Sierra Mountain Train Travel
A Travel Piece By Kevin Reeves
Staff Writer
Seasons broke pattern in
the Sierra Mountains between Sacramento and Reno, contrasting
before the eyes of Amtrak California Zephyr train passengers
traveling the route in December 2011. It was hard to imagine the
desperate struggles and faith-testing challenges of settlers long
past, traversing the ominous Donner Pass. Icy white-out? On the
contrary – there was little snow to be seen at all, earlier this
winter. Photo courtesy
Amtrak: Donner Lake and the California Zephyr
My 2011 holiday trip home to the family provided a
string of windows to 
the climatic rarity racing by. From within the
train, we witnessed a landscape of snow-capped mountains that were
distinctly autumnal from the neck down, due to a bizarre dry spell.
Equally dreamlike was the sense of two different eras overlapping
inside the passenger train. From the1920s through the 1960s, the
United States’ decline in demand for railway travel paved the way
for Amtrak to secure a corner on the market, preserving a ghostly
impression of the way things were, back when railways were the only
way to travel, juxtaposed with the train travel of today: a treat
for those with the time and money to spare, without the various
trappings of bus travel.
Photo by Kevin: View from the train, blue valley
Old-world splendor is modernized
with stunning 270-degree wrap-around window-wall views in the
Observation Car. I usually abandon my regular seat – spacious
though it is, with plenty of stretch-out leg
room-- to sit
in the roomy Observation Car’s lounge chairs and watch the natural
world played like a single-shot film before me, the whole trip.
Tables provide a place for laptops, books, notepads, and cameras,
optimizing comfort. Gliding along the cliff sides, I relaxed to
watch rows of undecorated Christmas trees blanket hills and
canyons, most impressively when passing Blue Valley.
Courtesy photo: Observation car
The history of Gold Country, stretching up to meet the Silver
State, whispers from dusty ghost towns that can be missed with an
ill-timed blink. Water sheds and tunnels unexpectedly drape the
train in shadow from time to time, adding to the fun and mystery.
Frequented by families and nature enthusiasts, a sense of communal
appreciation for the scenic route less traveled pervades the
atmosphere; the shared awe is a great segue to spontaneous
conversation amongst passengers.
As someone who keeps more to himself
in public, I was entertained to see riders of all ages watch the
same sights and enjoy the same beauty. The Dining Car is uniquely
old school, with white tablecloths
and the infrequent
rattling of silverware when the train accelerates to hug the
changing mountainside. Climbing over 7,000 feet high to reveal
prehistoric glacier-formed Donner Lake, the California Zephyr comes
with its own narrators: Sacramento Railroad Museum historians,
whose voices are played throughout the train. They explain the
people of bygone eras, and the imprints they left throughout the
Sierras. Paying homage to the impressive force of under-appreciated
emigrant Chinese railroad workers who laid the tracks beneath us,
the historians then later recount local mysteries, fortunes, and
tragedies as each relevant township and landmark is passed.
Photo courtesy Amtrak: Dining
Car
By the time we’d descended into the
Truckee Meadows and settled into the open-air subterranean train
passage at Reno’s Amtrak Station, I felt transported in a way that
defies the discomforts of car and bus travel. It may cost a bit
more, and take a bit longer, but the euphoria of tackling the
Sierra Mountains by train is strongly recommended for any history
buff, comfort seeker, or nature admirer traveling solo, in a
couple, or with a group. Photo by Kevin: Old track sides at outpost
Back to Top
Published in Sutter Creek, our
paper is a positive example of journalism with an eclectic assortment of
articles and reviews ranging from health and wellness to the arts.
