McCloud River Railroad : Passenger Operations: Excursion Photos

Amtrak Comes to McCloud
28-30 September 2008

A little over three years elapsed before the McCloud Railway Company next handled any special excursions. The first of what are likely to be the last three special excursions the McCloud railroads are likely to see was a private charter. A software firm in Silicon Valley rewarded its employees with a special weekend private railcar trip to the Mt. Shasta region. Trains Unlimited Tours handled the logistics. The train, powered by locomotive #67 and consisting of private cars Pony Express (former Canadian National), Silver Lariat, Plaza Santa Fe, Silver Rapids and observation car Silver Solarium. The special arrived in Mt. Shasta and then proceeded to McCloud with a pilot engineer. The train sat at the McCloud depot for that first night, but then moved into the yard for the second night after neighbors complained of the generator and locomotive noise. The special departed McCloud for the return trip back south on the 30th, but the Amtrak #67 derailed at Milepost 8 at the same location where carloads of scrap rails from the salvage of the railroad east of town had derailed several days previously. Rerailing the locomotive consumed two hours, after which the trains completed its journey to Mt. Shasta City. The Amtrak locomotive would need to be inspected before it could operate on the UP mainline, and so a UP locomotive took over in Mt. Shasta for the rest of the run south. The Amtrak #67 remained in the Mt. Shasta yards for several days until it could be inspected and then moved out.

The special backing down into McCloud. Roger Titus.
The Silver Solarium leading the way. Roger Titus.
A strange sight sitting at the McCloud depot. Roger Titus.
On the road back to Mt. Shasta City. Roger Titus.
Passing through Pierce. Roger Titus.
The relief UP power pushing the special out of the Mt. Shasta yard. Roger Titus.