i like the way this video shoots the Amtrak train several times as if it was impatiently waiting

Gosh, so well-produced, and I can watch train shop videos like these for hours. Just ask my wife! Thanks so much to the museum, which we both visited when in Sacto so many years ago . . . . We spent nearly a whole day there, thanks to our Uncle Steve Cowie, whose idea it was to pass through Sacto on the way to Grass Valley to visit Fran and George Boyd. We had such a great time on the whole trip. One of those trips that just put itself together by accident. We loved the museum and all the old locos, and walking through the old train cars, and the whole darn museum itself. Owe it to yourself to go see this amazing place.

As always, UP staff show great professionalism and efficiency! Also a wonderful thing to see a major corporation willing to support activities like this - we'd never see it in the UK! I'm sure it's cheaper and safer to do this on the relatively rare occasions that a link is needed than maintain a full crossover with signalling, etc. but still great to see.

Western Pacific 913 sure is one BEAUTIFUL diesel! Takes me back to the fifties when I was growing up. Very well put together video, absolutely outstanding, entertaining and educational! Thank you for the upload!

As someone who is insanely passionate about trains and railroads (and has also visited the California State Railroad Museum), I think it is amazing that such a large locomotive could be moved with a little bit of grit and ingenuity. It's also quite different from the "three strokes to the spike, ten spikes to the rail, 400 rails to the mile" mentality espoused by two hardware store owners, a grocer, and an iron forge operator nearly 150 years ago.

Some of those old F units were still in service when i was a boy of ten or so, i remember the shape and it stuck with me. They just look fast...a very nice design. Love the note of that horn!! very expressive.

I have seen this transfer table-but not in operation. The building of the 'Jump-Track' is a reminder of how they switched the cane cars in the field, without the use of switches.Very ingenious ideas. The crew had it dismantled in time so as not to delay the Passenger no doubt! Excellent video. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, it's all real. I was there to film some making of parts in the loco shops. Someone ran over and told the crew they moving a F unit to this shop. We stopped what we were doing and ran, and I mean ran over to film all this. The Amtrak train had a regular stop in Sacto but the crew had to finish their job fast to not hold up the train. They have done this many times. It was the first transfer table I ever saw also. Glad most of you liked it. Don

Great video! I love those old F units. I rode behind Santa Fe War Bonnet A-B-B-A units in 1963. And a working transfer table as a bonus.

I am surprised at the number of "Dislikes." I would assume if you came to this video it is because you like trains and everything that goes along with them, so how could you not like this. Keep up the good work Don, most of us appreciate it.

My Grandpa operated one just like it as a 37 year engineer with WP. His engine is THE one presently on display at the Railroad museum in Portola CA

This is a good demonstration of how rail building and/or repair goes so much faster than a concrete or asphalt road. In wartime, rail traffic can be up and running quickly.

This is one of my favorite videos on KZfaq. I have watched this at least 3 times. It is so unusual. Thanks for posting

I've seen this twice, and I love it. But WHY choose not to include the track breakdown? That would have been fun to see.

How does a guy get a job like this? Working around trains always has been a dream.

Thanks Mr. Mccuaig for the nostalgic trip. My Great Grandpappy and Grandpappy worked for the Michigan Central/ New York Central R.R.'s. While the other kids played with their toy trains I got to play with these big boys. You brought me some very good old memories. Thanks again.

If I was the Amtrak driver, I would've been insanely jealous. That is a beauty.

Glaring omission was video of the temporary track disassembly, after the old unit had crossed over.

I spent my late teens & 20' s in Sacramento and spent a good amount of time in old sac which makes this video very special. Well done.

I've been to that museum & it is just first rate. When I lived in Sacto the parents drove cross country & visited. The old man & I spent one of the most enjoyable Saturdays of my life in that museum. He even ran mom off when she got bored with & told he'd catch up with her later; said it was probably the most fun of the trip & he was gonna by God take his time there.

And 8 years later, they build an actual track into the main line. A permanent solution

"Most of us are OLD !" A young engineer who shared my office for a couple of years once commented about how fixed my outlook was. I told him it was fixed because i tried the other ways of doing things and knew they didn't work. Getting old is part luck and part keeping out of the way of things that will kill you. For 20 years I worked on high voltage radar power supplies, one mistake and your gone.

That video is a great capture of our old "150" track - now replaced by a pair O.W.L.S (one way low speed) diamonds crossing both the #1 and #2 main tracks at RV 98.8, complete with absolute interlocking signaling. I was brakeman that day on the move. It's so much easier now - just a call to UP dispatch on radio channel 46-46 and we are in the line-up. The interchange track is now the 560 track; and we continue to move both museum equipment as well as freight (to/from Setzer Forest Products). There is a lead off the 560 track to the south end of the transfer table. Freight service will probably terminate sometime in 2016 when the mill closes.

That horn is nice. Awesome that they were able to lay down a temporary crossover rail for this unit so quickly..then take it off to allow amtrak to go through

The F Series is one of the best locomotives ever!

So what is so marvellously wonderful about this operation?? It's the kind of thing rail enthusiast groups in the UK do all the time. Usually on a Sunday afternoon, before teabreak and without fanfare.

My father worked in that shop for close to 25 years, thankfully it was given to the museum. Nice to see the WP unit getting some TLC.

Absolutely fascinating. One of the best train related videos I have seen on KZfaq. I had never seen the equipment used to transport an engine sideways to line it up with the repair bay. Thanks to those who created and posted this.

Hopefully the Horn was on the service list. Sounds like my son when he was learning baritone...😜

Great to her those old F-unit horns. Great post

Yes, it appears the track crew knows exactly what they're doing. Cool video.

being fascinated by the existence trains...but, knowing little about the industry...i found that system that delivered the locomotive into the repair bay to be the best part.

That's just about the coolest thing I've seen in a while. Thanks for sharing that!

This is the kind of 'get the job done' lateral thinking I love about Americans. This would never be allowed in Europe. Here in Ireland the Rail Safety Officers would shut down the network. Yet you guys do it while an express passenger train is waiting. Amazing!

Great stuff. One of the things I love about engineering is that the principles and forces necessary to move something big are fundamentally the same as those scaled up for moving a smaller version of the same shape.

I remember when there was still track in the old yards, about 10 years ago. Now, there are streets and signals going through it. A friend of mine said there are still a lot of unfinished locomotives inside those shops, along with thousands of tools, parts, etc

Of course by this point the Capital Corridor was already over 24 hours late so it wasn't that big a deal. :)

There are still people in America who know how to do things. Most of us are OLD !

Watched your video 4-2018 and was totally amazed. Thank God you were there to film it. Take care.

I'm a 'Brit' with our own steam-based Heritage but... that was awesome. Thanks for sharing. I hope the repairs went well.

Gotta love that engineer look :d when you do your thing and then stand back, hand on hip, watching it do its thing :D

That f-unit horn sounds like a tuba on steroids.

I remember this video, I tried looking for it, and thought about it for hours

Without a doubt this had to be one of the most exciting videos I have ever seen.....the suspense!!!! My heart was pounding....I was sweating profusely....wow !!!!!

Sad to see 913 locked in but she'll be a great addition to the museum and visitors.

traindad77, that's great that you saw this every Wed. but I have never or most of the viewers have never have seen anything like this. I don't think anyone thought to film it. Now it's on video for all to see. Don

for those of us that don't know much about railroads what the heck is an F unit. That's fast work thank you for posting

For once, that wasn’t KZfaq clickbait. Very good, the shots of the Amtrak waiting was stressing me out

That was genius and creative! I'm surprised, though, that Union Pacific allowed this but glad that they helped out the museum.. Had this been CSX (paranoid management), there's no way it would have happened.

I love that wabco E2 horn that's my favorite Horn of all time

The coolest thing was that little building pulling that locomotive all by itself. Very nice video.

The guys that pulled this off are awesome! I'd love to hand around that shop for awhile!

I love the deep "fog Horn" like horn!

Nice. "If there is will, there is a way"

Don Thank you for allowing the sound of all this to be just of the train engine and it’s bells and whistles. Your choice of music was right on along with the lack of. Thank you

What a great soilution!! Clearly a "we can do this" attitude. And the unit looks brand new!! Great job!!

This was the coolest train related thing that I have ever seen! Thanks for the video! :)

That would be a cool job to work on those engines!

Nice to see professionals at work, not one of those track workers on their phones, they are getting the job done and loving it. Thanks guys.

There´s a lot of clever people out there and that was not a simple task. Well done to everyone who made it work.

Love the rolling road! Never seen one like that before. I was expecting a sector plate. Really fun movie.

I liked the music even some didn't! Love watching anything about trains!

To be a true railway man you have to have the right kind of blood running in your veins like the two building the crossover.......a wonderful video.....well done to you!

a great engineer and technical speacialist railroadwork. It is interest to see how teamwork is success to do anything. And this cross- over looks like so simple to make it.

Beautifully done video! Terrific editing. I'm wondering how long it actually took guys to lay the additional track, from start to finish? I've never seen that done, or knew it could even BE done. Great job.

Or you know, just let the Amtrak go first? The suspense then turns into "This Amtrak is holding up the job. Will Union Pacific have to pay these guys overtime? Find out after this..."

I don't know much about trains but I do know they are cooler than all get out!!! AWESOME!!!!!!

Thanks Don . Noting the shadows , this didn't take much time AND that transfer table is unique in its entirety !

The most amazing railroad video... Well, that's quite an overdone promotion. This is a must see... Well, that's for sure! Thanks for sharing, that was interesting, I've never seen a trick like that before, that was a clever solution.

Nice video. Moved for repairs, but repairs for what? She moved on its own power, great looking and very clean exterior. Very nice for a museum piece for real. Reminds me of the engine used in the movie Silver Streak in the mid 70's.

The sight of a Western Pacific F7a Unit cross mainline tracks at the old Southern Pacific Sacramento Shops at this location will never happen again... because they installed a brand new track crossing the mainline, even had Union Pacific 844 ride on it!

Why weren't all the people from the Amtrak train out watching this amazing spectacle? There were even people biking past and literally ignoring it!

How are my old L&NW F-units doing? Are they coming along well?

Very ,very awesome man! Thank you for sharing that!! Greetings from Mexico!

I’m glad they did, I remember riding in a excursion with the F unit, along with the switcher. 913 is currently running excursions rn, I think as of October 2019. Or I’m going crazy, idk

That's the horn I remember from when I was a little kit. I remember how much I loved the doppler shift as they went by.

Or "How long before Union Pacific says "Get The "F" Outta There.""?

I've had several tours of the shops area and never saw the transfer platform working.

I've seen those track workers do funny things with railroad tracks. My favorite is how they park tanker cars, box cars and flat cars on to waiting ships. (The ships have railroad tracks built onto the deck). They've got just about every possible tool and equipment needed to do any job.

This made me think of a series of pics from the 1860s, when switch-points and frogs either were rare, or not even invented yet! It showed a procedure to enter a siding. The switch was a stub-type, where 2 dead-end rails were held on a slider connected to the switch-stand, and you'd line up the one you needed. The main-line rail was dead-ended too, and the ends would line up! But the interesting thing was, the turn-out rail, the one on the inside of the main-line rail, aimed toward the main-line rail and dead-ended just short of it! It picked up on the other side and continued down the siding! The main-line rail was uncut and continuous! Either a hole was drilled in the head of each one of the siding rail ends, or a socket was forged onto the end of each rail end. (actually, these ends were raised up to a height above the main rail). A heavy rod that looked like a flat-top U-bolt with very short legs was dropped into these holes. The locomotive carefully crossed this arrangement over the top of the main rail, and leaned a bit, I'd bet!! One pic was of a guy with a U-bolt in his hand before he placed it. The crew carried these things with them to use!

It would have been nice to see the track being dismantled also.

That is pretty incredible! Though that makes me wonder why UP and the CSRRM don't make some kind of agreement to put an actual diamond there.

Very cool. Nice quick build on the crossover, double bonus on the shed delivery.

Very Nice !! great capture and great comments through out as well ! Thanks for the upload . The Sacramento museum is worth the day trip - absolutely amazing !

I'm so glad I saw this old diesel farting its way into the shed...my life is now complete!

Love the 'Can do' mentality. This would require an act of feckin parliament over here !!

Don, thanks for the share. Loved seeing the transfer table at work and the old girl on the move to restoration. Some great photos on the web of the restored loco.

Always enjoyable hearing that classic, macho sounding Leslie A-200 "Honker horn".

This was cool. Wonder what it'd cost for them to actually build a permanent diamond.

They should make a diamond there in the future.

These guys can work on my model railroad any time. I'll supply the beer.

I'm freaking out, man! This is so amazing!

They need to make these crossings often, I wonder why they don't just put in a diamond and be done with it.

You guys should really get a diamond crossing. That way neither company would ever get held over again.

I do not know what is the magic about trains... but they sure have one.

Thats it , Im moving to Cali. trading my sunrise for the sunset; my 2 weeks notice of hurricanes to spontaneous earthquakes; my 82 degree Atlantic to the freezing Pacific. Why? Because Cali got the BigBoy & alot of other cool and long trains. FEC 121 is on its way and I need to get trackside. Im soooooooo glad you caught this. This is something thats rare. Almost as rare as a turntable , (if they still exist). Great Catch. This has made my morning.

What's the definition of the train "leaving soon" - 10 minutes? 10 hours?

So why don't they just put a permanent T crossing in then?

I don't know if I'd have said it's a "must see", but BOY what that ever cool!! And the coolest, that platform that moves an entire diesel locomotive sideways! Man, I should have gone into railroading, dang that was great!

A good video of the old days. I joined just as we ended using the jump rails and started using the OWLS diamond. Makes it so much easier to just dial up Omaha on the radio and cross when we want.