kevin_standlee | Mad Plan Abandoned (Reply)

I reacted with great envy over some of the folks coming back from Denvention by train being rerouted through the scenic Feather River Canyon. This was the route of the original California Zephyr, the current train of that name actually running (in the west) over the Donner Pass route of Southern Pacific's City of San Francisco. It's a "rare mileage" trip, as railfans call it. But anyway, I happened to notice that the Zephyr is scheduled to be diverted through the Canyon again on August 30 due to scheduled work on the other line. Checking schedules, I hatched a mad plan to take the train from Oakland to Winnemucca on Saturday the 30th, spend the night there, then catch the return train (over the regular route) the next morning. This is at least theoretically possible.

But then I looked more closely, and found that -- not terribly surprisingly -- that the eastbound Zephyr that day is booked solid, undoubtedly with rail fans who heard about this reroute long ago and made better advance plans.

Oh, well, there's a good chance I might not have been able to appreciate the scenery anyway. And I'm sure those grapes were sour, too.