Western Railroad Discussion > Two up and one down at Cisco (Donner Pass)

On the morning of June 23rd I headed down to Cisco to see if I could catch an eastbound train at the tunnel pairs of Tunnel 38 and Tunnel 3, where there is a short tangent on Main 2 and curve on Main 1 before the tracks reenter Tunnel 39 and Tunnel 4, respectively. The sky was overcast in the morning, and the weather turned out to be funky all day on the summit, with periods of rain and hail mixed with warm sunshine. Of course with overcast skies, why wouldn’t I get three trains in 30 minutes?
 
Photos 1-3: UP 5542 is leading an eastbound manifest up the hill on Main 2 as it emerges from Tunnel 38 and approaches Tunnel 39.
 
Continued…

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I was about to pack it in when a look back spotted a descending intermodal train on Main 1, so I set back up to shoot the going away shot.
 
Photos 4-5: UP 5331, 2546, 6384, and 7838 are all tip-to-tail on a westbound intermodal train exiting Tunnel 4 headed for Tunnel 3. I don’t know if this was the IG2LT, ZG2LT, or some other train.
 
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The light was beginning to clear up a bit, so I was optimistic when I saw the stack train stopping for a meet at Shed 10. Figuring another eastbound was close I stuck around, and I was rewarded with the BNSF trackage rights train.
 
Photos 6-8: BNSF 5244 is on point of the H-STOPVO1 (UP symbol QBCPVJ) from Stockton, CA to Provo, UT, looking good as it emerges from Tunnel 38 and grinds up towards Tunnel 39 on Main 2. With this train still not in full sun, I was motivated to return.
 
Cheers,
Sean

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Great locations. Interesting to note theses tracks form a "K" shape in the first picture. Very interesting.

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

Fantastic series!

Great shots! This is my favorite spot on the hill, how did you happen to get there?

Great set of photos of the location with trains in both directions, with the westbound going-away shots looking quite dramatic!

Rich

Really nice series love your location very interesting set-up thanks for sharing!

Thanks!

You need to be sure footed and willing to climb and scramble a bit...some bushwhacking is involved. And of course, always be listening and aware of trains that could be coming in either direction on either track.

Sean

thetuck Wrote:
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> Great shots! This is my favorite spot on the hill,
> how did you happen to get there?

The "K" shape is part of the appeal of this location, I think. The track and tunnels to the right of the image are part of the original Central Pacific grade, designated as Main 1. The track on the left, which is designated as Main 2, was constructed in the first quarter of the 20th Century when a second mainline was added over Donner Pass.

Sean

pedrop Wrote:
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> Great locations. Interesting to note theses tracks
> form a "K" shape in the first picture. Very
> interesting.
>
> Posted from Android

Great images and excellent converage!
 

What a fun spot, and you snagged some fantastic photos.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

Love the photos and the cloudy light. Thanks for sharing. 

If the water in the river is low enough, you can walk across it, through the pipe under I-80 then head west a bit and then straight up the hill.

Ryan Wilkerson
Fair Oaks, CA

Very nice..!!