Many years ago I revisited Madras, OR, having spend a boyhood year there when my Dad was in the US Public Health Service. I stopped at the BN/UP Madras station, then with a staffed operator. I introduced myself as a Southern Pacific employee and asked what trains would be running in the next few hours. He gave me a lineup...and said, "If you were about to ask, you have plenty of time to walk the bridge (over the Crooked River, 15:35 in the video), set up on the other side, and come back." So I did. He was, fortunately, correct. I had set up and was waiting for nearly an hour before a southbound train showed up. I got my pictures and walked back to the station, to thank him. He said, "Don't leave yet...there's a really unusual train coming next, it's a nuclear waste train, all-SP, and he's got the railroad, priority over everything. They just ran him around one of our trains." I took his word and waited for more than another hour. That really unusual train was two Southern Pacific SD40T-2, two SP boxcars as buffers, one nuclear containment flatcar, two more SP boxcars, and an SP caboose. They were on their way to the nuclear disposal facility in Washington. The BN/UP depot at Madras was demolished in the mid-1980s when dispatching was centralized.
It's good to see a Ferromex engine here. She's definitely pretty far from home. The scenery is very interesting from start to finish. The deep valleys are really magical. I'm sure building the track wasn't the easiest job. And everything looks remote. If something bad happens out there, like a rock slide or a fallen tree help is far away. The lava field is truly mind-blowing, a rare place that's for sure. Wonderful aerial footage again Dan. I really enjoyed this update, it's high quality and spectacular as always.
Thanks so much Z! I love it out there. Yes they do deal with rock slides and it can be a pain to deal with. Even sections where the gravel road follows the line in the canyon on the other side of the river there is very limited access to the railroad side of the river. Oddly enough I have caught a few Ferromex units on this line which is interesting. Glad you enjoyed!
Dan, I just wanted to say thank you once again! I am always amazed at how you are able to capture the beauty of Oregon. It's difficult to get the same perspective of the landscapes from the highway, but there's something so serene about a train moving through a quiet area carved out amidst the natural beauty. Dwight
Thank you so much Dwight you're too kind! Yes indeed it is quite a different perspective and gives the ability to go places you straight up wouldn't be able to go otherwise.
The bridge at Madras crosses the Willow Creek Canyon. The dirt path at the bottom of the canyon is the original Oregon Trunk. The current route is the former Deschutes Railway between South Junction and Metolius.
Yes correct! I did know all that but sometime I pick and choose how much info to put in a video. This one not so much with the history of the line so I didn't add that.
I was born in Redmond and still have family in the area so know a lot about the history. Also, my dad's brother's wife's father was a brakeman on the Trunk working out of Wishram. His name was John Wilde.@@TheRailfanDan
Another beautifully shot and edited video. This country is really rugged; the line must have cost a fortune to build. The lava field segment is impressive and shooting it in the fading light of dusk must have been as challenging as it is artistic. The low altitude view of the rear of the train leaving the siding and disappearing into the blackness of the lava field was a strong and artistic ending. Well done, Dan.
Thanks so much my friend! It was fun shooting that section in the dark but I wished it was a little lighter so you could see more detail in the rock. I wasn't sure if I would add that last section down low like that so I'm really glad to hear you liked it!
Another beautiful production! I love the way you include the incredible scenery in your videos. It’s mesmerizing to watch the trains make their way through the landscape. Another brilliant video! Thank you!!!
I was surprised that you didn’t include the Crooked River Gorge. That would have been fun to see. I grew up in Madras and actually climbed the center tower of the trestle when I was a kid. I was born in 1951 and remember watching steam locomotives crossing that trestle when I was very young.
I really wanted to get the Crooked River Gorge but I had never shot at Prineville Jct. before and I had to pick one or the other. It was pretty fogged out at the Crooked River too so I'm not sure that would have looked very good. Probably couldn't have even seen the bottom.
I'm not a train junky, but we have a main line BNSF track next to family property near Olivet, Kansas. I got a drone last fall and thought it might be cool get some shots of a few trains. I went searching for some and well here I am several videos in. We don't have near as cool of country as this, but still could find some fun shots. Mostly intermodal going by anymore. Awesome videos!
Man Dan, honestly, this is top-notch content, my friend! And though I crashed my drone, I was inspired to get another to redeem myself in the skies due to your awesome footage. Definitely one of the best Railfanners by drone!
@@KCTopDawg Ah gotcha! If you could swing it I would highly HIGHLY recommend the Air 3. Having that second 70mm focal length camera would totally change your life! I am even thinking about getting an Air 3 as a backup to my Mavic 3 Pro.
Beautiful! I love your videos and will always be a fan of the railroad. My Dad and Grandpa were retired Railroaders. Grandpa with L&N 1930’s through late 60’s. Dad was 1946 through 1986 Eugene to Dunsmuir, Ca. (Klamath Falls was crew dispatcher) Love seeing trains. Dad would have been 100 this year! Wow. I wonder what that large abandon structure was north of Madras?
Ah, great job Dan. Perfect balance of narration and music to help immersion into your world of railfanning. Your videos are right up there with Danny Harmon my man. Keep up the great work.
I pulled into Bend that evening for NYE, so I would have just missed this train. The next day there was a train parked on a siding all day, which I thought a bit excessive. My guess is that the crew died on the clock and they couldn't get another crew up from K Falls because of the holiday. Great flying! I love central Oregon too. Deschutes Brewery is the best!
Ha small world! Very cool. Yeah that must have been due to crew availability. Something this line struggles with quite badly at times. A good buddy of mine worked out of both Wishram and Klamath Falls at different times in recent years and always talked about that.
I'm obsessed with it! It's magnificent. I highly recommend driving the canyon road North of Maupin someday. Even without a train it's a marvelous sight.
This is impressive drone footage. Oregon has extremely varied topography and geology and it came through well in this video. And you can surmise from this footage why things cost more in the West than in the East.
Nothing beats the impressive, long, snake looking, US trains. The geography where they progress.... Just incredible. Amazing. The "naked" landscape, no alleys of trees around the tracks allows those fantastic shots. Here, in Sweden, the standard sidings are 750 meters, some 2400 feet and the length of the cargo trains apply to that. 1600 tons are pulled by one standard, RC, loco. Heavier trains use double headed. The speeds used vary from 50 mph to 75 mph. One special train type runs at 100 mph. A lot different....
Yes a lot different for sure! I bet they are much more efficient there than they are in North America. It's all about profits here. They don't care about doing what makes the most sense.
@@TheRailfanDan I guess the words "just in time", used in the industry, plays a role here. We don't tranport the same amount of cargo as in the US. Logistics is not my number one subject....
Absolutely beautiful! I used to live in Bend, and even drove the trucks, hauling powder cement, that were shown on the right, when your video first came into Bend. I sometimes wonder why I ever moved back to Nebraska?? You did miss one main feature though, the Crooked River Gorge bridge, between Madras and Redmond, 350 feet high! If I had unlimited funds and space, I certainly model the Oregon Trunk! Using your videos for reference in the hard to access areas! Beautiful! Thank you for what you do!
Oh cool I know exactly where you are talking about. Yes you're right I did skip out on Crooked River. I've shot it quite a bit over the years and really wanted to shoot Prineville Jct. this time around. I wasn't able to get both those locations since they're too close together. Thanks so much for your kind words!
Thank you for this video of a portion of the BNSF Oregon Trunk that we had not seen before. It was interesting to see the green landscape in this area at the end of December 2023. Was the green scenery due to the rains that were brought on shore by the waves of rainstorms that hit the west coast in late 2023 and early 2024? This was a long train. The length of the train was visible after the train came out of tunnel #5 and the view you gave us of the train. I liked the views of the train coming through the rock cuts before the train came to the Lava Siding.
Thanks so much Thomas I'm glad you enjoyed! Yes I am thinking the green was due to rain. The region did see quite a bit of that recently but usually it needs some warm sunny days to go with it which I didn't think had happened much. I love that section around tunnel 5! Yeah that section through Lava fields is pretty amazing!
What an absolute fantastic video of the rails!! I appreciate how well you inform the audience about the trains, the area, the inclines, and the towns all along the route. Really look forward to watching more of your video. Just found you today, so subscribed and thank you for all the miles traveled and the time put into this to bring us the rails. Until next time!! Many thanks!
Thanks so much Millie you're too kind! I am glad you discovered my channel and subscribed! It's such a fun hobby and it's great to be able to share it with the world. If you have time I would suggest the video I uploaded just before this one from Moab Utah. That has some of the most fantastic scenery a railroad traverses in the entire country in my opinion.
Hi Dan. First time viewer here. Your cinematography is spectacular. Really something special. I very much enjoyed your rear of the train work. It’s so rare to see that view for any length of time and i loved it. Your work along mud creek was awesome. I would really enjoy seeing you work the Southwest Chief through New Mexico. Keep it up!
Thanks so much John you're too kind! I love flying and following the rear because I can comfortable get very close and know I would hit something unlike flying backwards. I really pride myself on my backwards flying abilities but there is always risk with that and I have crashed drones in the past because of it! I would absolutely love to visit a number of locations in New Mexico but I don't know when that might be. If you enjoyed this you might really enjoy my videos from Utah that are all uploaded just before this video.
I’m with you wishing I could have one of those homes in Maupin. If available I’m sure they would be out of my price range. So I’ll just have to “settle” for your amazing videos. Thanks!
You've really mastered cinematic drone videography. So many RU-vid drone videos have jerky movements by inexperienced pilots... but yours are so pleasant to watch, thanks to the smooth drone movements.
Thanks so much Jim I'm humbled you think so! I have a hard time looking at my older material because of how jerky my movements are for at least my first couple years flying.
Great Video! The beginning part of the stretch near Deschutes River at Maupin, is special to me. My brother and I used to do some whitewater Rafting there and I think I can even recognize the spot where he fell in water and lost his very nice glasses in the water. We searched afterwards, but LOL! As if you are going to find the glasses in the river when you don't even know where exactly you lost them.
@@TheRailfanDanNot a sad Day! Glasses-Shmasses, who cares about them. That was one of the best days we will always remember. You are right about the canyon! Thanks for the whole video though, a work of art!
Your videos are exceptional and I've come to expect that, this was no exception! What made this video extra special was the shots at 11.20 (following the helpers through the cut), around 15.00 at Gateway Gulch and then that end shot following the cars out the loop. I appreciate you can't do shots like that everywhere but getting close and personal with the trains was spectacular. Thank you.
Thanks so much! I love getting up close like that when I can which is the most comfortable when following and flying forward. That is much more risky flying backwards.
Awesome! I rafted from about warm springs (near madras) to the Columbia a few summers ago and remember seeing countless trains! cool to see the other bits of the line!
7 месяцев назад
Id imagine that these incredible tools have pretty much put aerial photography with aircraft out of business 😮
So enjoyable too watch this. I’m an Oregon resident and love the area this train was rolling through. Your drone flying is top notch, so smooth and easy to watch. A really professional looking production! You have a new subscriber!
That was an awesome video man and is that the same track that ties into the Highline subdivision and ties into the Kiddy Y or what but anyway, stay safe out there, my friend. We’ll see you on the Nixon.
Well, that was fun. Im not a railfab, but Central Oregon is my home, so I enjoyed this. I was wondering if you would go into the history of the drama when building the lower part of the rail line, but soon realized that isn't what you do, and thats fine. But for those interested, its worth looking into. Two men racing to be the first to build the line, one on one side of the river, one on the other. Lots of old tyme drama.
Oh yes! Considered the last well known railroad war to play out. I know much of this but haven't gone into any history of it in my content. Maybe someday I will but yes you're correct that isn't really what the channel is about. But I find all that very interesting.
and now up to michael buffer for the decision... " ladies and gentlemen, the decision from our ringside judges... all three judges have unanimously given their decision for the very best video of all time.... the breathtaking train chase in central oregon (4k) bnsf oregon trunk dec 29, 2023 by railfan dan !!!!! " .... dan, you are absolutely THE true world champion !!!!
Well thank you that's very kind and I'm glad you subscribed! I hope you will enjoy more of what I have to offer. Some of my recent material from Utah uploaded just before this video is pretty neat.
Vjjery nice video! I am a ferrofile. I don't know the USA. The scenery is breathtaking! I prefer to see a railway than a highway. The railway is less aggressive than the highway towards nature! (translated from French with Google Translator)
I"m curious as to where you were located in order to fly the intro scene basically non stop! I'm alway looking at the video trying to spot you in the frame somewhere. Where's waldo? I thought up on a hill on the opposite side of the train in order to have a good vantage point.
@@SteveRoss-h2m I know many like to play where's Waldo with where I am haha! I try to keep myself out of the frame as best as I can. That first shot I was on the road that parallels the other side of the river so I had good line of sight being on the outside of the curve.
Funny you say that. Someday I would like to do a video from Wishram all the way to Oroville or maybe farther with most of the locations in between. That would be a massive project.
another very interesting video expertly produced. How are you able to keep up and follow the train while still controlling the drone, do you have someone doing the driving for you while operate the drone?
