So I got up early Sunday and checked out of my hotel in Reno Nevada. I wanted to leave before I was tempted to "win" more. Anyhow, I found nice spot to eat my Egg McMuffin by the Truckee River and spotted this massive Union Pacific freight train heading west out of Verdi Nevada. I decided to get some pictures of it during my trip back to the bay area.
It takes a lot of power to pull a train over Donner
The Sierra Nevada range got its first dusting of snow last week. For those familiar, that is the Boomtown Casino in the background.
The train contained a large section of military cargo
I just missed the train at Truckee, and the pictures are not worth posting here, but I caught it coming down the pass at the tiny town of Alta California. Here you can see the heat pouring out of the dynamic breaks as the 6 engines struggle to keep the speed under control as the train descends the steeper western slope of Donner Pass.
Smoke was pouring off all of the freight cars break shoes as well. You could also smell the breaks big time!
Finally further down the hill at Colfax the train is on more level ground and coasting toward its next stop, the massive Union Pacific yard at Roseville California.
