I live in Cheyenne and used to work at that quarry producing ballast. As employees we were responsible for operating the trains as they came in to the quarry. Often times it was the granite switcher, but once in a while we would get to run dash 9s, SD70s, and other main line units. It was an awesome job
You should make a DVD series, these are great. You went through a lot of time and travel to get some really lovely footage, and the factoids scattered throughout are pretty fun. Consider going all out and making a fact-filled documentary version, you can really outdo NatGeo with this.
Glad to hear I'm transforming the goal into reality! DVDs are tough these days because of online media. If I published a DVD version, then I really couldn't upload it to UA-cam as well, and there are tons of people reuploading DVDs and scalping creators. Way easier to continue on as a hobbyist, uploading these videos for free, for everyone, forever, supported by the advertisements through the UA-cam partnership program.
I was only briefly employed - 2004-2006 - with UP. Yes, scenery was amazing and was indeed an interesting gig. I recently got hired by the BNSF and headed back to WY! Once the RR gets into your blood - look out!
Bob Peterson families! I am from Cheyenne Wyoming USA 🇺🇸! My friend and I used to play here in many of the spots.. work too! 4004 Big Boy was our Play Ground set !WhootWhoooot! Ol Sadie sits in Cheyenne Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 also! My Beloved Brother In Law “ Gold Spike Award “ and a place still in Gold Spike Museum Bailey Yard North Platte Nebraska USA 🇺🇸! William “ Bill” Riley Sr. taught many different Locomotive 🚂 Engineers to include Union Pacific Rail Roads Edwina Justice! WhoootWhooooot!! Home sweet Home Cheyenne Wyoming my birthday was there long ago? I am pre y2k a old dinosaur 🦕 from Wyoming!.. I used to clean up some of those messes? To include the Laramie Wyoming UPRR Creasote ponds ! Leaking into the Laramie river long ago!
I just enjoyed a couple of hours watching some of your videos. I am retired from the CN, Canadian National and i kind of miss this. Keep up the good work!
I grew up in Elsmere , Delaware with a B & O railroad backed to my house. On a clear night it was common to hear the sounds of the trains roaming around. I love trains!
Laramie Subdivision is so famous not only because Sherman Hill is here Cheyenne at the East End of the subdivision is home of Steam Shop Yard which is where UP keeps its famous steam locomotives.
Great series. I grew up one block north from the tracks just east of the cut in Rawlins, Wy. one block from Rawlins Spring, the namesake of Rawlins. 15 years we lived there. We had a lot of fun around the trains as kids...some legal and some dubious....we jumped the slow moving trains and road them 10 to 50 feet. One boy Christie M.fell off and lost his arm just above the elbow under the wheels. This was in the 1940's and '50. Oh the memories. My Uncle was a crash investigator living in Cheyenne. Uncle Bill....the accident you showed would have been what he investigated...
Excellent video, superb commentary & fine editing to boot! I just came back from Cheyenne, having attended Depot Days. Wish I viewed this video before my trip.
"... defies gravity by grinding uphill, behind today's modern diesel-electrics." Lol I just went through there in Train Sim with a 100-car intermodal behind a single 4-12-2 steamer. Really should have taken Track 3 though; we needed every ounce of power that old monster had to grind up the Main. It's really cool to see and recognize the real version of all these places!
Watched a few of these, quite like them. Lots of info, good scenic video. And other than the train squealing wheels n brakes seems to get my dog to chill out.
I've been to all of those towns and the Aims monument (it's hollow inside.). I had lunch in the old hotel in Medicine Bow after visiting the bone cabin.
Uhhhhhhhhhhh (at 28:25 until infinity) the engineer must've had a REAL problem with the property owner on previous occasions. With that said, that's an awesome tour. I'm already considering doing some railfanning on this and the BNSF Trancon soon.
Railroading out here has changed plenty since i was here in Summer 1977? No more short stubby Geeps, just massive AC powered units (And some massive DC powered ones also)
Hi from the U.K. I've caught this segment out of sequence, and will look up Parts one to three. If this is anything to go by, they will be superb. I visited Cheyenne back in 1980 and '81 as part of a couple of railfanning trips.
Unfortunately I couldn't see the one place I wanted. Ranchers should install some bleechers and sell tickets. Make a big annual rail fair with all that goes with it. Could attract a lot of people and their families.
The ranchers used to be okay with people going to summit, but railfans kept on leaving gates open and littering, so the goodwill faded and now anybody who goes out there may get chased off.
This is educational however I need to point out at 30:25 into the video the commentator incorrectly identifies the mountains in the background as Colorado. That is Sheep Mountain in the foreground of the Snowy Range which is in Wyoming. When the video gets to 31:18 then you can begin to see Colorado's first snow capped mountain in the background over the mountains in the foreground.
Imagine being told you have to take your train really slow, because their signals are fucked and they can't guarantee that you won't slam into another train. That must be good to read on the paper work lmao.
Oh that was definitely man-made! Sherman presented an "easy" climb, but the original builders and those who have come sense have moved an incredible amount of earth to make the railroad happen! Lots of big cuts and fills...the Harriman line is pretty much in a cut or on a fill the entire way.
I can understand why railroads don't want people trespassing, you have legalities to consider and the ultimate danger of death to people but why are the ranchers so hostile to rail fans. Have people been inconsiderate and disrespecting the owners property by not requesting permission to enter onto their land first?
It used to be a fairly open place with the ranchers allowing people to use their land a bit so long as they left it like they found it. Then some started acting like it was their land, littering, being around all hours of the night, and the worst of all, leaving gates open - so then the ranchers had to go track their cattle down. So ended the lax era. UP got stricter as well.
Humble explanation from a non expert rail fan, model railroader and train simmer. 6 axles=6 electric motors. Instead of supplying electric power to the motors to turn the axles, the reverse is taking place with dynamic braking. The motors are used as generators to supply electic power to big ass electric resistors. Powering those resistors has the effect of puting load on the motors, making it hard for the axles to actualy turn the rotors of the motors. It's the same thing as when you have your car going downhil with a gear engaged. It's the same thing as when you turn on your high beams and all the electric consumers on your car. The hunger for electricity puts an extra load to the generator (which is for decades now an alternator) therefore forcing the engine of your car to put out more mechanical work. More mechanical work is what we ask from the axles of the locomotive when we apply dynamic braking. The axles are used as the source of power, as the source of rotation. Also, the braking action on the wheels is supplemented by the fact that the gear of the axle has a big diameter and the gear of the motor has a smaller diameter. Try to turn a small diameter gear by rotating a big diameter gear coupled to it. It needs quite a bit of force. Also, the dynamic braking system on the locomotives has a range so there is "mild" dynamic braking, "medium" dynamic braking, "full" dynamic braking and so on. This is pretty self explanatory, the more dynamic braking, the bigger the force we put on the wheels, the greater the braking effect. The dynamic braking lever on the locomotive has 8 notches, just like the throttle lever to move the loco. Again, this is my humble explanation without being an expert. Any corrections are welcomed and encouraged. Good work on the video partner!
You've pretty much got it, but I'll add that the 8 notches of dynamic brake are the same 8 as the throttle...they're the same lever. Whether or not that lever is dynamics or throttle is dependent on another lever which is either in throttle or dynamic. Add in the reverser, which is forward, reverse or neutral, and you've got locomotion 101.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to produce subtitles. And, balancing the audio is difficult, as some need the narration louder, while others want the train sounds to rule. I try to strike a balance, hopefully you still enjoyed, however!
Indeed. Not sure if it was physically stuck or if the engineer/conductor were doing it because of my presence. That maintainer was actually complaining a lot about my presence, so it's possible that it was a message to me...though I was doing everything 100% legal. I think the maintainer was just becoming flustered with the problem with a very complex crossing setup there, requiring a drive between the interlocking bungalows and the signal shanty. The roadmaster was there just previous to this, and as they usually do, reminded me to keep it legal and keep a safe distance. I like to think it was just physically stuck for a time, and it ended right when I began to turn the camera, so where the fade is now. Long story, perhaps, for a short event, but I feel like it is worth recalling.
I was picturing the engineer, conductor trying to unstick it. 😅 Interesting perspective though. Seems like it is getting harder for rail fans to watch the rails. Enjoy your informative videos.
Do the train crews or work crews give you much of a hassle? It would seem they should be ok with showing off their product and giving some publicity to the brand.
Why do some trains like the BNSF have only 2-engines in front and 2 in the back? The UP seems to use 3-4 engines up front, 2 in the middle, and 2 at the end? Some even have 5+ engines up front.
It is railroad preference. BNSF likes their 2x2 DPU configuration on coal trains...UP does as well. Coal trains generally don't get mid-train DPUs because it interferes with unloading at some facilities.
Are you gonna film the Union Pacific's Laramie Subdivision again. You should also film the Union Pacific's Salt Lake Sub and Provo Sub. I'm gonna do the Union Pacific Wyoming Division, Sidney Subdivision, Salt Lake Subdivision and Provo Subdivisions in 7 1/2 gauge at a house in Byers, CO so if you wanna come and film some video content for UA-cam channel you can.
The most powerful steam engines such as the Big Boy - which used to run on Sherman unassisted - were capable of about 6000 horsepower. Most larger non-articulated engines were in the 2500-3500 horsepower range. Compare that to the standard 4000-4400 horsepower diesels today. So they’re actually fairly close. The biggest difference is that trains today are way heavier. The max gross on a single carload in the days of the Big Boy were only around 110 tons, whereas today it’s 143. Throw in length which is also more today and you have most trains weighing multiple times what the steam engines ever handled alone. A Big Boy could do 3600 tons solo up Wahsatch, most trains today going up the hill are somewhere closer to 6-12,000 tons. And that’s why 3-5 locomotives on those trains is routine.
![Over Sherman Hill [Union Pacific's Laramie Sub]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jxIXnskm_1U/mqdefault.jpg)
Trains are awesome. I'm glad that they were invented
I live in Cheyenne and used to work at that quarry producing ballast. As employees we were responsible for operating the trains as they came in to the quarry. Often times it was the granite switcher, but once in a while we would get to run dash 9s, SD70s, and other main line units. It was an awesome job
I like train videos on UA-cam😀
I like these kind of videos. Its like watching a train documentary.
That is the goal! Glad you enjoyed
You should make a DVD series, these are great. You went through a lot of time and travel to get some really lovely footage, and the factoids scattered throughout are pretty fun. Consider going all out and making a fact-filled documentary version, you can really outdo NatGeo with this.
Glad to hear I'm transforming the goal into reality! DVDs are tough these days because of online media. If I published a DVD version, then I really couldn't upload it to UA-cam as well, and there are tons of people reuploading DVDs and scalping creators. Way easier to continue on as a hobbyist, uploading these videos for free, for everyone, forever, supported by the advertisements through the UA-cam partnership program.
tippitytwitchit I agree 1000% 👍🏿
This is a great series and the installment of it was my favorite. The scenery of Wyoming is beautiful.
Former UP certified freight conductor along this route (long pool - Cheyenne to Green River). Thanks for the memories kid!
Hey, glad you enjoyed it! Must have been an interesting gig - great scenery out there. When did you retire?
I was only briefly employed - 2004-2006 - with UP. Yes, scenery was amazing and was indeed an interesting gig. I recently got hired by the BNSF and headed back to WY! Once the RR gets into your blood - look out!
Bob Peterson families! I am from Cheyenne Wyoming USA 🇺🇸! My friend and I used to play here in many of the spots.. work too! 4004 Big Boy was our Play Ground set !WhootWhoooot! Ol Sadie sits in Cheyenne Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 also!
My Beloved Brother In Law “ Gold Spike Award “ and a place still in Gold Spike Museum Bailey Yard North Platte Nebraska USA 🇺🇸! William “ Bill” Riley Sr. taught many different Locomotive 🚂 Engineers to include Union Pacific Rail Roads Edwina Justice!
WhoootWhooooot!! Home sweet Home Cheyenne Wyoming my birthday was there long ago? I am pre y2k a old dinosaur 🦕 from Wyoming!.. I used to clean up some of those messes? To include the Laramie Wyoming UPRR Creasote ponds ! Leaking into the Laramie river long ago!
I just enjoyed a couple of hours watching some of your videos. I am retired from the CN, Canadian National and i kind of miss this. Keep up the good work!
AWESOME! Excellent catches and places!
Greetings from Australia, excellent videos of the entire UP system, thoroughly interesting and informative and enjoyable.
Great series of videos. So informative. I think they equal any shop bought dvd. In fact they are better than most.
For sure!
I'm still lovin' it. Fantastic series. Excellent video.
I grew up in Elsmere , Delaware with a B & O railroad backed to my house. On a clear night it was common to hear the sounds of the trains roaming around. I love trains!
That was quite the Horn Blast around the 29th Minute,,, :) Great Videography and Narration!
Cheyenne was once the home base for the Big Boys and the Challengers.
I’m loving this! Union Pacific has been my favorite railroad ever since I started learning about there steam locomotive history!
Very educational. Thanks.
What a great video and exceptional series. I am really enjoying the entire series. Please keep posting more videos.
Laramie Subdivision is so famous not only because Sherman Hill is here Cheyenne at the East End of the subdivision is home of Steam Shop Yard which is where UP keeps its famous steam locomotives.
I love trains and watching them is awesome. Got more
Marvelous!
Great series. I grew up one block north from the tracks just east of the cut in Rawlins, Wy. one block from Rawlins Spring, the namesake of Rawlins. 15 years we lived there. We had a lot of fun around the trains as kids...some legal and some dubious....we jumped the slow moving trains and road them 10 to 50 feet. One boy Christie M.fell off and lost his arm just above the elbow under the wheels. This was in the 1940's and '50. Oh the memories. My Uncle was a crash investigator living in Cheyenne. Uncle Bill....the accident you showed would have been what he investigated...
Neat stories, I'm sure. Thanks for watching!
Excellent video, superb commentary & fine editing to boot! I just came back from Cheyenne, having attended Depot Days. Wish I viewed this video before my trip.
Awesome series man!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
I miss railroading. UP has furloughed a lot of us here in Proviso,IL because of COVID . Still miss it....
I love UP domestic stack trains
Excellent series!
the water tank is cool, if it could only talk lol, great video my compliments sir
Good overview. wyoming is a beautiful state really. if it weren't for the harsh winters i think it would be much more populated.
Again, well put together, informative, excellent shots and editing...Gold Jerry Gold!
Thanks, Brian!
"... defies gravity by grinding uphill, behind today's modern diesel-electrics."
Lol I just went through there in Train Sim with a 100-car intermodal behind a single 4-12-2 steamer. Really should have taken Track 3 though; we needed every ounce of power that old monster had to grind up the Main.
It's really cool to see and recognize the real version of all these places!
Watched a few of these, quite like them. Lots of info, good scenic video. And other than the train squealing wheels n brakes seems to get my dog to chill out.
Fabulous sound, good job 👍
I've been to all of those towns and the Aims monument (it's hollow inside.). I had lunch in the old hotel in Medicine Bow after visiting the bone cabin.
Uhhhhhhhhhhh (at 28:25 until infinity) the engineer must've had a REAL problem with the property owner on previous occasions. With that said, that's an awesome tour. I'm already considering doing some railfanning on this and the BNSF Trancon soon.
Yes, really! I wonder what kind of bug crawled up that engineers arse.
I was guessing equipment malfunction!
The extra long horn blow around the 29 minute mark was to annoy you im sure. The railroads always freak out on me while im out railfanning.
Nope there was a signal maintainer working on that crossing so I believe it was for them
Great looking series!! Some truly wonderful looking videography - a really good mix of train shots and amazing scenery/climate shots. Kudos!
Thanks
Railroading out here has changed plenty since i was here in Summer 1977? No more short stubby Geeps, just massive AC powered units (And some massive DC powered ones also)
I was in Rawlins 10 years ago.
A local I was talking to called Rollins.
"Meth city USA".
Love the narration, subbed. Keep the great vids comin!
love the video.that is some beautiful scenery.
Nice catches and love the awesome scenery
Absolutely phenomenal footage. I will be out there visiting in a few weeks and will be checking some of these spots out.
Enjoy. Highly recommend Granite in the evening!
Another great vid!
I’ve only been to Cheyenne twice.
I’ve been through Cheyenne about 10 or so times.
What an excellent video. Thank you for taking the time to produce and share this with us. Which video would be the continuation west from here?
Hi from the U.K. I've caught this segment out of sequence, and will look up Parts one to three. If this is anything to go by, they will be superb. I visited Cheyenne back in 1980 and '81 as part of a couple of railfanning trips.
LOVE IT
great video. that's a cool line. I'd like to check it out sometime
Great series! Just subbed to ya'!!! Thanks. Cheers, Dan
Thanks, Dan! Hope you continue to enjoy!
Unfortunately I couldn't see the one place I wanted.
Ranchers should install some bleechers and sell tickets.
Make a big annual rail fair with all that goes with it.
Could attract a lot of people and their families.
The ranchers used to be okay with people going to summit, but railfans kept on leaving gates open and littering, so the goodwill faded and now anybody who goes out there may get chased off.
awesome video & catches. sweet EMD's & GE's nice.
This is educational however I need to point out at 30:25 into the video the commentator incorrectly identifies the mountains in the background as Colorado. That is Sheep Mountain in the foreground of the Snowy Range which is in Wyoming. When the video gets to 31:18 then you can begin to see Colorado's first snow capped mountain in the background over the mountains in the foreground.
The first time I saw this intro, I thought my video had frozen. XD
A friend turned me onto HELL ON WHEELS! Great series...
38:48 Now that's a LOOOOOOOONG train!
At 4:00 that's a famous location that UP filmphotogiers shot of the Big Boys.
Imagine being told you have to take your train really slow, because their signals are fucked and they can't guarantee that you won't slam into another train. That must be good to read on the paper work lmao.
How about some drone shots?
This was shot before I met up with a drone pilot. More is coming!
You should definitely do the up Geneva sub
Man I didn't know a accident happened when you visited. That's a mess!
Hey somebody on that train forgot to the horn at 6:15. I didnt hear it
was this road bed man made or was this the contour of the land? (time stamp 10:10). beautiful scenery.
Thanks for a very good video.
Oh that was definitely man-made! Sherman presented an "easy" climb, but the original builders and those who have come sense have moved an incredible amount of earth to make the railroad happen! Lots of big cuts and fills...the Harriman line is pretty much in a cut or on a fill the entire way.
Kinda new to the game here. Why do RRs care if you take pictures as long as you don't get in the way?
That's the long and the short of it. Gotta stay off their property and respect their operations and people.
how they have so much security on land to where you can't access? has has the railroad bought the land?
I can understand why railroads don't want people trespassing, you have legalities to consider and the ultimate danger of death to people but why are the ranchers so hostile to rail fans. Have people been inconsiderate and disrespecting the owners property by not requesting permission to enter onto their land first?
It used to be a fairly open place with the ranchers allowing people to use their land a bit so long as they left it like they found it. Then some started acting like it was their land, littering, being around all hours of the night, and the worst of all, leaving gates open - so then the ranchers had to go track their cattle down. So ended the lax era. UP got stricter as well.
@@ThornappleRiverRailSeries Some bad apples ruined the whole bunch. Really sucks.
yikes at the wreck!
Exact dates you filmed?
Early June, 2016
Hi, Great stuff, Could somebody explain Full Dynamic Braking to an Old School kind of guy. Cheers.
Humble explanation from a non expert rail fan, model railroader and train simmer.
6 axles=6 electric motors. Instead of supplying electric power to the motors to turn the axles, the reverse is taking place with dynamic braking.
The motors are used as generators to supply electic power to big ass electric resistors.
Powering those resistors has the effect of puting load on the motors, making it hard for the axles to actualy turn the rotors of the motors.
It's the same thing as when you have your car going downhil with a gear engaged.
It's the same thing as when you turn on your high beams and all the electric consumers on your car.
The hunger for electricity puts an extra load to the generator (which is for decades now an alternator) therefore forcing the engine of your car to put out more mechanical work.
More mechanical work is what we ask from the axles of the locomotive when we apply dynamic braking.
The axles are used as the source of power, as the source of rotation.
Also, the braking action on the wheels is supplemented by the fact that the gear of the axle has a big diameter and the gear of the motor has a smaller diameter. Try to turn a small diameter gear by rotating a big diameter gear coupled to it. It needs quite a bit of force.
Also, the dynamic braking system on the locomotives has a range so there is "mild" dynamic braking, "medium" dynamic braking, "full" dynamic braking and so on. This is pretty self explanatory, the more dynamic braking, the bigger the force we put on the wheels, the greater the braking effect.
The dynamic braking lever on the locomotive has 8 notches, just like the throttle lever to move the loco.
Again, this is my humble explanation without being an expert. Any corrections are welcomed and encouraged.
Good work on the video partner!
You've pretty much got it, but I'll add that the 8 notches of dynamic brake are the same 8 as the throttle...they're the same lever. Whether or not that lever is dynamics or throttle is dependent on another lever which is either in throttle or dynamic. Add in the reverser, which is forward, reverse or neutral, and you've got locomotion 101.
now THAT....I didn't know.
Thanks
What the hell happened to the horn at 29:00 ???
Only suggestion I have is...it is difficult to decipher what you are saying because of the noise of the trains...I wish you had subtitles.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to produce subtitles. And, balancing the audio is difficult, as some need the narration louder, while others want the train sounds to rule. I try to strike a balance, hopefully you still enjoyed, however!
Train at around 28:45 sounded like it's horn was stuck.
Indeed. Not sure if it was physically stuck or if the engineer/conductor were doing it because of my presence. That maintainer was actually complaining a lot about my presence, so it's possible that it was a message to me...though I was doing everything 100% legal. I think the maintainer was just becoming flustered with the problem with a very complex crossing setup there, requiring a drive between the interlocking bungalows and the signal shanty. The roadmaster was there just previous to this, and as they usually do, reminded me to keep it legal and keep a safe distance. I like to think it was just physically stuck for a time, and it ended right when I began to turn the camera, so where the fade is now. Long story, perhaps, for a short event, but I feel like it is worth recalling.
I was picturing the engineer, conductor trying to unstick it. 😅
Interesting perspective though. Seems like it is getting harder for rail fans to watch the rails. Enjoy your informative videos.
I can just see him, too....
"Dammit dammit dammit!"
*mashes button vigorously*
Do the train crews or work crews give you much of a hassle? It would seem they should be ok with showing off their product and giving some publicity to the brand.
Why do some trains like the BNSF have only 2-engines in front and 2 in the back? The UP seems to use 3-4 engines up front, 2 in the middle, and 2 at the end? Some even have 5+ engines up front.
It is railroad preference. BNSF likes their 2x2 DPU configuration on coal trains...UP does as well. Coal trains generally don't get mid-train DPUs because it interferes with unloading at some facilities.
Are you gonna film the Union Pacific's Laramie Subdivision again. You should also film the Union Pacific's Salt Lake Sub and Provo Sub. I'm gonna do the Union Pacific Wyoming Division, Sidney Subdivision, Salt Lake Subdivision and Provo Subdivisions in
7 1/2 gauge at a house in Byers, CO so if you wanna come and film some video content for UA-cam channel you can.
28:10 someone forgot to lock the gate......
There was a maintainer present working on the crossing malfunction, hence the unlocked gate.
🌷🌷🌷🌷❤❤❤Artist
What's with the horn @ 28:30-29:33?!
When they haul a long train steam locomotives do it by their self's but right now they need 2 or 3 types of diesel to pull a long train
The most powerful steam engines such as the Big Boy - which used to run on Sherman unassisted - were capable of about 6000 horsepower. Most larger non-articulated engines were in the 2500-3500 horsepower range. Compare that to the standard 4000-4400 horsepower diesels today. So they’re actually fairly close. The biggest difference is that trains today are way heavier. The max gross on a single carload in the days of the Big Boy were only around 110 tons, whereas today it’s 143. Throw in length which is also more today and you have most trains weighing multiple times what the steam engines ever handled alone. A Big Boy could do 3600 tons solo up Wahsatch, most trains today going up the hill are somewhere closer to 6-12,000 tons. And that’s why 3-5 locomotives on those trains is routine.
How many days did it take to reach odgen from omaha
In terms of us railfanning?
@@ThornappleRiverRailSeries Yes including railfanning along the way
7 days
Good video.
But is conset anything like covfefe? Just wondering...
Can I get a timestamp to what you're referring to?
ups
does amtrak run the sherman hill route
No.
Xx
great video. that's a cool line. I'd like to check it out sometime