Coastie with a Camera Photography

04/24/2026

Got out of work early yesterday so I decided to roll the dice on a short line that seems to be a little elusive to railfans: Northwestern Pacific. After finding the cage missing two locomotives in Schnellville, CA, I drove down to the west end of the Brazos Lift Bridge thinking they were already in Lombard. I was pleasantly surprised to hear horns coming from the west instead of the east shortly after the lift bridge was lowered. NWP MP15 1501, dressed in Southern Pacific heritage colors, brought 16 cars east to Lombard and American Canyon for interchange with the California Northern. The crew would make a quick turn back west with 5 cars heading back to Schnellville. A nice afternoon on the tail end of job training in Petaluma.
Taken on: 04/22/2026

04/19/2026

Crossed another item off the bucket with a visit to Roaring Camp in Felton, CA. I packed a backpack and brought out my inner hiker and hiked up the mountain following one of Roaring Camp's Shay locomotive: "Dixiana" through the Redwood Forest to Bear Mountain. Shooting in mostly shaded areas and harsh lighting conditions forced me to get a little crafty today. Definitely want to come back to see their Heisler: "Tulonme."
Taken on: 04/18/2026

04/11/2026

Midway through its Coast to Coast Tour to celebrate America's 250th, Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 marched along the iconic former Western Pacific Railroad mainline in the Feather River Canyon. Beginning the day in Portola, CA, 4014 along with SD70's 1616 and 1776 eased their way through the scenic mountain countryside enroute to Roseville, CA. This would be the second time 4014 has navigated the Feather River Canyon, the first being back in 2024.

Among the 25 Big Boys built for the UP, only 8 survive. And among the 8 that are preserved, 4014 is the one that was selected by UP for operational restoration. While mainline steam always draws the crowds, expect even larger crowds when the King of Steam makes its nationwide tour in 2026.
Taken on: 04/09/2026

04/09/2026

Good morning foamers! Happy chasing! 🚂

04/09/2026

Chilling in a nice quiet hotel for the night in Clio, CA in preparation for an absolute foamfest along one of the most iconic and scenic railroad routes in American railroad lore: The former Western Pacific mainline through the Feather 🪶 River Canyon!

04/08/2026

Good Evening Railfans! We are excited to present "Morning on the Erie" featuring New York & Lake Erie ALCO S1 #308 and an Erie Lackawanna inspired work train consist. This event will take place on June 7th, 2026 from 5:00AM to 12:00PM at the New York & Lake Erie Railroad between Cherry Creek and Gowanda, NY. The excursion will board at both Gowanda (5:00AM) and South Dayton (5:45AM), although the train will not return to South Dayton at the end of the day (those that board in South Dayton must find their own transportation back from Gowanda at the conclusion of the trip at 12PM). Tickets can be purchased for $135 by contacting Alec at (814) 392-3862 or emailing [email protected] and for $140+ fees on our new ticketleap website linked below. For questions, please refer to the contact information provided above. We hope to see you on June 7th as we experience days gone by on the Buffalo & Southwestern Branch!

https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/timeless-rail-expeditions/erie-lackawanna-photo-freight

04/05/2026

Happy Easter to everyone! Here are some images taken on and around past Easter days.

03/31/2026

Dynamo Productions hosted a photo charter at Railtown 1897 with Sierra Railway No. 3: The Movie Queen. Throughout the day, the 1891 product of Rogers Locomotive Works put on a show for cameras with freight and passenger rolling stock that starred alongside the locomotive in a long list of movies and TV shows. Operating on a small portion of home rails that achieved historical significance and preservation thanks to Hollywood, the Sierra 3 was right in her element. While Sierra 3 continues to enjoy life in preservation, when Hollywood will make another casting call for the most photographed locomotive in the world is anyone's guess.
Taken on: 03/29/2026

03/27/2026

Took a short break from grad school work to catch Amtrak Dash 8 512 at Eckley Pier with a ALC-42 from Florin heading back to Oakland this afternoon.
Taken on: 03/26/2026

03/25/2026

👀 👀

Erie Railroad Freight and the favorite numbers of American youth have something in common.

Stay tuned to find out what’s brewing on the old Erie Railroad Buffalo & Southwestern branch.

📸 Ian Cole

03/24/2026

The Western Railway Museum ran their beautiful three car interurban passenger train with Sacramento Northern 1005 leading the train. Operating on original Sacramento Northern tracks, 1005 looked right at home on home rails that once provided fierce competition in passenger and freight service against larger mainline railroads like the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific.

On a humorous note, the landscape with all the windmills was giving me Windows XP vibes!
Taken on: 03/22/2026

03/19/2026

Today's shenanigans included a Phase VII painted leader on this morning's California Zephyr, a trio of UP SD59's powering California Northern's road train from Fairfield to American Canyon, and finishing up the day in Napa Valley. Overall, a pretty decent day trackside.
Taken on: 03/18/2026