On
August 21st,
2011, I was given the opportunity by a good friend of mine to ride the
Feather River Express from
Portola to
Davis, California.
The Feather River Express is a train comprised of various private rail cars. The private car I was on is called the
Silver Splendor and is owned by LA
Rail. The Silver Splendor was originally built in
1956 by the
Budd Company. The car was created for the
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railway and ran from
Chicago to
Denver on the
California Zephyr service. The original name for this car was the "Silver Buckle" but that was changed once it entered private ownership. The car can seat a total of 60 people. The car consists of lower level table seating, lower level lounge seating, and dome car seating. Every seat in the Silver Splendor is extremely comfortable and offers a great view of the passing scene. It is definitely a first class experience. To learn more about the Silver Splendor or to view future public trips, visit these sites. You surely won't be disappointed riding in this level of luxury.
http://www.heritagerailways.us/history
.html
http://www.larail.com/index
.php
The scenery along this trip was incredible. Shortly after departing Portola, the train was snaking along the
North Fork of the Feather River providing incredible scenes of the canyon below.
Soon after we were soaring high above the mountains on the
Clio Trestle.
Quickly after we again found the train winding along the river. The mountains and river made for incredible scenery all the way down to Oroville. Along the
Feather River Route, the scenery is only second to the impressive railroad infrastructure you pass along the way. The highlights of this route are the Clio Trestle,
Williams Loop, the world famous
Keddie Wye,
Honeymoon Tunnel, the double bridges at Tobin and
Pulga,
Northfork Bridge,
Highway 70 Bridge,
James Horsehoe, as well as many other bridges and tunnels along the route. It really is amazing how a railroad could have ever been built through this section of land.
Here are some photos from this trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amtrakdavis22/sets/72157627593984119/
This is the greatest train trip I have ever taken. I would like to thanks my friend and coach
Mike.
Without him, none of this would have happened. I would also like to thank Jon and
Heidi for allowing me to experience their rail car first hand. I also owe a special thanks to the car attendants Ken and Yorkman for making my ride so enjoyable.
Great train and great people made this an unforgettable journey.
So sit back and enjoy a true
American Railroading experience!
Due to the length of this video, I have created a scene selection which should help you navigate quickly to the highlights along the Feather River Route.
Scene Selection:
Western Pacific Railroad Museum.........
..00:02:05
Clio Trestle...............................................00:04:50
Meeting UP
2232 East:............................00:06:35
Williams Loop..........................................00:07:43
Keddie Wye.............................................00:15:00
Virgilia Siding...........................................00:17:25
Honeymoon Tunnels................................00:22:30
Tobin Bridges...........................................00:24:
30
Rock Creek Trestle..................................00:25:35
Pulga
Double Bridges..............................00:31:15
North Fork Bridge....................................00:37:20
Highway 70 Bridge..................................00:40:25
Feather River Bridge...............................00:53:25
Oroville
Stop:.......................................... 00:55:20
Meeting
Northbound BNSF:....................00:58:05
Binney Junction: ....................................
.01:00:10
Meeting Northbound UP:.........................01:02:27
Haggin
Junction:......................................01:04:25
Sacramento Depot:..................................01:07:55
Arriving in
Davis:......................................01:12:48
Two corrections:
Lake Oroville Bridge is supposed to be Feather River Bridge which is the water just released from the Lake Oroville Dam and the dam labeled Lake Oroville Dam is a smaller subset dam (not the actual Lake Oroville Dam).
Run time: 1h 16m 05s
All photos and video Amtrakdavis22 ©
2012
- published: 28 Jul 2012
- views: 55268