After several Cancelations due to weather on Donner pass this winter, the first Sierra Scenic train and the First Reno Fun Train make their first runs from the bay area to Reno and back. Heritage ... (more)

After several Cancelations due to weather on Donner pass this winter, the first Sierra Scenic train and the First Reno Fun Train make their first runs from the bay area to Reno and back. Heritage ... (more)

Wide winging at Yuba Pass… After battling blizzard conditions the previous two days on the Sierra finally a break in the weather greets Union Pacific's snow fighters as they dig out Union Pacifi... (more)

As the final trace of daylight saturates the lingering clouds over the summit of the high Sierra Amtrak's eastbound California Zephyr passes through Soda Springs, just west of Norden. Even running... (more)

On a beautiful winter's afternoon near the top of Donner Pass a westbound Union Pacific double stack train approaches Norden as the dense Sierra fog begins to roll in. Looming over the scene and a... (more)

54" for Norden…between 00:00 on Monday January 9th and 00:00 Tuesday January 10th 54" of fresh snow fell at Norden at the top of Union Pacific's Sierra crossing. While not the most sno... (more)

After a morning 'Fulda flip' an eastbound flanger returns to Truckee, passing through the snow caked pine groves near the old SP station of Cisco.

Snow fighting across a continuous ridge…… When selling his crossing of the Sierra to Central Pacific's 'Big Four' Theodore Judah promoted the idea that his railroad would follow a continuous r... (more)

A westbound Union Pacific Z train emerges from the west portal of tunnel #1 near the old station of Knapp on the western slope of Donner Pass. Tunnel #1 is one of only a few 'Harriman era' double ... (more)

As afternoon fades to evening the howl of dynamics pierce the snow cap calm on the western slope of the Sierra, within moments the source of intruding sound peaks around the curve having just pass... (more)

As a new storm front moves over northern California and the Sierra Nevada range Union Pacific prepares for mother natures worst intentions. Running as the first line of defense to contend with the... (more)

With the mountain again clear after a early morning run west to Shed 10, Union Pacific's 'lead' spreader set drifts through Soda Springs, following closely behind the 'broken wing' spreader. The s... (more)

The Only Way to Fly!

The Southern Pacific's crossing of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in northern California is spectacular, and riding Amtrak's California Zephyr is a sp... (more)

Sierra 'dupe' 5287 leads a four pack of SD70Ms and the westbound ZNPOA out of Truckee on the final leg of the climb up the eastern slope of the Sierra. Nestled under the tall pines in the backgrou... (more)

Keeping up with snow on the Sierra has been apart of railroading on the mountain since the rails of the Central Pacific arrived in the 1860s. Methods have come and gone, and those that have worked... (more)