Its 1952 and i'm 14 years old, I had saved up money from my Call-bulletin paper route and took train 20 from Martinez to Dunsmuir...The trip cost $4.50 one way....I stayed at the Dunsmuir Hotel which was across from the Depot and cost $1.50 a night....The bathroom and shower were at the end of the hall and the bathroom had a pull-chain toliet....The room faced the Southern Pacific Roundhouse and this place was busy...Cabforwards...AC6's,7's,8's10/11/12's, 2-10-2's 2-8-2's 2-8-0's, 4-8-2's 4-8-4's(GS2/6) and the last of the EPSW 4-6-2's....When I got their, the sun was just coming up and the road engine was 4327...helper 3660 coupled to the point and when the train departed, its as if all the rail gods stopped to watch the show. Here at Dunsmuir was a big variety of steasm power, plus several sets of three unit F's,but steam was king...I hiked down to the south end of the yard and a north bound was coming, and you could hear it for 20 minutes before it reached the head of the yard...It was the 2714 on the point and 4152 as the road engine....switching the south end was a baldwin and two 2-8-2's...I spent three days there before going home and saw 14 freights a day in day light, plus the Shasta Daylight and train 20....Of the 14 freights on two had diesels at the time and when they north out of Dunsmuir, the steam helpers would shake the ground rattle the windows and the sound could not be beat.
At the Hotel at night, each train that was heading north caused the hotel to shake, the windows to buzz and my bed would roll back and forth...They would blow their whistle's when they passed the depot both coming and going...I didn't get much sleep, but it was my greatest railroad trip of all time....I wish I had a time machine, so I could go back and watch this show again....