https://www.facebook.com/104529144299433/

Mark Lovgren Photography

Home
United States
Sparks, NV
Mark Lovgren Photography

Directions

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Mark Lovgren Photography, Photographer, Sparks, NV.

10/31/2026

"Thursday's OTR Trains"

With the Sparks OTR (Over the Road) Board critically short on drivers, I made myself available to take trips on my day off. The OTR Board works on an on call basis. So when the railroad needs a crew moved, they contact PTI and a driver is called out to transport that crew. On Thursday, I was called for a pair of Sparks to Portola trips. My first call came at 05:00 for a 07:15 pick up at the rail yard. The trip called for me to transport the inbound crew from the QBCPVJ (Manifest, Stockton CA to Provo UT) BNSF trackage rights train, to the Sierra Motel in Portola. After accepting the trip, I spent the next two and a half hours expecting the trip to be cancelled. The UP almost always assigns the "Motel Runs" to Uber drivers to save money. But, surprisingly enough, no Uber driver was called and I actually completed the trip. My second trip was to pick up the outbound MGRRV (Manifest, Green River WY to Roseville CA) crew at the Nugget Hotel, stop off at the Sparks yard office to print the crew's paperwork and then meet the train at Reno Junction. However, the train made better time than originally thought and the crew change took place at the Portola yard office.
10/29/2026

10/30/2026

“Wednesday’s iPhone Views from the OTR Office”

Since I have Thursday’s off in the yard van, I make myself available to help out the OTR Board, Wednesday evening and Thursday. After working the Sale at the ADESA Auto Auction during the morning, I was working on a Facebook post after dinner when my phone rang. It was a PTI Dispatcher wanting me to drive to the Sierra Motel in Portola and pick up the outbound crew for the GSS9PX (Grain Shuttle, Syracuse NE to Pixley CA). The need time was for 20:30. I then looked at the time, 19:44, and explained to the dispatcher that I needed a half hour to drive to Sparks yard for a crew van and then it would be another hour to Portola. The dispatcher replied that they didn’t have any other drivers and that they would inform the railroad that I would be late. Fortunately, despite my tardiness, the outbound crew and I arrived, at the yard office, a half hour before the train. Unfortunately, in my rush to get started on my trip, I forgot to grab my camera’s memory card from the computer. Although the picture quality isn’t as good, I’m glad that I had my cell phone camera to capture a couple of images from my trip.
10/28/2026

10/29/2026

"Another Slow Monday at the Office"

I'm sure that I sound like a broken record when I keep mentioning that Monday's are the slowest day of the week, rail traffic wise, in Sparks. The biggest reason for this is three of regular trains (IOANP, MRVGR, ZLTG2) are absent from the lineup on Monday's. However, this week, I had a bonus train to photograph, the MSPRV (Manifest, Sparks NV to Roseville CA). After going on duty at 04:00, the crew's day went downhill very quickly. A surprise visit from a FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) Inspector was the primary cause. When the inspection was complete, the crew had to deal with two bad ordered locomotives and nine bad ordered cars. After setting out the units and then fishing out the bad ordered cars from the train, the MSPRV finally departed at 13:00, nine hours after the crew went on duty. Once the MSPRV started for Donner Pass, the rail traffic during the rest of my shift, was pretty sparse. However, I managed to capture a few interesting views on another slow Monday at the Office.
10/26/2026

10/28/2026

"Sunday's Sandwich of Views from the Office"

This is kind of a strange comparison, but my Sunday spent working the yard van reminded me of a cheese sandwich. As in two thick slices of bread sandwiching a thin slice of cheese. The first three hours of the day flew by with several crew changes and assists. Then, during the next four hours, I didn't turn a wheel. Actually, the ZLTG2 (Priority Intermodel, Lathrop CA to Global 2 - Northlake IL) and the MRVNP (Manifest, Roseville CA to North Platte NE) arrived during that time period. However, both trains crew changed at the office and departed without performing their usual work events. Over the final three hours of my shift, I captured a look at Amtrak #6, picked up the crews off both locals and drove them to the yard office. My final move of the night, involved a crew change on the AMICX (Auto's, Milpitas CA to Chicago IL). Here's a look back at Sunday's views from the office.
10/25/2026

10/26/2026

"A Slow and Steady Saturday"

The first half of Saturday's yard van was pretty steady. I averaged one crew change or an assist an hour. Unfortunately, those movements didn't inspire me to retrieve my camera from its resting place under the front seat of the crew van. Although the second half of the day proved to be slower, I found a few views worthy of a picture. Here's my brief look at Saturday's views from the office.
10/24/2026

10/25/2026

"Friday's Return to the Yard Van Office"

After three days of different office views, I returned to the seat of yard van office on Friday. Most of my shifts start out pretty slow, as the overnight/early morning yard van driver transported the local crews out to their trains and crew changed the early morning road trains. However, once I transported the outbound MRVGR (Manifest, Roseville CA to Green River WY) crew to exchange places with the inbound crew, the rest of my day proved to be busy. Here are a few images from Friday's return to the yard van office.
10/23/2026

10/24/2026

"Thursday's Road Trip to Hazen"

On October 1st, the UP and PTI implemented a new yard van schedule. Along with the change of hours, I also went from working five days a week to four days. So in order to try to make up the $800 a month in lost income, I have been making myself available to work the OTR Board. Early Thursday afternoon, I received a call from PTI's automated dispatch system wanting me to drive out to Hazen and retrieve the crew on the LSP60, Wabuska Local. On Sunday's, Tuesday's and Thursday's, the local works the Mina Branch industries. Due to the distance from Sparks and the number of cars, the train rarely completes its work before the crew's hours of service expires. The goal on the Mina Branch days, is to get the work done, make it to Hazen and tie down the train. Later in the evening, the LRA61, Fernley Flyer runs out to Hazen and the crew drags both locals back to Sparks. Here are a couple views from Thursday's road trip to Hazen.
10/22/2026

10/23/2026

"Old Southern Pacific Signal Bridges and Rain"

Last Thursday afternoon, I met up with Lennon McNulty to photograph AMTK 145, the Amtrak 40th Anniversary unit leading Amtrak #6. Unfortunately, I returned from a trip to Portola, too late to capture Amtrak #6 before it arrived in Reno for its station stop and crew change. When Lennon found out that the 145 was leading another round trip through the neighborhood on Tuesday and Wednesday, he contacted me about the possibility of a longer chase. So after working Wednesday's Sale at the Adesa Auto Auction, I drove to the rail yard to meet Lennon. Since Lennon arrived first, he did what he always does, he walked into the switchman's shanty for a look at the CADS Board. That's where he made a mistake. He discovered that the ZLTG2 (Priority Intermodel, Lathrop CA to Global 2 - Northlake IL) was approaching the neighborhood. That discovery delayed our drive to Truckee, as we thought that we would have time to capture both trains. After photographing the z train at Mogul, I pointed the Jeep for Floriston. The plan was to capture Amtrak #6 with the fall colors in the background. However, after photographing the train at Floriston, the planned chase of Amtrak #6 was ended and a new plan was put into place.
10/21/2026

10/22/2026

"A Few Interesting Views on a Slow Monday at the Office"

With three regular trains (IOANP, MRVGR, ZLTG2) absent from the train lineup, Monday's tend to be my slowest day in the yard van. This week was no exception. Fortunately, the arrival of the GSFOCT (Grain Shuttle, Famoso CA to Carleton NE) and the QBCPVJ (Manifest, Stockton CA to Provo UT), BNSF trackage rights train, made this Monday a little busier than most. Between the two road trains and the locals, I was able to capture a few interesting views from the yard van office.
10/19/2026

10/21/2026

"Sunday's Sunny Views from the Office"

Weather wise, Sunday proved to be carbon copy (Remember those?) of Saturday, screaming sunshine and mild temperatures in the low eighties. Pretty much a beautiful fall day. I had just logged into the crew van, when the yard manager sent me to east yard track 3 to assist the GSPXMD (Grain Shuttle, Pixley CA to Mead NE) conductor with his pick up. That started off a four hour, non stop run of crew changes and assists. My day then settled down for a couple hours, after dropping off the inbound ZLTG2 (Priority Intermodel, Lathrop CA to Global 2 - Northlake IL) engineer at the yard office. Fortunately, local rail enthusiast, Lennon McNulty, stopped by for a visit. Lennon had been out photographing the ZLTG2, as it arrived in the neighborhood. I then ended my day with a pair of crew changes that took place after dark.
10/18/2026

Address

Sparks, NV

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mark Lovgren Photography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.