Las Vegas Railfanning

I've lived here 40 years and never thought about it. In Signor's book about the San Pedro to Salt Lake he details every mile. 

The tracks parallel the I-15 somewhat. There is a nice spot by the Apex exit about 15 miles north where the tracks cross under the interstate.

UP moved the yard north of town as well. Much smaller than the one downtown was. Otherwise, the tracks run right through Las Vegas just west of the Strip, so there are many places to get a good view. Still a few gate crossings in town.

The Plaza hotel sits where the old UP station was at the west end of Fremont street. There was an AmTrac station in the back of the hotel. Don't know if it is still there. The bus station is next door, so I would not go exploring after dark downtown unless you stay on Fremont under the light show canopy. If you go downtown at night it is best to valet park at a hotel. Some hotels no longer allow this unless you are a registered guess.

Have fun.

GVDOBLER's suggestion of Apex (also Sloan and Erie) is a good one.  That's desert, of course.  Off the beaten path?  East of Las Vegas is where the best photo locations through desert mountains are, but, they start at least an hour east.  Garnet is a good location, especially with a telephoto lens.  Don't know which way you are passing through, but a detour using the old highway (US 93) through Caliente will get you to some of them.  Others require the ability to drive on somewhat primitive desert roads.  There was a liquor distributor's sales representative who lived in Las Vegas and took a lot of photos east of town.

If you leave the city in either direction to take train photos, be sure to have drinking water with you, and, if nosing around east of town, out of cell phone range, tell someone where you are headed and then tell them again when you get back to cell phone territory.  It's not terribly dangerous normally; just stay hydrated and take sensible precautions so they can search for you in case of car trouble.  If you see a rainstorm, even a distant one, stay on pavement.  You could be marooned by flash floods if you're on the primitive roads.  (Thus the phone call to someone who knows where you are likely to be.)

if you get the right room at Main Street Station (200 N. Main St), you won't necessarily have to even leave the hotel...

Thank you gentlemen for the advice and suggestions. We are looking to rent a SUV for day trips and an hour is no big deal. We will look into Apex, Garnet and Caliente.

Tom, you remind me of very important safety tips - Thank you.

Paul

A couple of other options, go south of town on I-15 about 50", two exits south of Primm to Nipton Rd, hang a left and a couple of miles down is Nipton Trading Post, the last time we were there, there was an old station.  Another option is to go out to Boulder City, about 45" to US 93 and Yucca St. to the Nevada State RR Museum, they have train rides on the old UP branch built to haul stuff for the Dam.  They have a web site: http://nevadasouthern.com/     They run some pretty long trains out there.  The last time I was out there, they had a Terminal Office bldg. near the Stratesphere Hotel, It has one of the largest American flags I have ever seen.\\

Marty