtrak Route

74 A. Oakland, CA Amtrak Yard

0 L. Oakland, CA yard Via Amtrak Coast route

476 A. Los Angeles, CA Trip Terminates


TOTAL MILEAGE = 1673 miles Seattle, WA to Los Angeles, CA

This is awesome! I hope the CZ rail cars will be available for travel (Silver Rapids, Lariat, and Solarium). What a neat trip.

Ah, I don't think so. After the experience that myself and a friend had a couple of years ago on an AAPRCO trip, I won't take another. After signing up and paying the car owner for the trip we also had to pony up cash to AAPRCO for a year's membership even though there were only a few months left. Then we found out that, unlike other railfan trips we had been on (including several trips with the Silver fleet), we were prohibited from leaving the car to visit other cars. I was appreciative of the car owner's hospitality but found the rules for paying passengers to be too restrictive for a repeat.

There is an old saying... You can't please everyone..

Sorry you had a negative experience on the 2010 Pueblo Special which you have articulated.

As this years convention co-chair I can thankfully say that the responses that we received concerning the Chattanooga Limited special train have been outstanding.

We are looking forward to having another spectacular trip to Napa in 2013.

Cumbresfan makes a very good point about AAPRCO membership. I had this exact same thing happen to me on the AAPRCO trip behind 3751 to San Diego. They force you to pay a membership fee, but really they're just pocketing the money and doing nothing with it as far as a benefit to you. What I mean is, you're paying the same rate for one full year of membership, but you're only a member for a few weeks. If you want to remain a member, you've got to pony up the money all over again. I know for a fact that there were a lot of unhappy people about that (including PV owners) because they felt bad having to charge people for something that was basically useless to them. Now if they allowed you to have an AAPRCO membership for a full year, then that would be a different story.

It is my understanding that the membership term has been changed and it is now for one year.

who's the head of the AAPRCO

The Silver Fleet is planning on running a similar trip in June. No Stampede Pass but otherwise much the same as the AAPRCO routing including the rare mileage Inside Gateway. I was informed earlier that the Silver Fleet will not be a part of the AAPRCO consist.

The President of AAPRCO is Taylor Johnson.

they are pv's not coaches

Sounds like a nice trip, but isn't your announcement a little premature? I say this, because when I went to the Rail Opportunities page of the AAPRCO website, there wasn't a single trip offered by PV's for 2013.

poffcapt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sounds like a nice trip, but isn't your
> announcement a little premature? I say this,
> because when I went to the Rail Opportunities page
> of the AAPRCO website, there wasn't a single trip
> offered by PV's for 2013.

Uh, it's right here in black and white.

http://aaprco.com/convention/2013/2013index.html

Uhhhh, Hogger Matt;

I am perfectly capable of reading about the trip. I went to the AAPRCO Convention page first. The point is, private cars are required to ride it.

AARPCO says all trips are for members only (yeah, I know, you get a year membership), and to see if any members are offerring spots in their cars, to go to the "Rail Opportunities" web page to see where you can find a berth.

I went to the "Rail Opportunities" page. There were no cars listed for any trip in 2013. Obviously, owners haven't decided yet if they are going or offering their cars up for space. My point was that maybe AARPCO should have held off on the public announcement until they had some PV's to offer up for space on the "Rail Opportunities" page.

not the way it works