Stephen Dorsett - "The Feather in the River and the Gateway to the Northwest" - (from Salt Lake City, Ut.)

The quite sounds of water, birds chirping, the wind blowing through a picturesque wooded canyon. Looking across the hill, you see a light that eliminated green, in the distance you hear the sound of 645 and 710 and FDL prime movers. The Feather River route. Predecessor route of the WP, currently is owned and operated by the Union Pacific railroad. In 1995 an innovation that changed the rail landscape forever. The merger of the Union Pacific railroad with the Southern Pacific. Prior to this merger there was only one freight each way per day STBR and the BRST. The BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad) Wanted equal access from California to the Pacific Northwest. The Surface transportation Board agreed and the BNSF was awarded track age rights from Stockton California via the WP to Denver Colorado. The BNSF agreed to purchase the Highline(inside gateway) This railroad adventure will take you from 1997 to current with the Union Pacific railroad and the BNSF from Oroville California through the feather river and from Keddie to Little Valley. There is nothing like the sound of hard working 645,710 EMD prime movers working up the hill.