Railfanning Colfax (w/ UP Rescue &

On a rather cool fall Friday, I managed to get the day off of work and decided to head up into the Sierras and railfan at Colfax for the day. Although I originally planned to go on Saturday, I decided to head out early, however because of this, both Amtrak California Zephyr trains followed a modified schedule due to UP track work. Colfax is a rather small town just up toward the Sierras from Sacramento, although it is a Quiet Zone, it is very clear that this town cherishes its railroad heritage and exhibits that with an old SP caboose, historic depots, a wig wag signal, as well as a historic SP Pullman car to name a few. I had originally planned to film both California Zephyr trains through here, although after arriving, it was evident that Amtrak 5 was running significantly behind schedule. After sticking around for a while filming UP trains, I was going to call it quits and head home, but luck would play a part for this trip. Right before I filmed my "supposedly" last train for the day (IG3LT-27), a man named Herman Darr noticed I was railfanning and decided to strike up a conversation. After the train passed, more talk ensued and many interesting facts and life experiences were exchanged, all of which were of great interest to say the least. This continued after IG3LT-27 passed and ultimately lasted for three more hours, with intermediate filming of passing trains as well. At that point, I figured I might as well hold out for Amtrak 5, and lo and behold, when it finally arrived, it was one of the most interesting catches of any Amtrak train I have ever caught ! After the train departed, it was approaching 8pm, but a little more discussion ensued until it was time to head for home. It is amazing to think that railfanning could lead to wonderful conversations among a vast majority of people, and it can be said that Herman Darr is definitely one that stands out. Whether it was his experiences with railroading or his many railfanning adventures from the time steam still ruled the rails to today's modern activity, it was worth the listen. Many thanks to Herman Darr for a great conversation and a resultant catch of an equally rare train consist !

Train 1 : Amtrak 6 (California Zephyr) with P42DC #9, & #4. Due to ongoing track work with Union Pacific, the Amtrak California Zephyr schedules were modified temporarily for parts of September and October, reflecting a scheduled arrival time of 1:51pm (12:21pm original) for Amtrak 6 and 4:18pm (11:48am original) for Amtrak 5 at Colfax. Both trains would still later end up running behind schedule for this day.

Train 2 : Union Pacific ZNPOA-28 with C45ACCTE #8063, #5364, SD70M #3906, & #5002. Friendly crew with some horn action !

Train 3 : Union Pacific AMINSR-29 with C45AH #2529, C44ACCTE #6659, SD70M #4840, & C44AC #6760(DPU). This train sure was long !

Train 4 : Union Pacific IOGOA-28 with C45ACCTE #7740, SD70ACe #8535, & C45ACCTE #5280(DPU).

Train 5 : Union Pacific IG3LT-27 with C45ACCTE #5456, SD70M #4321, #3866, #4514(DPU), & SD70ACe #8518(DPU). Very friendly conductor on #5456 with some extra waves !

Train 6 : Union Pacific QRVNPP-29 with SD70ACe #8409, SD70M #4606, C45AH #2610, C40-8 #9240, C45ACCTE #5271(Mid-DPU), & #5283(Mid-DPU). Definitely interesting seeing a C40-8 as well as a decently long manifest !

Train 7 : Union Pacific GFRNPR-29 with C45AH #8214, SD70M #4019, & C45AH #2750(DPU). With just a little daylight left, UP GFRNPR-29 heads through town just before dark with folks waiting for Amtrak 5 to arrive.

Train 8 : Amtrak 5 (California Zephyr) with C45ACCTE #5272(UP), P40DC #822 (Phase III Heritage Unit), & P42DC #122. Arriving into Colfax around 7:29pm, a little more than three hours behind schedule, it is apparent that Amtrak 5 suffered engine problems while heading through Nevada and resulted in UP #5272 being placed as the rescue engine. Although not expected, it was certainly a nice surprise to see both a UP rescue locomotive and a heritage unit on the same train ! Talk about a lucky catch !

Thanks for Watching !