Roseville Subdivision

Newcastle, freight trains at Main Street crossing
Roseville Subdivision
Reno Industrial Lead
Reno
Amtrak
Lawton
Truckee
Amtrak
Tunnel No. 42 | No. 13
Snow Shed No. 47
original route
mothballed 1993
10325 ft
3147.1 m
Tunnel No. 12
Snow Shed No. 41
Tunnel No. 11
Tunnel No. 10
Snow Shed No. 38
Tunnel No. 9
Snow Shed No. 37
Tunnel No. 8
Chinese Wall
Norden
elev. 6,887 ft (2,099 m)
Tunnel No. 7
1659 ft
505.7 m
Snow Shed No. 25
Tunnel No. 4 | No. 39
Tunnel No. 3 | No. 38
Snow Shed No. 10
Tunnel No. 37
Tunnel No. 36
Tunnel No. 35
Nyack
Tunnel No. 1
Tunnel No. 34
Tunnel No. 33
Colfax
Amtrak
Tunnel No. 32
Tunnel No. 31
Tunnel No. 30
Tunnel No. 29
Tunnel No. 28
Tunnel No. 27
Tunnel No. 26
Tunnel No. 25
Tunnel No. 24
Tunnel No. 23
Tunnel No. 22
Bowman
Tunnel No. 21
Auburn
Amtrak
Auburn Ravine Bridge
Tunnel No. 20
Tunnel No. 18
Newcastle
Tunnel No. 17
Tunnel No. 16
Tunnel No. 15
Rocklin
Amtrak

The Roseville Subdivision is a railway line in California and Nevada owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, as part of the Overland Route. It runs from Roseville, California over the Sierra Nevada to Reno, Nevada.[1] The route originated as the initial Central Pacific Railroad segment of the first transcontinental railroad, but has since been upgraded, double tracked, or realigned in some locations. The line reaches an elevation of 6,887 feet (2,099 m) above sea level at Norden, California.[2]

The route is primarily used for freight, but Amtrak operates passenger trains over the line. The California Zephyr runs the entire route while the Capitol Corridor terminates in Auburn, California with service to the south and west. As of 2003 the line sees 15 freight trains daily.[3]

Southern Pacific undertook double-tracking large portions of the route starting in 1909.[4][5] The track through Tunnel Number 6 at the summit was mothballed (though not formally abandoned) in 1993.[6]

Between 2002 and 2005, the right of way was depressed into a trench through Reno to eliminate the 11 level crossings in the downtown area.[7] By 2009 the line had been upgraded to allow the shipping of double-stacked containers in trains 9,000 feet (1.7 mi; 2.7 km) long.[8]

  1. ^ SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation.
  2. ^ Highest Elevations (PDF) (Map). Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  3. ^ Union Pacific Tons per Train (PDF) (Map). Trains. 2003. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "Southern Pacific Improvements". Engineering Record, Building Record and Sanitary Engineer. 56 (24): 649–650. 1907.
  5. ^ Sommers, Arthur; Staab, Roger (2018). Railroads of Placer County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 37. ISBN 9781467127646.
  6. ^ Janet Fullwood (October 20, 2005). "In their tracks". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Albright, Willie (July 14, 2011). "We told you so". Reno News & Review. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  8. ^ "UP improves Donner Pass tunnels to bolster double-stack operations". Progressive Railroading. November 24, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2019.