Boise Union Pacific Station

Boise Union Pacific Station along front, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

Back on June 30th, I spent the night in Boise on my way back to Salt Lake City after spending a week in Portland.

Boise has a beautiful train station that sits on a hill overlooking the downtown area.

One of things I never noticed before was that this building resembles the Catholic Church that sits across the street from where I went to High School.

Forgotten on a siding

old train car
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

A photographer I know took some pictures of an old rail passenger car a couple of years ago and I have meant to go photograph it for some time. Finally a couple of months ago I decided to go ahead and take some pictures of it.

The car sits along side the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad between Salt Lake City and Provo that was once Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The former Union Pacific line between the two cities lies just one block east at this point and is now used by the Utah Transit Authority for their North-South light rail line.

I love doing photos like this in black and white because it adds a certain feeling to the photograph.

I have no idea about the history of this rail car but if anyone who does know something about it is more than welcome to let us know.

Into the Weeds...

Former UP rail line in Draper, UT in B&W
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

My last picture was of a former grade crossing signal of the former Union Pacific line from Salt Lake City to Provo owned by the Utah Transit Authority.

Today's picture is from the same line just taken about a mile down the line at a former grade crossing that has been closed and now is an access point for the trail that travels along the former right of way.

I did this photo in Black and White to give a sense of abandonment. I also used a low f-stop to blur the background and make the rails the main focal point.

Help! One of my arms is missing!!

Help! One of my arms is missing!!
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Over the years I have passed this old rail line many times. The line was once the Union Pacific main line from Salt Lake City to Provo. However, the section from Draper to Lehi has not seen trains in 15 or so years but the tracks and some crossing signals still exist.

This crossing signal at 12715 south still stands guard waiting for a train that will never come (although the line will become a light rail line someday).

The sun was really bright yesterday but I still like the way this picture turned out.

Heber Valley 1011

Heber Valley 1011
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Yes, here is another photo taken from the Heber Valley Railroad.

This shot is of locomotive 1011 which formally belonged to the Union Pacific Railroad and is the only active locomotive in their fleet that has not been painted into the Denver, Rio Grande and Western inspired Orange and Black paint scheme.

Our Train

Our Train
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

My last couple of entries I shown some photos from the Heber Valley Railroad that I took before our train left. What I have not show you is a photo of our actual train so here it is.

The train included the former Union Pacific locomotive, caboose, two open air cars, an enclosed coach, and a combine car that was used as a snack shop.

When we first go on we sat in the enclosed coach but very shortly I moved out to the first open air car and stayed there for most of the trip.

On the way back the caboose was at the end of the train I spent a majority of the trip on the back platform which was a great place to take pictures.

Mighty Engine of the Past...

UP Gas Turbine on Display in Ogden
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

This photo is of a Union Pacific Gas Turbine engine that UP used sometime in the late 50's through the 60's. UP was looking for massive horsepower in order to pull its trains along its main line especially through Wyoming.

These engines only had one minor little problem. Or one big problem if you lived near the tracks as they were extremely noisy. So noisy in fact that many municipalities banned the use of the locomotives in their area (of course didn't that interfere with interstate commerce so became a federal issue?).

I took my first revenue ride on Front Runner one day then rode some buses in order to get pictures of the area. Finally I came back to Union Station before heading back to the transit center in order to ride Front Runner back to Salt Lake City.

It was a very hot and unusually humid day with temperatures reaching 95 degrees and the humidity level following close behind. While I may have lived in Charlotte for a couple of years that as several years ago and I was not used to the heat and humidity anymore. I was glad to get back on that nice cool Front Runner train.