Niles Canyon Railway I took a little trip on the Niles Canyon Railway this morning. Wonderful start to a day. A little history I didn't know: When the gold spike was set in Utah for the Transcontinental Railroad, the western point was only Sacramento, CA. Four months later they connected Sacramento thru Stockton, CA, into the Niles Canyon, then up to what is now Oakland. From there the trains took a ferry across San Francisco Bay to Pier 43. They say the rails are still on the pier. I'll try to get over next weekend and see. The Niles Canyon route was abandoned and another rail bed made for better access. The Niles Canyon run is an isolated rail now and runs on Sunday's by a local group of enthusiasts. Here's a link to a video I made of the trip from pictures I took. I'm in there somewhere! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6aQK397vss Hoppy Easter.
Niles Canyon Fred, As a former member of PLA aka Niles Canyon Railway I can tell you, its not isolated. This a is well organized group of preservationist who have turned this group into a large business. Yes they are still a non-profit, but with a lot of planning and hard work they have put together a great cross section of equipment, and they continue to look for more. The latest is the KM they got in a trade with CSRM. I am a long time friend of one of the many talented people work on that loco. I can tell you for sure it will look better when they are finished than it did out of the factory. If you ever get back to Niles you need to spend some serious time looking around and talking to the members. You will find everything I said to be true. Shannon
Fred and Shannon, thanks for the history lesson and the description of the operations at Niles Canyon. They have a lot of steam going on and the GGRM operates 2472 there also. I wish I lived closer as these operations are what really attacts me to lineside. Happy Easter to both of you. :tb-biggrin:
The Niles Canyon route is a former SP right of way that SP did abandon in the 1980s, but the PLA took it over and it wasn't out of use long. The other route through Niles Canyon was not a replacement, but belonged to the Western Pacific, and is now of course part of the UP.
Thanks for the corrections and clarifications. The guy's working the stations and trains were very nice and helpful, but I guess a little short on history.
I just joined the TCSME where we are preparing to start construction on 2 new layouts at the newly restored Niles Depot (N Scale), and Niles Freight Shed (HO Scale). The UP tracks are right behind the depot, as well as the Niles Canyon Railway's tracks, and on the 1st and 3rd weekends of the month, the Niles Canyon Railway operates 4 runs a day. I can't wait till we start construction in the next few weeks, so I can be there when the trains come through! I have rode the train a few years ago, and being on the Scenery Committee, I will need to ride again to take lots of reference pictures! Oh, by the way, one of my co-workers lives in Tracy, and sometimes rides the ACE train to work in San Jose, and travels through Niles Canyon on the other side of Alameda Creek.
