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Hoping someone here might have detail information (MP to MP) of the Amtrak route from Denver to Emeryville, CA. I am aware of http://www.daeunert.com/Colorado/html/mile_by_mile.html but that just covers to Salt Lake City. Hoping someone can point me to the same level of detail for the remainder of the trip.
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Can't help you any further but I just thought I'd thank you for that link - it's made for an interesting couple of hours' reading on one of my favourite rail routes!
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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You can get Rail Ventures at Amazon.com. I would suggest you get the latest edition which I think is the 6th edition. I notice they have several. Also the Amtrak route guides are fairly comprehensive though the latest ones are not as good as the early ones.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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TrainWeb.com has a good collection of the older, more detailed route guides, including the one for the Zephyr.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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BNSF has fairly detailed maps of their lines showing mileposts at identified locations, but you are on UP track all the way west from Denver. I mention these because, if you go to http://www.bnsf.com/employees/communications/bnsf_today/2008/05/2008-05-15-a.html and click on California Division and Powder River Division, you will see a parts of the route you will travel, but mostly without milepost locations, as BNSF has rights to run on these tracks.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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I don't know what MP to MP means, but I can tell you that the train leaves Salt Lake City in the middle of the night and goes along the Great Salt Lake and Bonneville Salt Flats. It then gets to Elko Nevada--late enough, in my experience, for it to be daylight already--a city not very attractive from the train (but I'm told there are nicer parts), with some casinos. After you leave, you can see the Ruby Mountains on your left and Independence Range on your right--but the scenery at this point is mostly noncolorful desert, nothing like the gorgeous stuff of the day before. You come to Winnemucca but cannot see the town; however, it is a smoke stop and you can get out and take a picture of the sign because, after all, how many of your friends have been to Winnemucca?
You continue in Nevada, past among other things the mustang ranch on the left. You then come to Sparks, for a service stop, and Reno, another smoke stop, although the Reno station is below ground level so you don't see much from here. But be sure to be in the observation car--on the right side facing forward if at all possible--when you leave Reno, for the ride over the Sierra Nevada is now gorgeous again. You will go through the cute town of Truckee, California (Truckee was the son, or maybe father--I forget, of Winnemucca--I believe that is Paiute tribe). Then you climb through the famous (infamous? tragic anyways) Donner Pass; Donner Lake is on the right facing forward, which is why I recommended sitting on that side, for it is very lovely indeed. You then go down the mountains into the Sacramento Valley, stopping in Colfax along the way. I don't really remember much after that, except that if you are going all the way, when you get to Emeryville it can be quite a bit later than scheduled, so some people like to spend their first night there instead of taking the shuttle bus that night into San Francisco. There are some hotels right by the train station. . . . Another option is to stay in Sacramento and take a Capitol Corridor train the next day--I think you can take that to Oakland and then catch a shuttle, and there is more than one a day, but I'm not sure. . . .
People taking this train for the ride often go only as far as Sacramento and then catch the north or southbound Coast Starlight. In the time between trains you can visit the CA state capitol (though I think it closes 5PM and your train could be later) or Old Town, right by the train station. I do not love Sacramento, but it is all right, and the train station is fine for changing trains, even at 1 AM or whenever the northbound Coast Starlight gets in.
Our Mr Kisor has written a cool book about the CA Zephyr (which I own). There is also a book called USA by Rail: The Bradt Travel Guide by a John Pitt. I don't know if the route has changed since these came out and if they have MP to MP info (since I don't know what the is).
The Zephyr is my favorite US train ride, as far as scenery goes. It's always late--when you see the terrain, you can see why--and sometimes detoured due to trackwork, esp in the spring--that is tiresome!
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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I have put together several "MP to MP" railroad guides, and have put a couple of them on my web site, railroadrich.com (the "logs" on the web site actually go minute by minute, not MP by MP, since there is such a discrepancy between AMTRAK timetable mileages and the MP's in my "logs"), however, I have not done EMY-(RNO)-SLC yet, and it will probably be a while before I attempt that one, since there are such lengthy "directional running" segments in Nevada, which will be difficult to coordinate into one log.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Actually both the Amtrak guide and the book Rail ventures goes by time. The book gives you a tremendous amt of info
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Well, Mr Lion, my copy of USA by Rail does have some numbers after the main places named, but I've never figured out what they mean. For instance, Salt Lake City says (55/250); Elko (250/120), Winnemucca (120/165), Mustang Ranch (145/20), Sparks (165/10), Reno (10/55), Nevada/CA State Line (20/350), Truckee (50/125), Donner Lake (15/110), Mount Judah (25/100), Soda Springs (40/85), Emigrant Gap (65/60), Blue Canyon (70/55), American River Canyon (90/35), Colfax (125/60), McClellan Air Force Base (10/15), Sacramento (25/20). Does this help?
Sometimes, esp on weekends, there is a National Parks volunteer in the observation car, narrating as you travel.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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Sojourner, if I recall correctly, those numbers are times in minutes from the previous stop, with the second number the time from the next stop when travelling in the opposite direction. So in your example the McClellan AFB would be about 10 minutes after leaving Colfax towards Sacramento, and 15 minutes after leaving Sac towards Colfax.
Darren, not what you're looking for, but might be of interest - track charts from Denver to Salt Lake. http://www.drgw.net/info/index.php?n=Main.TrackCharts . When you get the map on screen, click on it and you'll get a full-size version.
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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.....as are the very few "narrative logs" on my web site railroadrich.com (under "AMTRAK route guides" I believe)
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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