Winter on Donner Pass

2024 ж. 17 Мам.
736 399 Рет қаралды

Originally released in 2018 on DVD.
Journey high into California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains for a stunning look at winter operations over Donner Pass. As Pacific storms dump heavy snow, Union Pacific battles to keep trains rolling.
Get a taste of what it is like to be trackside in the midst of winter’s fury. Long stack trains, heavy manifests, and Amtrak’s California Zephyr share the rails with an army of snow fighting equipment including flangers, spreaders, and the mighty rotaries.
Beginning at Colfax, trains climb toward the snow zone at Blue Cañon, then on to Truckee on rails once covered almost completely by snow sheds. Extra time is spent near the summit at Soda Springs and Norden where man and machine are put to the test against the elements. This is mountain railroading and snow fighting rolled into one exciting presentation!
Shot over four separate winters including the big snow of 2011, this is your front-row seat to “Winter on Donner Pass!”
This program is available on DVD, Blu-ray, streaming and download with Vimeo on Demand by visiting 7ideaproductions.com. www.7ideaproductions.com/prod...
0:00 Intro
2:12 Map
3:57 Colfax
8:25 The Leslie Type Rotary Snow Plow
10:51 Blue Canyon
15:22 Emigrant Gap
17:44 Switch 9
18:25 Yuba Pass
29:26 Tunnel 27
31:21 Crystal Lake
33:11 Shed 10
37:59 Cisco
41:15 Troy Cut
47:41 Troy
55:25 A "Herd of Dozers" Milepost 189
1:00:37 Soda Springs
1:12:34 Norden
1:26:07 Testing the SPMW 207 Rotary
1:37:08 Tunnel 41 "The Big Hole"
1:41:55 Shed 47
1:44:23 Andover
1:52:03 Truckee
1:59:53 Closing

Пікірлер
  • Who's watching from the comfort of their warm couches or beds, with their favorite blanket all warm?

    @shable1436@shable14362 ай бұрын
    • In front of the fireplace snowing where I’m at

      @CountryLivingOnTheFarm@CountryLivingOnTheFarm2 ай бұрын
    • Under 10 cats here… Warm and purring…

      @G_de_Coligny@G_de_Coligny2 ай бұрын
    • Me. With popcorn.

      @David-ty5hl@David-ty5hlАй бұрын
    • With a cold beer.

      @cruisecrazy7066@cruisecrazy706629 күн бұрын
  • It's awesome that you guys are making the 'older' videos like this available on youtube, and you have my sincerest gratitude and thanks. 👍

    @pinecone01@pinecone013 ай бұрын
    • That’s cause they are redoing this with 8K equipment now

      @hikertrashfilms@hikertrashfilms3 ай бұрын
    • I thought that this was about the snow this year. I have a disdain for people that reposts just to get more views on the same video. I call this lazy, and greedy. Thumbs down on this greedy ass crap.

      @TheLittlered1961@TheLittlered19612 ай бұрын
  • One of my great uncles, returning from a business trip, rode the train. It snowed so hard the train was halted for several days before the snow equipment could reach them. The tore wood from inside to feed fire heaters to keep warm. This happened in the late 1940s.

    @jamesberwick2210@jamesberwick22103 ай бұрын
    • Maybe 1952 city of San Francisco train.

      @jo9732@jo97322 ай бұрын
  • OOPS forgot to thank the “voice” that narrates these fine videos ❤️👍

    @normsweet1710@normsweet17103 ай бұрын
  • I’ve yet to “drive U.S. 40 but was told by some old timers that it can be an adventure . Someday I’ll make it out there in my pickup, as I’m retired from Semi after 38 yrs. Thank You for your efforts to bring it home to my 65” TV. 👍🙏😃❤️

    @normsweet1710@normsweet17103 ай бұрын
  • I lived in Trukee for about 5 years!! When I first arrived our first winter was about 18 feet of snow and we managed to get out duem to some wonerful snow plow drivers!! Trukee is very dear to my heart! I lived across from the train tracks but where I worked I could watch all the trains coming and going!! They were a wonderful sight to see!! There next stop for some would bee Reno, Nv. Then Sparks and then onto where ever!! I road the Amtark Train many times both nice and bad weather and the tracks were always plodded!! Such a beautiful trip!!!

    @vickyrumsey692@vickyrumsey6923 ай бұрын
    • Is the old style silver diner still in Truckee?

      @The1jonnyz@The1jonnyz3 ай бұрын
    • Lol

      @jerrybailey1980@jerrybailey19802 ай бұрын
  • Man, I literally just got off my Flanger in Truckee after working the mountain and I open You Tube up to this, frickin awesome! For a little context on some things from the operation side, we have a DPU pool that specifically works only between Roseville and Sparks and back which are 100%DPU compliant both ways and have computer software that makes them wistand the heat in the tunnels. We call them 'Sierra Dups' and orginal they were the 5200 series c45s that you see in this video but since have become more open to other engine types but still have to comply. Manned helpers are still used out of Colfax and sometimes Truckee when the Canyon closes or other reroutes make more then normal amount of trains over the line, most of the time in the winter

    @zsoren42@zsoren423 ай бұрын
    • I did not know that about the DPU pool. Thanks for the info!

      @7ideaproductions@7ideaproductions3 ай бұрын
    • Wow! Dude you got one big set of cojones!!! I heard about that area over the years from truckers heading for the valley.....NOT ME..LMAO! Greetings from Greenville, NC.

      @highwayroadrunner206@highwayroadrunner2062 ай бұрын
    • ​@@highwayroadrunner206Greenville NC represented in the comments! I'm a lifelong resident here in Pitt County.

      @j_rainsgoat3929@j_rainsgoat39292 ай бұрын
    • Ah, so you are a native, that's cool. I'm a transplant. Moved here from north east NJ 7 years ago. Love it here, the people are nice and the climate is great !@@j_rainsgoat3929

      @highwayroadrunner206@highwayroadrunner2062 ай бұрын
    • @@7ideaproductions - Any idea what that contraption is on top of the flanger unit being pullled by UP 602?

      @RustySax1949@RustySax19492 ай бұрын
  • This is Great Footage! Most people do not associate California and Donner Pass together. In Winter... White , Beautiful , Cold and sometimes DEADLY. THANKS FOR SHARING...will be watching this MANY vid times.

    @user-wu1ds2sz3w@user-wu1ds2sz3w3 ай бұрын
  • As a railroader in Chicago, I thought our winters were rough. The blizzard of 2011 hit us bad too. I worked that whole week and man did it suck- nothing worked right. Thank you for uploading this video here. It’s another excellent presentation!

    @Blk_GT8@Blk_GT83 ай бұрын
  • Winter train videos are the best!

    @AnontheGOAT@AnontheGOAT3 ай бұрын
  • I live near here. I have always loved the Sierras, and the same for trains. So this is special. Two hours well spent.

    @michaeldougfir9807@michaeldougfir98073 ай бұрын
  • You all are just the BEST!!! thank you so much.

    @bibledefinedbymartycozad@bibledefinedbymartycozad3 ай бұрын
  • Videos and narrating are the best, #1 on my list keep up the good work 👍💯

    @anthonywilliams3951@anthonywilliams39513 ай бұрын
    • Thank you!

      @7ideaproductions@7ideaproductions3 ай бұрын
  • Those rotary plows are absolutely epic! This was one of the best snow removal productions I have seen! Great job!

    @randomoldguy3967@randomoldguy39672 ай бұрын
  • Even keeping the crossing gates and signals working in those conditions must be a herculean task! So glad I got to see this area in person a few times...epic railroading!

    @fhowland@fhowland3 ай бұрын
  • I'm from Australia and I think all of your content is fantastic and so informative. Keep up the great work 👍

    @BrettBarwick-ex3hn@BrettBarwick-ex3hn3 ай бұрын
  • What a way to spend a couple of hours sitting on my couch in S. Texas in Feb ….. I learned a lot 👍

    @normsweet1710@normsweet17103 ай бұрын
  • Das beste Video für winter imprisonen on World in railroad. Danke. Greetings von Germany Rhein side Düsseldorf ❤

    @heinzbreuer2674@heinzbreuer26743 ай бұрын
    • Thank you very much.

      @7ideaproductions@7ideaproductions3 ай бұрын
  • We’re getting more snow tomorrow! Bring out the rotary snow blowers. I can watch them all day.

    @opwave79@opwave793 ай бұрын
  • my grandfather worked for the SP, retiring around 1962. lived in Roseville from about 1929. he used to have lots of stories about going over the hill.

    @donaldbotsai5799@donaldbotsai57992 ай бұрын
  • I used to have a VHS tape of Pentrex' "Across Donner Summit" with much footage taken around 1991-1992. This is like a much updated version with better resolution. Thank you for posting!

    @silicon212@silicon2123 ай бұрын
    • That is still a great video being in the Southern Pacific era and Richard Steinheimer as a guide.

      @7ideaproductions@7ideaproductions3 ай бұрын
    • There's channels on here of train hoppers sneaking through Donner's pass in freight cars, seems a little stupid to me, but hoboing has a niche on KZhead now

      @shable1436@shable14362 ай бұрын
    • @@shable1436 It has been for some time, actually.

      @silicon212@silicon2122 ай бұрын
  • Those 567 sound so good

    @scr2392@scr23923 ай бұрын
  • The the video’s of the past! Your creativity of the UP is totally amazing/awesome!! Thanks for sharing them to all of us! Love the UNION PACIFIC!!

    @cjbeyer8340@cjbeyer83403 ай бұрын
  • Great video. I can't get enough of those rotary shots in the fresh snow. What a location....

    @stevenikitas8170@stevenikitas81703 ай бұрын
  • This is AWESOME!!! Love Trains. If I was younger I would 'try' to be a railroad engineer.

    @kathyrobello2787@kathyrobello27873 ай бұрын
  • This is remarkable footage….🙏

    @DevanJackson@DevanJackson3 ай бұрын
  • What a beautiful production. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

    @BrunoDeSoto@BrunoDeSoto20 күн бұрын
  • What absolutely amazing scenery this is. It looks like something out of the movies

    @sharonmcgeeney9414@sharonmcgeeney9414Ай бұрын
  • And this was well documented very good job guys. This truly reflects men working

    @VintageVaughnVehiclces@VintageVaughnVehiclces2 ай бұрын
  • Thank you for your VERY DIFFICULT work.

    @oldad6207@oldad62073 ай бұрын
  • I love watching these snow fighting videos..keep them coming please..

    @skruloos1@skruloos13 ай бұрын
  • Thank you for sharing this great video!

    @michaelwenzel3196@michaelwenzel3196Ай бұрын
  • Love This. Thank You. Love Trains. ❤❤

    @kathyrobello815@kathyrobello8153 ай бұрын
  • I imagine they have had their hands full with the storms this winter.

    @davefroman4700@davefroman47002 ай бұрын
  • Great video. I took the Zephyr last year and saw some of those great sites.

    @Muziq4tune@Muziq4tune3 ай бұрын
  • I grew up at Tahoe from 1959. I spent a lot of time in Truckee including living in Truckee just yards away from the railroad tracks on the second floor above the cafe. I was there when the train derailed through the middle of town with a horrible sound and woke me up from from my nap. I also helped dig out the train that got stuck outside of the snow sheds on Donner pass. I forget what year it was but it was an amazing experience. I'm glad to see The other comments from people watching the KZhead video. I can remember living on the west end of Donner lake for one winter and we had to shovel a path to the door through about 18 ft of snow, so it was basically a tunnel just to get to the door. We couldn't park either one of the vehicles on that little cul-de-sac so we had to park down at the boat ramp parking lot on the west end of Donner lake and then walk to the cabin from there. I have no idea who was doing the narration for this video, but whoever it was to mostly a good job, except for the fact that in the Blue canyon portion of the video canyon was not spelled in Spanish but rather in English!

    @donhitchman4227@donhitchman42273 ай бұрын
  • It is AWESOME! A couple of days ago I watched a video shot at Steven Pass, I must say that one needs to push his or her physical strength to crazy limits to work in these frigid temperatures.

    @chanchalpal146@chanchalpal1463 ай бұрын
  • This video was amazing!

    @NickelPlateRoadExperience@NickelPlateRoadExperience3 ай бұрын
  • Awesome ! Just got notification of this new video & before I watch it on my TV I already know I'll love everything about it.... been through Donners Pass on Amtrak in winter, love the narration, the length of the videos.... ! Making the popcorn now and snuggle with the cat to watch another 7idea hit !

    @jmhenon@jmhenon3 ай бұрын
  • We had to chain up our truck last winter (2022-2023) three times - we only went on Donner 4 times that year! It was a record breaking winter on Donner!

    @maryseeker7590@maryseeker75903 ай бұрын
    • 4 of us went as a convoy up and over the top --it was fun and SCARY

      @alexandershatzko8748@alexandershatzko87483 ай бұрын
  • Looking forward to seeing video of the epic February-March 2024 storm!

    @frankwolf3860@frankwolf38602 ай бұрын
    • Wonder if they could even get up there to film!

      @dpelpal@dpelpal2 ай бұрын
  • Hats off to the camera crew, excellent footage. Rode amtrak from Reno to Sacramento a couple winters ago. Fun experience. 😊

    @elflordsjourneys@elflordsjourneys2 ай бұрын
  • Thanks for this great content I love it

    @derrickeasterday4066@derrickeasterday40663 ай бұрын
  • For me , seeing the Jordan spreader at work is fascinating. Built several of these in Ludington, Michigan.

    @normanbrown2137@normanbrown21372 ай бұрын
  • Those crafty Canadians! I love my frostback sister's and brother's!

    @ktydeck@ktydeck18 күн бұрын
  • Interesting/informative/entertaining. Excellent photography job enabling viewers to better understand what the orator is describing. Making this presentation more authentic and possible. Enjoying this presentation from the warmth/comfort of my computer room. Along the " Space Coast " of Florida 🐊🐊🐊 ( 2-17-24 ) wishing viewers a safe/healthy/prosperous ( 2024 ) 🌈🎉😉.

    @asullivan4047@asullivan40473 ай бұрын
  • Epic footage, just epic. Thankyou!! Hopeing bigtime my trip on Zephyr looks similar. Regards from Australia.

    @davidm4689@davidm46893 ай бұрын
  • We have those same exact engines that come up into SW Montana. Up here they are the Union Pacific railroad,I didn’t know they were tied in with Southern Pacific. Great video!!

    @clintlarue520@clintlarue520Ай бұрын
  • Epic piece of geography

    @iancrossley6637@iancrossley66373 ай бұрын
  • Absolutely loving this!

    @lola_rock3312@lola_rock33123 ай бұрын
  • Love the snowstorms!

    @oaktadopbok665@oaktadopbok6653 ай бұрын
  • What a great video! Donner Pass is always beautiful in the snow but it sure looks like a headache to keep plowed. They nailed all the perfect HD angles in this one! 🤩

    @ElDarren@ElDarren3 ай бұрын
  • That old rotory whistle is just soooo haunting. If i ever see a ghost train that would be the whistle id expect to hear.

    @coletrickle-km7cl@coletrickle-km7cl2 ай бұрын
  • Fantastic footage. I have the VHS video “Battle for Donner Pass”. Your footage is just has good and the narrative is very informative. Thank you.

    @caseyjonessnr1200@caseyjonessnr12003 ай бұрын
    • Thank you! I will argue that "Battle for Donner Pass" is the best train video ever made.

      @7ideaproductions@7ideaproductions3 ай бұрын
  • This is a fantastic documentary about trains I love it ❤

    @telsat@telsat2 ай бұрын
  • enjoy seeing the older steam rotaryplow, my dad used to run the up steam rotary plow up till 2010

    @lynnnystrom@lynnnystrom2 ай бұрын
  • This is awesome i grew up in roseville and many friends fathers worked for southern pacific.

    @scooterscat3309@scooterscat33092 ай бұрын
  • A definite masterpiece 👌

    @KCTopDawg@KCTopDawg3 ай бұрын
  • Great video thank you

    @user-tl8du8oe6t@user-tl8du8oe6t2 ай бұрын
  • A steam whistle on the rotary plow?! That's fantastic!!! Keeping the sound of steam alive in the mountains. Wouldn't surprise me if people think that a steam locomotive is coming down the line when they hear it.

    @bowlinerailfan@bowlinerailfanАй бұрын
  • I really appreciate the writing style in both this video and all your others. This is how journalism used to be taught in the era before clarity was tossed in deference to outrage and clicks. I know KZhead wasn't in your original business plan, but I genuinely hope it ends up being more lucrative for you than selling discs. Either way you get a salute from me for posting.

    @mcpr5971@mcpr59712 ай бұрын
  • It's cool to see an old B unit still in use.

    @TransformerDad@TransformerDad3 ай бұрын
  • Nice I can’t wait to waste some time in school watching this masterpiece!!

    @caltrain_acefoamer907@caltrain_acefoamer9073 ай бұрын
  • So cool to get to see this

    @davidlagle7000@davidlagle70002 ай бұрын
  • Agree, greatly appreciated😊

    @tomhuelster3267@tomhuelster3267Ай бұрын
  • Gabriel, loved your show Saturday night, it was just a bummer that I couldn't sit and fully enjoy it due to a few obnoxious women around me, constantly yelling out at you and the other directly behind me coughing and literally spitting on me and my wife all during the show. Needless to say, my wife is now sick from it and I'm on my way. But thank you for coming back to good old Spokompton! Glad you got to experience the "activities" downtown while you were here.

    @Bryanja81@Bryanja8118 күн бұрын
  • Absolutely amazing

    @jamesferrell3328@jamesferrell33282 ай бұрын
  • Very well done, gents! Thank you.

    @bobp3738@bobp37383 ай бұрын
  • Thanks for all the information you give, very interesting video

    @Ferrosteph@Ferrosteph3 ай бұрын
  • I think I was one when it happened. I've driven across between Sacramento and Reno and drive through an open top tunnel 20 to 25 feet deep each side of the road. Thanks for the date. Uncle Don passed before high school.

    @jamesberwick2210@jamesberwick22102 ай бұрын
  • This is a very Awesome Ride..👌👌👌👌😉😉👍👍

    @AZRonK@AZRonK18 күн бұрын
  • The video quality is stunning.

    @kylehendrix9103@kylehendrix91032 ай бұрын
  • Great Video!! I took Amtrak from Sacramento to Reno many years back. We had just sat down in the dining car when we reached the snow line. It started snowing and it was so beautiful. We had no issues getting to Reno.

    @user-xj2up7tm4d@user-xj2up7tm4d3 ай бұрын
  • Another incredible video from 7idea!

    @johnmcgarvie4061@johnmcgarvie40613 ай бұрын
  • not really a train guy, but I thoroughly enjoyed this whole episode. At the start , figured no way could I sit thru 2 hours but the great footage and no BS narration kept me entertained. " Just the facts" wonderful!. Wondering if, with the more recent double stackers coming on the scene, if all the tunnels had to have their opening height increased, or were the tunnels already tall enough? Greetings from Alberta, Canada.

    @larryfreeman7979@larryfreeman79793 ай бұрын
    • Hello Alberta! To answer your question, the tunnels had to be notched in order to fit the doublestacks. This was done back in 2009. During that time, I filmed a program on the Feather River Canyon which was the route for stack trains then.

      @7ideaproductions@7ideaproductions3 ай бұрын
  • I found this film amazing!! Thanks for posting.

    @Judy-wv4mx@Judy-wv4mx2 ай бұрын
  • I'M loving this ❤️.

    @caroleroseburgh1344@caroleroseburgh13443 ай бұрын
  • I am not a true railroad person but this is an interesting video. Just happened on it after watching a blizzard on I80

    @jantefft2442@jantefft24422 ай бұрын
  • Am currently re-reading Stephen Ambrose's book on the building of the Trans-Continental and it is wonderful to be able to see some of those incredible locations here. Thank you- this is fantastic!

    @MarkTasker-bn4kk@MarkTasker-bn4kk2 ай бұрын
  • Awsome!😊

    @pauljung7611@pauljung76113 ай бұрын
  • Nice to see the famous 8444 train number working the hill.

    @NatesRandomVideo@NatesRandomVideo3 ай бұрын
  • Thanks for the great video , I love trains in snow

    @user-bm8dz6zd5z@user-bm8dz6zd5z3 ай бұрын
  • Great capture really shows you the work needed here.

    @jamesburnside3023@jamesburnside30232 ай бұрын
  • Amazing

    @natejackson8213@natejackson82133 ай бұрын
  • Those rotary pusher engines are brand new

    @fasteddiesgarage5000@fasteddiesgarage50003 ай бұрын
  • GREAT VIDEO! Thank you for creating it.

    @Erica_Brenda@Erica_Brenda3 ай бұрын
  • What a great Documentary! Thanks for showing this!

    @deutschebundesbahnh0@deutschebundesbahnh03 ай бұрын
  • lOVE YOUR VIDEOS SIR

    @AZZIB8@AZZIB83 ай бұрын
  • this is a fantastic video very well filmed and narrated this now is my favorite site to watch please keep up the good work i am looking forward to seeing more new videos thank you

    @brucehughesman5238@brucehughesman52382 ай бұрын
  • God made us a beautiful place to live.

    @harveysmidlap@harveysmidlap3 ай бұрын
  • This all starts right down the street from me in Roseville…

    @MikeGowan-xo9yv@MikeGowan-xo9yv12 күн бұрын
  • Great video thank you.

    @davesusek3330@davesusek33302 ай бұрын
  • VERY WELL DONE!

    @elosogonzalez8739@elosogonzalez87392 ай бұрын
  • What a great video!!! Thank you

    @rcrobertson9563@rcrobertson95633 ай бұрын
  • Absolutely love this video! We have watched a few others but as far as quality and content, this one is amazing! Can't wait for the new version to come out! There had to be plenty of Rotary Action recorded winter of 22-23. At least that's what the news was saying about the Sierras anyway... Thank you for posting this to KZhead.

    @cdodge2996@cdodge29962 ай бұрын
  • Must be so cool taking the Amtrak through Donner Pass! That's got to be America's most scenic rail line! The change in altitude is amazing! Must've been quite a job building that! That giant rotary plow is incredible! Just a huge electric motor, powered by juice from the diesel-electrics?

    @user-hg4ok2jw2m@user-hg4ok2jw2m2 ай бұрын
  • Beautiful videography!

    @distantsignal@distantsignal3 ай бұрын
  • I really enjoyed watching this Thank You.

    @gregdelong1539@gregdelong15393 ай бұрын
  • super video sir ❤❤

    @EntertainmentWorldz@EntertainmentWorldz3 ай бұрын
  • Great footage! Impressive! 👍👍👍

    @rm.bahnfotos_fhme@rm.bahnfotos_fhme3 ай бұрын
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