July 3-4, 2023.
Footage from two days along the Union Pacific "Overland Route" heading west from Cheyenne to Rawlins across the high plains of southern Wyoming.
The Overland Route is the original Union Pacific transcontinental railroad from Omaha, NE to Promontory, UT. After connecting with the Central Pacific from Sacramento, CA, the line was completed in May of 1869, creating the first transcontinental railroad. Today, the Union Pacific operates the entire transcon mainline from Chicago to San Francisco, with connections to Los Angeles and Portland from Salt Lake City. In this video, a variety of UP freight trains are seen at several locations between Cheyenne and Rawlins, Wyoming.
This video starts at Tie Siding, WY on UP's Laramie Subdivision west of Cheyenne. Tie Siding is near Hermosa Tunnel and the summit of Sherman Hill, crossing over the continental divide. I documented rail action on Sherman Hill from the evening hours through sunset.
The next day (July 4th) I was heading west from Laramie towards Rawlins on U.S. 30 and Interstate 80. During the morning and afternoon hours, I spent some time near Rock River and Medicine Bow, a desolate stretch of the Overland Route between Laramie and Walcott, where U.S. 30 splits off from I-80. During the evening hours, I caught an eastbound manifest leaving Rawlins, then spent time in Creston on the UP Rawlins Subdivision at sunset. The late-evening hours of July 4th was cold and windy after several storms came through the area.
Train symbols and destinations listed in this video are based on research, so some train symbols may not be correct. Like many western roads, UP crews typically do not call signals over the radio, so it is difficult to determine the correct symbols.