• Need help on Sacramento, CA area rail lines

  • Pertaining to all railroad subjects, past and present, in the American West, including California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and The Dakotas. For specific railroad topics, please see the Fallen Flags and Active Railroads categories.
Pertaining to all railroad subjects, past and present, in the American West, including California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and The Dakotas. For specific railroad topics, please see the Fallen Flags and Active Railroads categories.

Moderator: Komachi

  by Lady Penelope
 
Hi all, I am in Sacramento area from Florida for two months. I am looking for a map of Union Pacific and BNSF trackage in the area. Are there two UP lines that go thru Sacramento area? What is the trackage that goes thru Rio Linda and Marysvile? Does that go to Oregon and Washington State?
  by timz
 
Surprised nobody's explained anything yet.

See the double-track SP crossing above the single-track WP?

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qdxv0k ... orm=LMLTCC

The SP line is the Overland Route from Oakland to Roseville to Donner Pass to Chicago. The WP below is their main line from Oakland via Stockton, to Marysville and Oroville and then east up the Feather River to Nevada and Salt Lake City.

A little ways east of there is Elvas

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qdxq5r ... orm=LMLTCC

where the SP line down the San Joaquin valley to Fresno (and beyond to Los Angeles and West Colton via Tehachapi Pass) meets the Overland Route.

At the east end of Roseville there's a wye

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qfrtj6 ... orm=LMLTCC

where the SP line north to Portland leaves the Overland Route. It crosses the WP main near Marysville (a place called Binney Jct):

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qhsmps ... orm=LMLTCC

South of Sacramento the sort-of-parallel SP and WP lines are both still in use to near Stockton

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=q9w5rb ... orm=LMLTCC

where the WP used to cross the SP but now runs onto it instead, with the WP main thru Stockton removed.

Speak up if you want more.
  by Lady Penelope
 
Thank you so much. I am starting to understand the rail lines now. So the line from Sacramento to Marysville is the SP Line to Roseville and then on to Portland correct? I live in North Sacramento just West of Rio Linda, and there is a line that parallels Highway 99/70, and each day I see both BNSF and UP trains (mostly BNSF). I assume the BNSF trains go on to Feather River Canyon and then to Portland via Beiber?
  by timz
 
If you click on the above links and then zoom out you can follow the rails and see where they go. The direct route from Sacramento to Marysville is the WP main line. If you do follow the WP north from Sacramento you'll notice the abandoned SN main line crossing the WP at

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qfw48p ... orm=LMLTCC

As for where BNSF goes I assume you're right, any BNSF train on the WP north of Sacramento is bound to/from Bieber, but I'm no expert. Bieber wouldn't have to mean Portland.
  by Lady Penelope
 
Ah, okay. I see where the line splits at Keddie. I have a Northbound BNSF empty baretable two days in a row with about 90 cars each.