![Arizona Desert Main Line [Union Pacifics Gila Subdivision] @7ideaproductions](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iXMiMQtAzEI/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Continuing our journey across the former Southern Pacific’s Sunset Route, the Gila Subdivision covers over 255 miles of track between Yuma and Tucson, Arizona. Around 35 trains traverse this transcontinental main line every day originating in Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Arizona, and California.
We begin along the Colorado River at Yuma, where trains cross from California into Arizona. The railroad snakes around the harsh, lifeless Gila Mountains skirting the edge of the Castle Dome Valley. Following the old route of the Butterfield Stage, trains pass through Dome and Wellton before cresting Mohawk Pass and dropping down to Gila Bend.
The beauty of the desert comes alive as we climb through the Maricopa Mountains decorated with giant saguaro cactus near Shawmut. The final leg of the journey leads us southeast through Maricopa and the Casa Grande Valley. After passing Picacho Peak, we wrap up at UP’s busy yard in Tucson.
This is desert-railroading in the harsh Sonoran Desert country of Arizona. This is Union Pacific’s Gila Sub.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. 7ideaproductions.com/products/union-pacifics-gila-subdivision?_pos=1&_sid=53b3da5e4&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
2:38 Map
4:42 Yuma
12:29 Pacific
16:44 Blaisdell
18:30 Kinter
24:33 Dome
40:50 West Wellton
42:32 East Wellton
43:02 Noah
51:06 Mohawk Pass
53:35 Aztec
55:01 Theba
58:07 Gila Bend
59:54 Bosque
1:06:35 Shawmut
1:14:49 Estrella
1:18:12 Maricopa
1:23:35 Casa Grande
1:26:58 Toltec
1:28:07 Eloy
1:29:24 Picacho
1:36:30 Red Rock
1:42:19 Tucson
Continuing our journey across the former Southern Pacific’s Sunset Route, the Gila Subdivision covers over 255 miles of track between Yuma and Tucson, Arizona. Around 35 trains traverse this transcontinental main line every day originating in Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Arizona, and California.
We begin along the Colorado River at Yuma, where trains cross from California into Arizona. The railroad snakes around the harsh, lifeless Gila Mountains skirting the edge of the Castle Dome Valley. Following the old route of the Butterfield Stage, trains pass through Dome and Wellton before cresting Mohawk Pass and dropping down to Gila Bend.
The beauty of the desert comes alive as we climb through the Maricopa Mountains decorated with giant saguaro cactus near Shawmut. The final leg of the journey leads us southeast through Maricopa and the Casa Grande Valley. After passing Picacho Peak, we wrap up at UP’s busy yard in Tucson.
This is desert-railroading in the harsh Sonoran Desert country of Arizona. This is Union Pacific’s Gila Sub.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. 7ideaproductions.com/products/union-pacifics-gila-subdivision?_pos=1&_sid=53b3da5e4&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
2:38 Map
4:42 Yuma
12:29 Pacific
16:44 Blaisdell
18:30 Kinter
24:33 Dome
40:50 West Wellton
42:32 East Wellton
43:02 Noah
51:06 Mohawk Pass
53:35 Aztec
55:01 Theba
58:07 Gila Bend
59:54 Bosque
1:06:35 Shawmut
1:14:49 Estrella
1:18:12 Maricopa
1:23:35 Casa Grande
1:26:58 Toltec
1:28:07 Eloy
1:29:24 Picacho
1:36:30 Red Rock
1:42:19 Tucson
![Arizona Desert Main Line [Union Pacifics Gila Subdivision]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iXMiMQtAzEI/mqdefault.jpg "Arizona Desert Main Line [Union Pacifics Gila Subdivision]
Continuing our journey across the former Southern Pacific’s Sunset Route, the Gila Subdivision covers over 255 miles of track between Yuma and Tucson, Arizona. Around 35 trains traverse this transcontinental main line every day originating in Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Arizona, and California.
We begin along the Colorado River at Yuma, where trains cross from California into Arizona. The railroad snakes around the harsh, lifeless Gila Mountains skirting the edge of the Castle Dome Valley. Following the old route of the Butterfield Stage, trains pass through Dome and Wellton before cresting Mohawk Pass and dropping down to Gila Bend.
The beauty of the desert comes alive as we climb through the Maricopa Mountains decorated with giant saguaro cactus near Shawmut. The final leg of the journey leads us southeast through Maricopa and the Casa Grande Valley. After passing Picacho Peak, we wrap up at UP’s busy yard in Tucson.
This is desert-railroading in the harsh Sonoran Desert country of Arizona. This is Union Pacific’s Gila Sub.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. https://www.7ideaproductions.com/products/union-pacifics-gila-subdivision?_pos=1&_sid=53b3da5e4&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
2:38 Map
4:42 Yuma
12:29 Pacific
16:44 Blaisdell
18:30 Kinter
24:33 Dome
40:50 West Wellton
42:32 East Wellton
43:02 Noah
51:06 Mohawk Pass
53:35 Aztec
55:01 Theba
58:07 Gila Bend
59:54 Bosque
1:06:35 Shawmut
1:14:49 Estrella
1:18:12 Maricopa
1:23:35 Casa Grande
1:26:58 Toltec
1:28:07 Eloy
1:29:24 Picacho
1:36:30 Red Rock
1:42:19 Tucson")
![Over Sherman Hill [Union Pacifics Laramie Sub]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jxIXnskm_1U/mqdefault.jpg "Over Sherman Hill [Union Pacifics Laramie Sub]
Originally released on DVD in 2013, This program takes a look at Union Pacifics legendary main line between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming.
In Southeast Wyoming, the Laramie Mountains mark the division between the Great Plains and the Rockies. Rising to over 9,500 feet above sea-level, the transition from prairie to mountains is subtle, except for the Sherman Granite rock outcroppings which dominate the landscape. Three sets of steel rails twist and wind through this remarkable setting with a history dating back to the First Transcontinental Railroad.
This program is available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. https://www.7ideaproductions.com/products/over-sherman-hill?_pos=1&_sid=c7991604f&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
2:12 Map
3:38 Cheyenne
9:23 Wycon
11:54 Borie
17:17 Otto and Emkay
20:00 Granite
27:16 Buford
31:17 Sherman
34:11 Ames Monument
34:59 Dale
37:37 Dale Junction
53:40 Hermosa Tunnel
1:02:00 Hermosa
1:05:43 Tye Siding
1:11:36 Colores
1:14:45 Forelle
1:17:03 East Speer
1:18:08 Speer
1:21:07 Harriman
1:24:10 Perkins
1:29:27 Dale Cut
1:35:34 Hermosa Junction
1:38:24 Red Buttes
1:39:26 Laramie")
![BNSFs Seattle Sub [Vancouver, WA to King Street Station]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kBAw-sz_RZI/mqdefault.jpg "BNSFs Seattle Sub [Vancouver, WA to King Street Station]
[Originally released on DVD in 2017]
BNSF’s Seattle Subdivision is one of the busiest rail lines in the Pacific Northwest. BNSF and Union Pacific polish the rails with a great variety of unit trains plus intermodal, mixed merchandise, and many locals.In addition to freight traffic, the busy subdivision hosts ten Amtrak trains: four Cascades each direction, plus the north and southbound Coast Starlight. Between Tacoma and Seattle, Sounder commuter trains are also added to the mix. See this beautiful line between Vancouver, Washington and Seattle’s King Street Station.
The rails provide access to the busy ports of Kalama, Longview, Tacoma, and Seattle. Watch trains tackle the Napavine Grade to Chehalis. The scenic highlight of the route is the section of track along the Puget Sound between Steilacoom and the Nelson Bennett Tunnel at Tacoma. Amtrak trains are covered here prior to being permanently rerouted over the Point Defiance Bypass.
Shot in the summer and fall of 2017, see why BNSF’s Seattle Subdivision is truly a railfan’s paradise!
This program is available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. https://www.7ideaproductions.com/products/bnsfs-seattle-subdivision?_pos=1&_sid=c96b1c513&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
2:12 Map
4:13 Vancouver
11:32 Ridgefield South
12:13 Lewis River Bridge
15:46 Harvest
17:22 Kalama
22:05 Peavey
24:14 Longview Junction
25:28 Port of Longview
26:18 Rocky Point
28:45 Ostrander
34:37 Toutle River Bridge
36:46 Cowlitz River Bridge
37:54 Vader
46:22 Winlock
45:02 Napavine South
49:15 Napavine
56:05 Chehalis
57:07 Centralia
1:01:17 Wabash
1:02:13 Tenino
1:07:17 Centennial
1:08:27 Nisqually
1:13:42 Salters Point
1:18:02 Steilacoom
1:26:20 Chambers Bay Bridge 14
1:31:15 Pioneer
1:32:39 Titlow Beach
1:33:52 Tacoma Narrows
1:39:11 Nelson Bennett Tunnel
1:41:51 Ruston
1:43:09 Tacoma
1:49:49 Puyallup
1:56:05 Auburn
2:00:21 Kent
2:01:27 Black River
2:03:10 Renton Junction
2:04:04 Van Asselt
2:06:18 Seattle")
![Union Pacifics Caliente Subdivision [Las Vegas NV to Milford UT]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l1Pa_2XTxBA/mqdefault.jpg "Union Pacifics Caliente Subdivision [Las Vegas NV to Milford UT]
(Originally released in 2020)
Union Pacific’s Caliente Subdivision etches a course across the arid deserts and deep canyons of the American Southwest. It is the centerpiece of UP’s Los Angeles & Salt Lake Route running 240 miles between Las Vegas, Nevada and Milford, Utah.
This is a solitary route winding through a remote country that has changed little since the rails were laid in the early 1900’s. Modern high-horsepower diesels pull twelve thousand foot stack trains past the bleached bones of old ghost towns nearly forgotten. Sheer canyon walls echo the deep bark of GE’s and throb of EMD’s lugging loads of coal, autos, iron ore, containers, trailers, and mixed freight.
Trains tunnel through mighty fortresses of rock, crawl over heavy grades of up to 2%, and sprint through vast deserts on a highway of steel. One of the scenic highlights is Rainbow Canyon near Caliente where the railroad passes beneath vibrant multi-colored cliffs.
Shot in October, 2020 in brilliant 4K from the air, as well as the ground, this is a fantastic look at UP’s line through the desert.
This program is available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. https://www.7ideaproductions.com/products/union-pacifics-caliente-subdivision?_pos=1&_sid=af64f2507&_ss=r
0:00 Intro
2:49 Map
5:02 Las Vegas
9:10 Apex
13:57 Moapa
22:52 Farrier
29:24 Carp
35:41 Leith
40:12 Kyle
44:18 Elgin
50:15 Tunnel 5
52:53 Rainbow Canyon
1:10:19 Tunnel 7
1:14:05 Etna
1:26:47 Caliente
1:37:33 Clover Creek Canyon
1:43:20 Eccles
1:46:18 Barclay
1:49:40 Crestline
1:56:20 Uvada
1:58:40 Modena, UT
2:00:43 Beryl
2:04:07 Lund
2:14:29 Milford")
![Helpers on the Hill [Union Pacific manned helpers in the Oregon Cascades]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m3WhZDu1WJU/mqdefault.jpg "Helpers on the Hill [Union Pacific manned helpers in the Oregon Cascades]
In an age of remote-controlled distributed power, locomotives, Union Pacific brought back manned helpers to the Cascade Subdivision above Oakridge, Oregon between late 2018 and 2023. Two helper sets based in Oakridge would assist heavy southbound trains for California up the grueling 1.8% grade over Pengra Pass. We captured video of the operation in the spring of 2022.")
