A Train Odyssey 7, AMTRAK "California Zephyr" (eastbound) Part 5 

Mr. Schmidt, thank you for these wonderful travel videos. I like the perfect amount of history sprinkled in as well. Thanks for your hard work.

The old railroad grade that you are seeing east of Thompson is the original narrow-gauge track alignment of the Rio Grande Western Railroad. The railroad was re-laid to standard gauge in 1890 and much of the old alignment was removed thereafter. The RGW merged with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in 1923. forming the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. The original narrow-gauge railroad alignment did not go through Ruby Canyon, but rather traversed the desert north of the canyon. There have also been several projects to straighten the railroad over the last century-plus. The D&RGW was merged with the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1989, which was absorbed into the Union Pacific Railroad in 1997. Cisco was also at north end of the eastern Utah/western Colorado uranium belt that was heavily explored during the 1950's uranium exploration boom. A goodly amount of the U.S. uranium supply was mined in the west/southwest Colorado/eastern Utah region, and the uranium for the atom bombs dropped on Japan were mined in SW Colorado. The Utah/Colorado state line is in Ruby Canyon, marked with a painted marker on the cliffs on the left side of the train (you missed it!). The nearby siding is appropriately named "Utaline."

Love your videos on my bucket list go on a train.

Please forgive my impertinence on a previous episode. Thank you for your very hard work on all of the fun and educational videos you send us. It’s a privilege to see how you live and what you live for.Hand Salute To You.

I am really enjoying this video !!

I have watched just about every one of your train Odyssey videos I think this might be the last one today is June 17th 2023. I would like to thank you for all the hard work you put into these videos. It might be time to invest in a upgraded digital scanner. I live in Florida and the new high speed rail bright line they use a frequency that you need to have a Kenwood scanner. Technology keeps changing. I was thinking about getting a scanner but none of them will pick up police anymore and it's starting where a lot of the older ones are picking up less and less. Looking at all those bluffs and the TV and movies that were filmed there one of them comes to mind. The TV show airwolf. I bet they shot some of that there also

Thank you for the information about the rock slide detector. I often wondered and had no possible idea what it’s purpose was.

I love the conductor she is really informative and funny. I also love the landscape.

Extraordinairy landscapes, bar, sand dunes, colorado vallley with some lush vegitation. Great !

Seeing this trip from west to east is enjoyable. The longer days add so much more filming time.As you previously mentioned some of this we could not see due to the darkness. Fun to watch. Thanks again.

I've been watching your journey for hours and I love living vicariously through you, but I've got to say, that lady conductor is making that trip!

The name of the conductor is Ranae (not sure of exact spelling) she is very good at her job. I think she was trained by Conductor Bob who retired a couple of years ago who was also very good and was very knowledgeable of this area. He and she is/are part of the operating crew who covers between salt lake city and Grand Junction. I am familiar with this run as I have gone out and back between Salt Lake City and as close as Holdredge Nebraska to as far as Princeton Illinois, and have made the trip almost every year for the last 12. (Planning my next trip now) I just ride the train to ride the train. You'd be amazed how much sleep you can get actually get in coach, but it's tough.

Beautiful scenery, even though it is barren. Reminds me somewhat of my cross country trip (by car) with my daughter back in 2017. I did not realize until that trip how empty the entire middle of this country is. And then you realize that the pioneers plodded through this landscape in covered wagons for months on end!

love it ty

Thank you, for taking us along.

The interstate through Glenn Canyon seems like it could have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Even the color of the concrete matches the landscape.

The commentary that you give is very informative and excellent .

I hadn't realized US Highway 6 ran that far west! I often shop in Morris, IL on the weekends, and cross US Highway 6 just before crossing I-80 on the north side of town, if I need to go to Menard's. (Or turn briefly onto US Highway 6 to get to the local Walmart, Aldi and Goodwill.)

Nearly 3 hours from Glenwood Springs to Denver... and that's assuming the weather and/or traffic don't interfere

My guess about still having a restricted speed is the block is restricted. So until they get to a new block its slow we go.

I wish that train route we was able to view the Great Salt Lake during the day but the ride only passes through there at night time

I have no idea what else it is, but Thompson Springs is, for auto traveling, the jumping off place fpr Arches National Park. The train actually stops there from time to time/ What you would do when you got off I have no idea

UR still the best! How is retirement?

Glenwood Springs is 3 hours from Denver on I-70 on a clear day when the usual nasty traffic is not there. I-70 wrecked Glenwood Canyon and should have never been built there--there were alternatives. It took 25 years to build the 12 miles and, when constructed, was the most expensive highway per mile built in the world. It has been an endless maintenance nightmare ever since. A complete government boondoggle.

The moon is okay, but show me the twins.

:55; "a whole lot of nothin' out here." This may be where you pass at night going west.

What happened to the subtitles on part 5? JMS

I got to off for a lot less recently:)

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ESTRAONARY

At about 1:16:00 in the video, the brownish horizontal "stripe" of vegetation about a third of the way up on the side of the hill across the river from the train and for several miles to the east is caused by the heat of an underground coal seam fire that has been burning since 1916. In 2002, spots where the fire burns near the surface ignited the Coal Seam fire which burned over 12,000 acres and 29 homes.

What was the conductor saying would get someone removed from the train if they did? It was too hard to hear. I thought she was talking about mooning the rafters on the river.

Without the subtitles, I am missing out on what the woman in the background was / is saying (not good). JMS

3:20; This looks like somebody's model.

I've heard on the Amtrak Unlimited forums that the second sleeping car was often removed from the western LD routes (including the California Zephyr) in 2022. Had this happened when you were riding the CZ this time?

The Conductor’s Joan Rivers marriage to a snake comedy bit must have been a flop! To much information.