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Phil Mockel's Northwest Railroads

and

WELCOME TO MY HOME,
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST




The pages are about trains. Some are modern diesels, running the rails for modern companies. Some are shortlines that bring goods to a mainline, while some are industrial roads moving materials around a factory or off of a timber stand. Some are fallen flags, fading into history. Some are classic steam engines, sometimes standing sadly in a park and sometimes living and breathing under full steam.

Mostly, these are pictured in and around the area of my home, the Pacific Northwest; but occasionally I have the opportunity to travel, usually by rail, and will share photos of these travels.

Here you will find mainlines, shortlines, industrial railroads and excursion routes.

I know that these are rail pages, but I just have to share some of the scenery through which our Pacific Northwest Railways run. Here you will find rivers, lakes, waterfalls, mountains and volcanos.



When I was a boy, trains were dragons that erupted from a mist to delight me and fascinate me. My great-uncle began work with the Southern Pacific in 1898. He lived in Dunsmuir, California and when there was a visit from Uncle Joe, whether he visited us or we visited him, a train, usually the Shasta Daylight, was involved. Whenever he and his sisters, my Grandmother Mary and Great-Aunt Martha, visited my Aunt Ora, in Piru, California, we had to see them off and pick them up at the train station.

Skiing was large part of my family's life, as my father was a winter-sports writer and long-time member of the Oakland Ski Club. Trains were a huge part of my skiing life as well. During the winter months, we actually hiked into our ski lodge through the Southern Pacific snowsheds, at the summit of Donner Pass. Occasionally the huge "Cab Forwards" would fill the darkness and the adrenaline would rush through my veins as we hugged the walls for our very lives. I must also admit that during the summer months we actually played in those sheds from time to time.

Later we purchase property on the west end of Donner Lake. From our vantage point there we could watch the trains navigate the ledges on the side of Mt. Judah, disappearing in an out of the granite tunnels and timber snowsheds that so many Chinese workers died building in the 1860's.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the train travel of my childhood was dominated by beauties like the SP&S #700, shown here as I might have seen her as a boy of six or seven. Now I live in Portland, Oregon, which owns both the SP&S #700 and the SP #4449. Occasionally I have the good fortune to see these fine machines and remember a childhood full of trains, as I am bathed in steam and the smell of the firebox fills my nostrils.



Travels on The Empire Builder, The Coast Starlight and the California Zephyr are the feature attraction in the Amtrak section of this site. If you have NEVER travelled on a modern train, you owe it to yourself to do that as quickly as possible. If you last travelled on a passenger train in the late 1960's or early 1970's, I am here to tell you that train travel has changed from those old nasty days.

Special rail events are sometimes available to my camera. Look for the layout on TRANSPORTATION 2000, held at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nevada. I did got some great pictures of all of the various steam locomotives in attendance.

While I was in the area I popped up to Virginia City and rode Virginia & Truckee Railroad, which runs from Virginia City to Gold Hill and back.

ALSO - There are a few new shots of the SP #4449, this time all in the black, of the World War II years. She looks good, but it is not the same as the flashy orange and black daylight colors I am used to.



If you are planning a vacation or just want to dream about some amazing trips or magnificent adventures, just follow this link to Life's Real Treasures and look around. There are more travel photographs available there. Some other links are provided that will serve you well and save you some dollars.

There is a link back to this page for your use after you are through discovering Life's Real Treasures.




Please choose destination and click the link.
(Some photos are large and load slowly)

ALL ABOARD!





WHERE IT IS HAPPENING - THE RAILROAD YARD

The railroads spread out across the nation and all of the maintenance and dispatching takes place in the railroad yard.

TRAINS UP THE GORGE

The North side is BNSF country, while the Union Pacific rolls on the South side.

SHORTLINES

 "Down Home Railroading"

AMTRAK - THIS WAY TO THE TRAINS

 Some of us only fly when we have to. When we travel we see America from the rails that built it. Go Amtrak!

"WHEN STEAM WAS KING"

 Steam Locomotives and classic cars.

RAILWAY MUSEUMS - HISTORY ON WHEELS
A few glimpses of some of the railway museums I have encountered in my travels.

THE SCENIC PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Rivers, Lakes, Mountains and Volcanos

Send anything interesting about railroads, railfanning, and model railroad building.
If you have an event of broad interest or sightings that everyone should know, just
send it along and I will share it with on these pages.
If you have a website with your layout, or your club's layout, send that along and I will be happy to provide a link.
We are happy to announce that Phil Mockel's Northwest Railroads are now listed on Railserve.com, your complete cyber-switching yard.



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DON'T MISS THIS LINK TO SUITE 101,
with more trains and other discussions.






All text and photos on these pages are protected by copyright. Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs were taken by Philip M. Mockel and all text was written by Philip M. Mockel.
Use of this text and these photos,
without the permission of Philip M. Mockel is a violation of copyright laws.
© 2001 by Philip M. Mockel