https://www.facebook.com/104529144299433/

Mark Lovgren Photography

Home
United States
Sparks, NV
Mark Lovgren Photography

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Mark Lovgren Photography, Photographer, Sparks, NV.

06/06/2026

"Work Train Wednesday"

On Wednesday evening, I was dispatched to retrieve the crew manning the WSPSPW (Work Train, Sparks NV to Sparks NV) from the Clark siding. The train crew operated the train while a clean up crew loaded the repurposed coal cars with debris from the March 27 derailment, a couple miles east of the siding. The crew, on the IOANP (Intermodel, Oakland CA to North Platte), encountered a broken rail and put 31 cars on the ground. After a two month hiatus, the UP has resumed the task of cleaning after the derailment. Shortly after dropping the WSPSPW crew off at the yard office, I had just started my commute home when I received a call from PTI Dispatch. The dispatcher apologized for the short notice and then informed me that she needed the outbound Roseville crew to be picked up and transported to Portola for the INPOA (Intermodel, North Platte NE to Oakland CA). I replied "Today is your lucky day, as I'm less than a mile from the yard". Here are a couple of views from each of Wednesday's trips.
6/3/2026

06/03/2026

"Sunday's Views from the Yard Van Office"

A look back at an eventful Sunday night working the Sparks yard van.
5/30/2026

05/31/2026

"Colorful Trains on a Cloudy Saturday Evening"

On Friday, the local rail enthusiast community was buzzing over the news that a unit ethanol train, the UEEDW1 (Unit Ethanol, Port of Stockton CA to South Saint Paul, MN), would be traversing Donner Pass and passing through Sparks. The reason for the excitement, the power for the train consisted of units from the Canadian National Railroad. With the exception of the orange BNSF units, powering their trackage rights trains, it is extremely rare to see anything other than the yellow engines of the UP. So the red, black and white CN power was a welcome change. Once I received the heads up, I was not surprised when Lennon McNulty messaged me to see if I was interested in joining him to photograph the train. Since I had an unwanted day off on Friday, I let him know that I was interested but if I was called for a trip, I was going to take it. That call came at 02:50 Saturday morning. It was a 04:15 deadhead to Elko. During the drive home from Elko, I monitored the UEEDW1 sighting reports and when I stopped at Painted Rock, I contacted Lennon. He reported that the train was holding at Lawton, waiting for the Sparks yard congestion to clear up. With that news, I continued on to Sparks to exchange the crew van for my Jeep. While I was at the gas station, fueling up the crew van, Lennon messaged me saying that the train on the move. A couple minutes later, I overheard a radio conversation between the UP Dispatcher and the crew of the UEEDW1. The dispatcher needed to take back the light at MP 243 to allow the YSP11R to clear up on the drill track. That bit of information meant that I would be able to exchange vehicles and have time to capture the train, as it emerged from the trench. Although photographing the UEEDW1 was the primary focus, I captured a couple of other colorful trains on a cloudy Saturday evening.
5/30/2026

05/29/2026

"A Pair of Forties for Forty Friday"

For my only trip on Thursday, I was dispatched to retrieve the crew on the LSP60, Wabuska Local. Originally the pick up was scheduled for the Hazen siding, but a call to UP Dispatcher 9, revealed that the crew made it to the Darwin siding before their hours of service expired. After returning to "The Pit" to exchange the crew van for my Jeep, I captured the YSP22R, yard job, for a bonus "Forty Friday" view.
5/28/2026

05/28/2026

"Monday's and Tuesday's Portola Trips"

On Monday morning, I was barely awake and had just started a pot of coffee when my phone rang. It was PTI Dispatch giving me sixteen minutes to get dressed, commute to the Sparks rail yard for a crew van and then drive to Portola to pick up the outbound Roseville crew for the MGRRV (Manifest, Green River WY to Roseville CA). When I pulled into the Sierra Motel parking lot, one hour and seven minutes late for my pick up, I was not surprised to find out that the crew had already secured another ride to the yard office. So I drove over to the yard to see if there was an inbound crew to take back to Sparks. When I pulled into the driveway, I saw the rear of the train heading towards the Feather River Canyon. Then I went into the office and discovered that the inbound crew must had found a different ride home, as there was no crew to be seen. So I called UP Dispatcher 9 to confirm that the crew had a ride home and to contact PTI to release me from this trip. He said that he would and a few minutes later, a PTI Dispatcher called to bust my trip. Then she said that she needed me to return to Sparks to pick up the outbound Roseville crew for the GSGBTR (Grain Shuttle, Gibbon NE to Traver CA) at the Nugget Hotel. After returning from that crew change, I spent a couple hours at home before the phone rang again. I was being dispatched to deadhead a crew to Roseville. Thirty two minutes later, PTI Dispatch called to bust that trip. The UP decided to deadhead that crew on an Uber.

Fast forward to Tuesday. I was driving home, after working my second job at Adesa Auto Auction, PTI's Regional Manager on Duty called to see if I could transport the outbound Roseville crew for the GSGAFO, a Famoso CA destined grain train, from the Sierra Motel to the Portola yard. Although I was forty one minutes late, the crew and I arrived a few minutes before the train appeared. After returning to Sparks with the inbound crew, I waited for the arrival of the MRVSP (Manifest, Roseville CA to Sparks NV). The reason was that I wanted to capture a look at the UP 1995, the Chicago & North Western heritage unit, leading the train.
5/25-26/2026

05/27/2026

"Sunday's Views from the Yard Van Office"

Working the yard van doesn't allow much in the way of beautiful mountain or desert scenery. However, it does put me in the middle of all the Sparks rail activity. Here's a look at Sunday's views from the my yard van office.
5/24/2026

05/24/2026

"A Busy Friday Working the in Yard Van"

Earlier in the week, my boss at PTI called, wanting to know if I was interested in covering Friday night's yard van shift. The regularly scheduled driver needed the night off. Since my Momma didn't raise any foolish children (well, most of the time 😉) and with PTI's erratically timed OTR road trips, my answer was a no brainer. When I'm working the yard van, I change my OTR Board status from available to off duty. That is supposed to let the dispatchers and regional managers know that I'm unavailable to take trips off the OTR board, but doesn't inform them as to why I'm unavailable. However, off duty status doesn't prevent them from trying to get a driver to take a trip when there's no one else on the board. I actually had to turn down a deadhead to Lathrop and a couple Portola trips. Since I wasn't able to do both jobs at once, I'll share several views from my busy Friday, working in the yard van.
5/22/2026

05/23/2026

"Thursday's Crew Change and Dog Catch"

Early Thursday morning, PTI Dispatch found themselves without a Portola driver to pick up the outbound INPOA (Intermodel, North Platte NE to Oakland CA) crew at the Sierra Motel. So PTI dispatch resorts to Plan B, calling a driver out of Sparks. Since the three drivers ahead of me on the board, either didn't answer their phones or declined the trip, I ended up taking the trip. After returning to Sparks with the inbound crew, I placed a call to PTI dispatch, requesting to be placed at the top of the board. To give the drivers some incentive to take trips of less than four hours, PTI allows them to return to the top of the board and be the first one called for the next trip. That move paid off for me, a few hours later, when I was dispatched for a multiple service dog catch. When I arrived at the yard office to pick up the patch crew, the conductor informed me that we were going to drive to Truckee to relieve the inbound Roseville crew on the MRVGR (Manifest, Roseville CA to Green River WY). That crew had used up their HOS and "Died on the Law" in front of the Amtrak station. After driving the inbound crew to Sparks, where they would tie up, I was to wait for the train and assist the patch crew with their work event. After the patch crew completed the set out and pick up, the outbound crew arrived to take the train to Elko. When the patch crew and I returned to the yard office, neither UP Dispatcher 9 or the yard manager had any further projects for us and we were allowed to tie up and call it a night.
5/21/2026

05/21/2026

"Wednesday in Portola"

Just as I was about to clock out from working the sale day at the Adesa Auto Auction, I received a call from PTI's automated dispatch system. They wanted me to transport the outbound Roseville crew to Portola for the MGRRV (Manifest, Green River WY to Roseville CA). Since this crew wasn't rested in time to relieve the inbound crew, another crew van was dispatched to pick up the Sparks crew and drive them home. When the outbound crew and I arrived at the rail yard, we discovered that the inbound had made the pick up and tied down the train at the west end. Without a crew to back haul to Sparks, I usually wait and make myself available in case the crew experiences an issue that requires a van ride to the rear of the train. Of course, that gives me an opportunity to practice my train photography hobby. 😉
5/20/2026

Address

Sparks, NV

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mark Lovgren Photography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Photography Service in Sparks?