Union Pacific's Cascade Route through Odell Lake in Oregon

A southbound UP freight hauling milled lumber products passes nearby Odell Lake Resort on the eastern shores of Odell Lake.

I'm back home after an enjoyable two-week vacation in Oregon. After visiting my wife's sister on the southern coast, we spend a week at Odell Lake, along the Cascade Route of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The route was built by the Southern Pacific in 1926. Four times daily (two trains northbound and two southbound), passenger trains stopped at Odell Station so vacationers could enjoy the six-mile long lake near Willamette Pass in Oregon's Cascade Range.

Today, the Amtrak Coast Starlight passes along the southern shore of the lake. When it's on time, Train 11 comes through late in the evening as it rambles toward Chemult, Oregon and Sacramento, California. The northbound passenger train, Train 14, passes the lake late morning on its way to Eugene and Portand, Oregon.

On Monday, July 31, I counted 13 north- and southbound trains. You can hear the train coming as the three diesel units pull the long train up the grade. Although the trains aren't that loud, you do hear their presence as they pass the lake.