Milepost 276
This afternoon, Lisa and I took advantage of a break in the weather, surprisingly good lighting (no direct sunlight due to the clouds), and no railroad traffic to go out and shoot material that will probably appear in future episodes of Railway Legends, Myths, and Stories. While doing so, I took this picture of Union Pacific milepost 276, which is effectively Fernley. Many of the photos you have seen me take from near the house are within a short distance of this milepost.
Mileposts on most of the former Southern Pacific lines acquired by Union Pacific follow SP practice of measuring everything relative to a zero point in San Francisco at SP's 4th & Townsend station. This caused lots of oddities, including the fact that the number on this particular line never reach zero, but get to a point around milepost 4 in the Oakland area, whereupon they start counting up again as the line changes direction. (Also, SP described everything moving toward San Francisco as "west" and away from SF as "east" regardless of compass direction. This led to some of their lines being described with "railroad directions" completely opposite from their compass directions.) Also, various line relocations mean that there are spots where the number jump. For example, the railroad line up the mountains and through to Reno/Sparks is the Roseville Subdivision, which ends just east of Sparks yard at MP 247.2. This same spot on the railroad, which is the start of the Sparks-to-Winnemucca Nevada Subdivision, is designated as MP 249.
With this icon, I now have something to label the happenings around the small yard across from Fernley House, which was the site of Fernley's train station from the days when they had passenger service. The building itself was moved away from the railroad and currently is located on Main Street on the opposite side of the road from the tracks. It currently sits unused while the city decides what to do with it.
Mileposts on most of the former Southern Pacific lines acquired by Union Pacific follow SP practice of measuring everything relative to a zero point in San Francisco at SP's 4th & Townsend station. This caused lots of oddities, including the fact that the number on this particular line never reach zero, but get to a point around milepost 4 in the Oakland area, whereupon they start counting up again as the line changes direction. (Also, SP described everything moving toward San Francisco as "west" and away from SF as "east" regardless of compass direction. This led to some of their lines being described with "railroad directions" completely opposite from their compass directions.) Also, various line relocations mean that there are spots where the number jump. For example, the railroad line up the mountains and through to Reno/Sparks is the Roseville Subdivision, which ends just east of Sparks yard at MP 247.2. This same spot on the railroad, which is the start of the Sparks-to-Winnemucca Nevada Subdivision, is designated as MP 249.
With this icon, I now have something to label the happenings around the small yard across from Fernley House, which was the site of Fernley's train station from the days when they had passenger service. The building itself was moved away from the railroad and currently is located on Main Street on the opposite side of the road from the tracks. It currently sits unused while the city decides what to do with it.