Backyard America - View from Amtrak's California Zephyr - March 2014
My grandson's birthday falls in March, so my wife and I traveled to Oakland to celebrate his first with his parents. My wife flew, but I took the train, and this trip I determined to record the view from my roomette's windows. I was fortunately on the train's north side, so could avoid sun shining on the window most of the time. I set the camera (the relatively recently purchased Canon 5D Mark III) on tripod, 28-70mm f/2.8 lens (set mostly at 28 and 50mm), shutter at 1/2000 and f/5.6, ASA to adjust automatically, and focus at infinity. Using the tripod eliminated the camera shake inevitably introduced by the train's motion causing the body to move, and thence the arms to move even more, often fatal to photography. I used a remote cable release so I could evaluate the scenes flowing by without looking through the viewfinder.
Fortunately, the window was clear of water spots and relatively clean. Train window glass is optically poor, but what can you do? Since I was shooting modestly wide-angled photos, impact of the glass's poor quality was minimized.
I boarded in Osceola, Iowa, shortly past 8 p.m., so photography commenced only the next morning, as we left Denver. I photographed through the Rocky Mountains as far as Green River, Utah, then recommenced the next morning as we were pulling into Reno, continuing all the way until the mouth of the Sacramento River between Martinez and Richmond, California.
I've often remarked -- as have others -- that one sees America's backyards from the train. They include residential, municipal, and industrial sites, and range from the pristine to the utterly chaotically cluttered. Some photos are in B&W, others in color, depending whether some flash of color accented the scene.
We pulled into Denver on time (in fact, this time the westbound Zephyr remained remarkably on time throughout its run, arriving in Emeryville, CA, thirty minutes early). I had awakened shortly before arriving, so used the non-moving time to eat breakfast in the dining car. Amtrak services the train, adding fuel and water, and Denver includes a change of conductors and engineer, so the wait there is always lengthy. By the time we pulled out, I was back in my roomette and had set up my camera. This first photo is of the Burlington Northern or Union Pacific rail yards as we departed Denver.
This couple must greet each train, as they were waving at us when we passed on the return trip, too.
Soon following this site the train turned westward to begin the climb through the foothills of the Front Range, leading to the six-mile-long Moffat Tunnel at 9,239 feet altitude. After the tunnel came Fraser and Winter Park, and then Granby, where the next few photos were taken with snow still on the ground.
Near Glenwood Springs.
The next photos are between Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction.
Nearing Grand Junction.
Pulling into Grand Junction.
Sparks, Nevada, just before arriving in Reno, morning of the third day.
Reno, Nevada.
Departing Reno, beginning the climb into the Sierra Nevadas, next to arrive Truckee, California.
Truckee, CA.
Colfax, CA. The following photographs were taken from Colfax to Roseville, Sacramento, and Davis.
A large refinery at Martinez, CA, after crossing the Sacramento River.
A series at a large industrial plant between Martinez and Richmond, which brings us to the trip's end.
