The Third Installment in our "Day at" Series

In 1906, Southern Pacific announced a decision to relocate their major rail facilities in the Sacramento area from Rocklin to the junction at Roseville, a few miles to the west. Ever since, Roseville has been one of the most important yards in Northern California. Rebuilt and reopened by successor Union Pacific in 1999, the renamed J. R. Davis Yard is now the largest rail facility on the west coast.

Roseville hosts freight trains of every description. Some run through, others originate or terminate in the yard. But freight trains are only part of the story here. Switchers are constantly at work shuffling cars. Lashups of light engines run up to the northeast end of the yard and back again. Maintenance crews work to maintain the right-of-way between trains.

Some freights take the Valley Subdivision north toward Marysville, while others head east on the Roseville Subdivision, beginning their assault on "the Hill", the original transcontinental line over Donner Pass. Passenger trains use these routes, too. Amtrak's modern day California Zephyr and some Amtrak California Capitol Corridor trains stop at the Roseville Depot.

On the day we filmed, we saw quite a variety of motive power. Though repainted in Armor Yellow, we caught locomotives from just about every fallen flag that has been merged into the UP over the past few decades, including Southern Pacific, Western Pacific, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Chicago & Northwestern, Missouri Pacific, and the Katy!

Each train is shown in its entirety, just as if you were there at trackside. We've condensed an entire day's worth of railfanning into one 101-minute DVD!

Product Info

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View Trailer

Get a taste of what's in A Day at Roseville in this Sample Clip.

A Day at Roseville Photo Gallery

Aside from video, we also shoot stills. Take a look at some of our A Day at Roseville Photos. The DVD includes a bonus still photo library with 99 captioned images.

A Day at Roseville DVD $29.95