We like to visit Reno several timees every year to flirt with Lady Luck, who usually gets the better of us. We're frequent visitors to "The Fitz," officially known as Fitzgerald's Reno, so we usually get rooms at a huge discount, or even free.  

Sunday, March 6, 2005 found us staying for two nights at "The Fitz."  We arrived in mid-afternoon, checked in and put our stuff away in our room.  It was a beautiful day outside, so Sharlene decided to play slots, and I decided to railfan.

You may be aware that the City of Reno and the Union Pacific are undertaking a huge project, known as ReTRAC, which will relocated 2.2 miles of U.P.'s right-of-way through downtown Reno into a subway, below street level.

The City of Reno has been pushing this project for years, as U.P.'s trains block many of the city's major north/south streets, including Virginia Street, the main drag and the place where many of the major casinos are located.

Between trains, it was quite interesting to watch the huge earthmoving equipment at work

I felt that it was time to get out and photograph mainline railroading in downtown Reno before it,  shall we say, goes underground.  So instead of trying my hand at the slots, my finger was on the shutter of my digital camera.

All photos were taken on March 6 and 7th, 2005 in Reno, Nevada, between Virginia and Center Streets. The elevated shot of #5 was taken from Fitzgerald's walkway, and the high shot was taken from our 14th floor room.  Notice the huge trench that parallels the tracks; that's the subway in the making.

By the way, when it got dark on Sunday night, I decided to flirt with Lady Luck.  As you can see, I managed  to line up three diamonds on a "Wheel of Fortune" quarter machine that netted me 1600 quarters, or $400.00. That's the most money that I've ever won in my entire life! Guess what, pretty soon you're going to start seeing photos taken by the new Fuji S5000 that I plan to purchase from my winnings!

Left:  An eastbound U.P. auto train is crossing Virginia St. in downtown Reno on March 7, 2005.  The famous Reno arch can be seen in the upper left-hand cornor of the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I didn't have very good luck at railfanning, but look at this slot machine!  This play netted me $400.000.  That is, 1600 quarters, enough to purchase a new digital camera.

All photos on this page were taken March 6-7, 2005. Note the huge subway that parallels the main line. Check out ReTRAC's website for more information about this project.

A westbound U.P. auto train is crossing Virginia St. in downtown Reno and about to cross under Fitzgerald's walkway.  This  photo was taken from our 14th story hotel room window.