UP+BNSF/Western Pacific+Great Northern Keddie Wye over Feather River Canyon

(Bridge Hunter, no Historic Bridges, (Once again, the Google satellite image was broke.) Satellite (I normally turn off the labels on Bing satellite images, but I left them on to show the leg through the tunnel.))

The route through the tunnel exists on my 1928 RR Atlas. It was Western Pacific's mainline between California and Salt Lake City. I had to dig out my 1973 RR Atlas to find the route to the north and the junction labeled Keddie Wye. The northern branch was shared with BN and ran through Westwood and Lookout to Klamath Falls, OR.

Marty Bernard posted two photos with the comment:

What a Difference the Lighting Makes
Roger Puta took these two Keddie Wye photos in March 1983. All the units are SD40-2s. Really nice photos but strikingly different.

1. UP 3663, 3341, and 3481

2. UP 3176, 3326, and another

Marty Bernard shared
UP on Keddie, CA Wye in March 1983. Roger Puta photo

Jeff Lewis commented on Marty's share
I stood in that very spot last summer. Trees are much taller now so you can no longer get that angle.

Jeff Lewis commented on Marty's share
You have to go east some distance.

Marty Bernard shared two photos with the comment: "Two Western Pacific Steam Photos, circa 1950."

1
Western Pacific 94, a 4-6-0 built in 1909 and last used in April 1953, with a passenger train on the Keddie Wye on May 14, 1950. Could be a fan trip, people on the ground about half way back. unknown photographer
Patrick Rose Big train for a 4-6-0 in the mountains.
Jonathan Schoen Ny first thought too, but it is on a 1% defending grade at this point.
Mike Tisdale By 1950, that would be a fan trip. The CZ was the primary train on the run and the Zephyrette RDC ran at night. As 94 was the engine at the WP last spike and is preserved, it is possible that the fan trip was doubleheaded for the uphill part of the run, but the helper was cut off and 94 ran it alone going down the mountain.

2
Western Pacific 179, a 4-8-2 built in 1924 purchased 1936 from Florida East Coast, seen here in Rock Creek trestle near Cresta, CA on May 5, 1951. unknown photographer
Patrick Rose That’s a tall wheeled loco for mountain work. But I could totally see her racing down the FEC with the varnish in tow.
Fred Jansz These tall wheeled WP beauties ran from Oakland to Salt Lake City on the Scenic Limited and the Exposition Flyer. Plenty of flatland to race on in Nevada & Utah.
Fred Jansz Beautiful. If it's May '51, it's probably taken during the last run.

Jeff Lewis shared
The best way to capture Keddie Wye these days, via drone. Third leg of the wye tunnels through the hill at the right.
Dan R. Scheidell posted
A little PASBAK from everyone's favorite wye. 3/24/2019

Street View

(These photo were supposed to be higher in these notes. But a Google bug put it here. Instead of wasting my time working around a bug that I reported weeks ago, I leave the photo here as a monument to Google's bug.)

Phil Williams posted two photos with the comment:

Out of all the Great Railroad bridges we have here in Northern California to me there is one that beats them all when it comes to fascinating and being unique. Famous amongst Railfans across the Country and a must see is the one and only Keddie wye! Built by the Western Pacific for their new line that was heading north the Keddie wye connected WP's new 4th sub to their Feather River Route by connecting both lines on a bridge that crosses Spanish creek. The line to the left is now owned by the BNSF and is their Gateway sub. To the right is the UP's Canyon sub. heading towards Portola.

1

2

I Love Trains posted
Photo courtesy of Timothy Taylor - The "Kedde  Wye"
[Several comments asked why the left branch has gaurd rails, but the right branch does. Some answers indicated it was because the right branch curves through the turnout, but the left branch does not. One answer noted that BNSF now owns the left branch and UP owns the right branch, and BNSF doesn't use gaurd rails as frequently as other railroads. Another comment suggested it was because the right side was was much faster, the left side was probably 10-20 mph. Another comment noted that the left side has some kind of walls on the outside.]

Steven J. Brown posted
Union Pacific SD60M 6114 (built 1989, became UP 2269) leads GE's in the Feather River Canyon on a snowy day at the Keddie Wye, California - March 12, 1991.

Steven J. Brown share

Jeff Lewis commented on Steven's post
Did you just drive up there Steve? Not something you can do today, I'll bet. And the trees on the slope below the road across the way are all grown up now. Hard to get a good shot from that perspective.
Steven J. Brown: Jeff Lewis Yeah, pretty sure I drove to (or near) this spot. Memory is a little fuzzy.

Russell H. Aharonian posted
Here's one to keep y'all on track. The "Kedde Wye" north of Quincy.
J.B. Rail Photog shared
Jeffery Faris: The piece where the two inner tracks cross is the ‘frog’ I think. And the track to the right has inner ‘guard rails’ in case of a derailment crossing the bridge (to keep wheels in line), but the track to the left does not. Is there a reason for the difference? Just curious…
Brian Tucker: Ant Barker You’re right, in terms of speaking in the past. It’s all UP trackage now, when the left side was once BNSF trackage (still used by BNSF railway despite that).

10:00 railfan video