US Rail Journeys – From the middle of nowhere in Wyoming to Reno

Series 1 Episode 14

In  episode fourteen I travel on the California Zephyr from The Middle of Nowhere in Wyoming to Reno. We continue along the diversion to Salt Lake City and then, having rejoined the usual route, on to Reno .

The route takes us through some pretty desolate desert. I certainly wouldn’t like to get stranded out there!

The train passes through the desert communities of Elko, Winnemucca and Lovelock  on our journey through Nevada. All the time going westward, much faster than the wagon trains of old.

As we approach Reno there are more roads, cars and business parks. A sign of ‘civilisation’ approaching fast. The stop at Reno was long enough for us to get off. I noticed that the sleepers in Reno station are concrete; most in the US are still wood.

This episode ends with us back in the countryside as we reach the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Learn more about the Sierra Nevada here.

I’ll tell you more about the route across the Sierra Nevada, built with amazing engineering skill, as we travel on the California Zephyr in the next episode of US Rail Journeys in two weeks time.

Click on any of the ‘thumbnails’ below to open the photograph gallery covering the journey from The Middle of Nowhere in Wyoming to Reno.

My thanks go to the passengers and crew on our journey from Chicago to the Bay Area, aboard the California Zephyr, for their tolerance of the man waving the microphone. It truly is a magnificent journey.

Full definition copies of the photographs taken by MrT are available on Flickr. In addition a selection are on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The music Steam Railway is used under licence from AKM Music.

This podcast is also available through iTunes (Apple podcasts), Spotify and Stitcher as well as this website.

© The MrT Podcast Studio 2017 to 2019

Author: Tim D

In the early 1970s Mr Timothy & his Phonograph was a popular mobile disco around Leeds University and Tim was known as MrT. Tim also spent 9 years broadcasting a weekly programme on Hospital Radio in Wakefield. He worked for more than 40 years for large industrial organisations and spent his last 15 years in global commercial management roles. Following retirement he started making podcasts in 2017.