Topic: Ramblings
In my previous post I promised to make fewer trips to Las Vegas from Death Valley this season. So much for that promise. I have failed to go there only one week since arriving here in October. The purpose of my trip this weekend, however, was train related. The Southern Nevada N Scale club was hosting a NRMA meet. I was unable to attend Saturday due to my work schedule, but on Sunday I headed for the city. The club has a number of oNeTrak modules which were set up on the patio behind a member's house. It was a sunny day (what else in Vegas?) but a bit on the chilly side.
The layout was configured in an end-to-loop arrangement. Most of the modules were oNeTrak, but a few standard NTrak modules were included. The NTrak modules were easy to spot because they had low sky boards. Some members were operating trains using a switch list produced on a computer by one of the members. Or you could just run a train with no switching.
It gets dark very early this time of year. Not wanting to drive back to Death Valley after sundown, I stayed in Las Vegas. With one recent exception, I never stay in hotels on the Strip. Just too much congestion and I am not there to gamble anyway. Neither have I stayed in one of the older casino/hotels in downtown. This time I decided to stay at the California in central Las Vegas. The price was low and it received high ratings from Expedia guests. What none of the reviewers mentioned was odd numbered rooms in the West Tower face the Union Pacific mainline between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. No sooner than I had entered the room I heard a train horn. Not loud but I recognized it immediately. I opened the shutters on the window and saw a container train was passing below. Even though I look every time I cross railroad tracks, I had never seen a train in Vegas. Several, mostly intermodal, passed below my window. Who would have thought a high-rise hotel would be a train watching hot spot?
Take note of the tall building in the background. That is the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Water is a big business in this part of the country. There is a large vacant lot on the other side of the tracks which might be a good spot for taking afternoon photos of trains.
