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There are some good spots on the UP just North and just South of Las Vegas. Right in town is pretty tough and not that scenic. For UP RR train watching......To the North, go onto www.mapquest.com and enter the town of Apex, NV. Zoom in a click or two until you can see the tracks. They parallel I-15 to the north of town. Just about a mile South of Apex (at exit 58) the tracks make a really radical, tight S-curve. There are good shots to be had in both directions here. Northbound trains are working uphill on this stretch. If you exit I-15 at this exit, you can get right along the tracks on the state road for several miles. While you're sitting on the hill at the S-curve, you can pretty much look due South and see the runways for Nellis AFB. I'd imagine if you're there at the right time, you'll get some fighter traffic coming and going. To the South of town, go back to Mapquest and enter Sloan, NV. Again, zoom in a click or two until you can see the tracks. At Sloan, the mainline tracks make a horseshoe around a quarry. You can sit on the public road in the middle and watch the train go about 180 degrees around you. Next, also on the South side, punch in Cima, CA. Its just over the border from Nevada into California (maybe 1/2 hr South of Vegas.) Cima is the peak of the hill between Vegas and Barstow. Trains labor pretty hard up the South side and go REEEAALLY slowly downhill to the South to keep the train in control. There are some sidings and old buildings at Cima. Its double track mostly up there. If you are a BNSF fan, there's a lot to see South of Vegas, but its about a 300 mile round trip to do this. You need to commit the better part of a day, but I thought it was worth it. From Vegas, go Southeast to Boulder City. Cross the dam and follow Arizona Hwy 93 to Kingman, AZ. As mentioned above, there is a cool canyon, just South/ West of Kingman. A public road takes you near the tracks right into the canyon. Of all the names, the road that takes you from Kingman to the Canyon, is Route 66. The canyon is literally on the outskirts of town at Kingman. There is also an ATSF 2900 class steamer on display in Kingman. From there, I'd get onto I-40 and go west to Topock, AZ where the Santa Fe crosses the Colorado River into California. Nice bridge over the river and easy access to it. Try to keep up with a Westbound TOFC train between Kingman and Topock. Its a challenge (79mph track here.) Its just a short hop from there into Needles CA which is a crew change point. If you go further West on I-40, you'll come to the turn off for Hwy 95 N. This is called Ibis, CA. Good train watching here. This is on the double track, but the tracks split coming up from the Colorado River and re-join at Ibis. Nice mountains in the background. From here, you can head back North to Vegas on Hwy 95. - Stack
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