Along The Feather River Route: Trains On The Former WP | UP | BNSF | Amtrak | ACE | Foreign Power

The Western Pacific was the last Transcontinental Railroad built into California, the railroad was completed in 1909, running out of Oakland, CA and ending in Salt Lake City, UT with a connection to the Rio Grande utilizing a route through the Sierras via the Feather River Canyon. The WP is perhaps best known for its leg of the California Zephyr which it operated jointly with the Rio Grande, and CB&Q from 1949 to 1970, with the major selling point being the scenery along the Feather River Route. In 1931 the Great Northern extended its track south out of Klamath Falls, OR as the WP built north out of Keddie, CA, with the lines meeting in Bieber, CA, forming the Inside Gateway Route, which lead to trackage rights trains from the Great Northern and later Burlington Northern becoming regular fixtures in the canyon south of Keddie. In December of 1982, the Union Pacific took control of the Western Pacific to gain access into the Bay Area and Northern California markets, ending the era of green, silver, and orange in the Feather River Canyon. This video focuses on the former WP mainline from 2009 to 2022, starting at Niles Junction in the Bay Area and ending at Williams Loop in the Feather River Canyon. During this time frame the UP was notching the tunnels on Donner Pass and regular doublestack service on the Feather River Route was on its last days. BNSF running on trackage rights to get to the Inside Gateway shows an increase in traffic with grain, baretable, intermodal, and extra trains in addition to the regular manifest traffic, several of which have foreign power. Altamont Corridor Express is seen on Altamont Pass taking riders between San Jose and Stockton, as well as Amtrak's Coast Starlight running its regular route on the former WP between Marysville and Sacramento, and detouring through Niles Canyon. Also seen is one of Amtrak's San Joaquin trains detouring on the ex-WP between Sacramento and Stockton. Added to the rare moves is a catch of one of the CP Heritage SD70ACus on a grain train, Citirail leaser units, CSX, NS, and much more. Enjoy this journey, Along The Feather River Route!