One of the most remarkable mountain grades in the West is Union Pacific's line through Willamette and Pengra passes in the Cascades southeast of Eugene, Oregon.  For 42 miles the grade on this former SP line ranges from 1.5 to 1.7%.   This is the longest sustained helper grade on the UP system today, although the helpers now are radio controlled distributed power units.   The scenery on this line is easily the equal to that on Tehachapi or Cajon. This video shows the trains and operations on UP's remarkable line through the Cascades in July of 2002.  88 minutes. 

The most scenic and accessible part of BNSF's Inside Gateway is the former Oregon Trunk Railway between Bend, OR and Wishram, WA.  Traffic on the Inside Gateway has nearly tripled since BNSF took over the Keddie to Bieber line from UP in 1997.  This video shows the dramatic recent changes in traffic and operations in July of 2002 on BNSF's Oregon Trunk Subdivision between Wishram and Bend, a line that for now still has the feel of the classic era of railroading with much jointed rail, searchlight style automatic block signals, and short sidings.  76 minutes. 

This video shows the recent changes on the busy and scenic Burlington Northern Santa Fe line between Sandpoint, Idaho, and Spokane.  At Sandpoint BNSF's Hi Line with trains from Chicago and the former Northern Pacific main, now operated by Montana Rail Link, come together for the 66 mile run to Spokane.  The addition of 38 miles of second main track, and changes in freight train schedules and in train frequency since our last look at this unique line in 1994 have greatly changed the character of "The Funnel".   This video shows over 24 hours of action on "The Funnel" in July of 2002.  1 hour, 56 minutes. 

This video shows the trains on a UP line that rarely received much exposure until recently - UP's Can-Am corridor from Eastport in northern Idaho to Roseville, CA.   This video first takes a look at trains between Eastport and Spokane, then shows the trains between Spokane and Hinkle including 24 continuous hours of action in July 2002.  The traffic has tripled on this rugged and scenic line.  Our coverage includes the spectacular Joso trestle. 66 minutes.