Matthew H Fish
Lead Service Attendant
- Joined
- May 28, 2019
- Messages
- 499
This is a question that has been puzzling me for a while:
North of Redding, the Coast Starlight goes east over the Cascades through northern California, through Klamath Falls and Chemult, before heading back west to Eugene.
To me, the route following the I-5 corridor seems to make more sense. It passes through larger cities (Medford, Grants Pass, Roseburg), and it avoids crossing the Cascades twice. In its current route, it zig-zags out of its way to visit one small city (Klamath Falls). It is great for the view on the train, but it seems to not be very efficient.
I am sure there is some reason for this, as far as route selection goes, but it is probably buried deep in railroading history. Does anyone here know why this is?
North of Redding, the Coast Starlight goes east over the Cascades through northern California, through Klamath Falls and Chemult, before heading back west to Eugene.
To me, the route following the I-5 corridor seems to make more sense. It passes through larger cities (Medford, Grants Pass, Roseburg), and it avoids crossing the Cascades twice. In its current route, it zig-zags out of its way to visit one small city (Klamath Falls). It is great for the view on the train, but it seems to not be very efficient.
I am sure there is some reason for this, as far as route selection goes, but it is probably buried deep in railroading history. Does anyone here know why this is?