The West

Home On The Range

Once cars leave the TP&W and are on the move to their various destinations throughout the world, an adventure begins.
They move west where they set foot into a storied wide-open landscape; one where only the biggest powers are tough enough to tame. Towns are few but, the challenges are many. From stiff mountain grades, to high-speed long distance straight running, and punishing varying weather conditions that change on the hour, Union Pacific's storied mainline to the sea or best known as the Oregon Shortline is a critical artery connecting the busy Pacific Northwest ports with Chicago, IL and the east coast.
Out Here, only the wild and untamed will conquer.

UP 8202 has just conquered the stiff climb out of the Snake River Valley at CP 392 at Reverse, ID with train IG4SE.
Technology has certainly improved as prior to the use of distributed power, trains would have to make use of the manned helpers that were stationed at Glenn's Ferry to get an assists with battling this hill. In the modern day, this is no longer needed, as time and time again, trains with DPU's conquer the relentless grades.

In a ploy to decrease both transit times and grades as well as making a more direct route, the original OSL was realigned through this section further south than it once was in 1925. Using steam shovels as well as dynamite, massive cuts were made into the sandstone that makes up the plateau that over looks the Snake River just a few miles south of this spot. Not only did it make it more direct, the grade was dropped down to 1.5% from the 2+% it once was, making it possible for tonnage never once imagined to make a run at the grade. One of the many UP Grain shuttles thunder up the famed Medbury Hill through one of the several cuts located along this stretch of track.

Prior to the advent of DPU's on the OSL, helper districts were dotted all along various locations on the OSL. One such helper districts stood between the 2 grades climbing out of the Snak River Valley. Depending on train size and blocking, most of the time helpers were on the rear giving an assist up the grades, but occasionally, you could see the helpers placed on the head end, such as with this MNPHK getting a boost in power to get the heavy Hinkle bound tonnage over the road as the crest the westward climb of the infamous Medbury Hill.

Looking Further east and jumping back to more modern times; The village of Hammett, ID sits at the bottom of Mebury Hill. Here we seen UP 1996 at the lead of ZSEMN as they thunder eastwards through Hammett, ID knocking down the high greens of the old US&S signals that still survive to this day.

There's always action to catch, and there's plenty of variety to see on the OSL. You just never know what might be out there running. UP 1983 is at the lead of MHKNP as they cruise eastbound out of Hammett, ID.

Listed as a train town, Glenn's Ferry is the base for the helper district between Medbury Hill and King Hill. Glenn's Ferry was once an OSL classification yard, with a round house and a water tower and even small steam shops. Today all that remains is just a coaling tower and some of the yard that tells the stories of the many trains that passed by. The otherwise quiet community comes to life when the sounds of heavy tonnage pounds the rail. An SD40-2 set is staged as the helpers in Glenn's Ferry and after making the connecting moves to be tacked onto the head end of the MNPHK, they depart westbound for their dance with hill.

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