Somewhere all those engines we train watchers meet along the lines have to be fed, maintained and staged. Roseville, CA is home to such a facility and, luckily for rail fans, action around the shops can be conveniently observed from the nearby Amtrak station. Not only gets regular UP motive power shuffled around the engine house, there is also an interesting collection of other railroad equipment waiting to be watched. In the background one of the several spreaders used for snow removal in the Sierras awaits the cold season while GMTX 2625, a rebuilt EMD GP38-2, shows off engine room interior.

Besides of Roseville Yard the Sacramento area is home to the Siemens Transportation factory which I had the chance to visit (sorry, no photos!) earlier that day. In this amazing facility light rail vehicles as well as heavy locomotives and cars are being built. I got a glimpse of the new Charger diesel locomotive family and look forward seeing those beasts in action hauling passenger trains all over the US soon.