Those rail fans may find this appealing, while others not. On the other hand it is documented for posterity.
Lassen County had to go through unusual hoops with railroad crossings at Wendel. They had to contend with the NCO’s narrow gauge and Southern Pacific’s standard gauge. In 1924, the county wanted to make a road alignment. The Southern Pacific agreed and provided the map above.
Tim
Viewland is the low summit between Mud Flat and the Honey Lake Valley. From this vantage point, emigrants in the 1850s, who had finally traversed the Nevada desert, obtained their first view of the Honey Lake Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad established a station there named Murray, but when the line was broad gauged by the Southern Pacific Railroad it became their Viewland. The siding was important for sheep growers who, after shearing, would haul the wool there to be shipped out by rail.
Wendel one of those railroad communities that in early years had an identity crisis. It was first known as Upper Hot Springs to distinguish of Lower Hot Springs five miles to the south. The later became known in Amedee in 1890,, when the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NC0)extended its line there. In 1899 the NC0 extended its line, the small station there originally called Smithon, though general usage was Hot Springs Station. Since it was close proximity to Amedee it was hampered any type development. In 1913 Southern Pacific’s Fernely & Lassen Branch crossed the NCO tracks at Hot Springs with little fanfare. It should noted that in 1915, Wendel designation applied to railroad stations and the post office.
Changes were on the horizon. In 1922, Wendel became NCO terminus. A couple years later, Southern Pacific purchased beleaguered NCO. Then on July 1, 1927 800 railroad workers descended there to broad gauge the narrow gauge. For some time, there was hub of activity at Wendel. Then in the fall of 1929 J.E.Faustino recorded the Wendel townsite. Susanville’s Lassen Mail newspaper went on the Wendel bandwagon during the spring of 1930 and published statement: “Certain people may prefer to scoff at Wendel as a possible metropolis of the plains, but the fact that there is more than sagebrush down there has been proven throughout past two weeks. There is good fortune in Wendel, and farsighted people will soon be watching this place to see what happens.”
While the Southern Pacific no longer exists, it is not forgotten. The Southern Pacific Historical & Technological Society carries on to preserve its history. This year the organization will hold its convention in a railroad community the Southern Pacific made–Sparks, Nevada. It will be held from October 16-19. To learn more about the event and the registration form you can find the information here.
Yours truly was invited to be a guest speaker, a tremendous honor. Alas, I had to decline. I had the dilemma of scheduling an earlier presentation of the local Native Daughters of the Golden West. The latter, after nearly nine months since I received their request will occur on California’s Admission Day (September 9).
Tim
Before there was the Great Depression of the 1930s, there was the 1893 Depression. The recovery from the latter was a slow process. Take for instance, the NCO Railroad remained stalled at Amedee for most of the 1890s. It was not until 1899 that the railroad finally began to extend its line northward to the Madeline Plains.
The utopian community of Standish floundered since its beginning in 1897. While company officials stated their goal was to take a slow course, that proved disastrous. In 1901, Associated Colonies the organizers/promoters of Standish went bankrupt.
On the surface in 1900-1901it looked like was Susanville booming. Four major brick buildings were constructed, but that was partially in response to recovery of a major fire in June 1900 that took a huge chunk of the town’s business district.
One area that looked promising were the proposed railroads. There was the Marysville- Susanville Railway, the Oregon Short Line to name two. While the so-called paper railroads never materialized, they did have surveyors in region, thus adding to speculations.
Tim
Susanville’s Southern Pacific Railroad Depot on Richmond is unique in many ways. By the time the railroad reached Susanville in 1913, the company had already adopted a set of standard depot building plans.
In 1913, the residents wondered what kind of depot they would have. As far as the Southern Pacific were concerned it would be a modest structure, since in their opinion, Susanville was a small community that had no industry. A wooden 26 foot by 62 foot depot was built, being part passenger depot and part frieght shed. It opened to the public on September 14, 1913 with C.B. Morton’s the first depot agent.
Times quickly changed and by 1921 Susanville boasted two large lumber mills—Fruit Growers Supply Company and Lassen Lumber & Box Company. The original depot was no longer able to meet the needs. In 1927, the Southern Pacific constructed a 75-foot addition and unlike other depots its exterior was stuccoed.
Times were rapidly changing, especially with the State of California’s ambitious highway construction plan. As automobile travel became the preferred mode of transportation, travel by train declined. In 1933, rail passenger service at Susanville was eliminated. In 1979, Southern Pacific closed the depot.
In 1913-14 when the Fernley & Lassen Railroad was built through a major segment of the Honey Lake Valley, the residents rejoiced. This was especially true for the agricultural community. While there was the NCO railroad, many deemed it expensive and unreliable. There was also other issue, its depots were not conveniently located.
Yet, on the other hand, no one knew what to expect when the Red River Lumber Company established its company town of Westwood. The agricultural community was overwhelmed that it had a large local market, and thanks to the railroad it was easy to get their products to Westwood. The scenario would repeat itself with establishment of the lumber mills—Lassen Lumber & Box Company and Fruit Growers Supply Company—in Susanville. The bottom line, it came as a total surprise that the railroad would create a large local market for local products. The region witnessed an increased local production in the agricultural sector, that allowed for more export of produce by rail.
The Red River Lumber Company at its Westwood operation developed its own fire trains used to fight forest fires. Of course, Red River had its extensive railroad logging network. However, if Red River wanted to access the Southern Pacific’s railroad tracks between Westwood and Susanville there were protocols set by Southern Pacific. In 1936, a Southern Pacific Bulletin stated ”The fire train of the Red River Lumber Company may make the following speeds: Between Mason and Westwood Junction, 35 MPH’ Between Westwood Junction and Susanville, 25 MPH; and through all tunnels, 10 MPH.” I do not know what type of restrictions the Western Pacific imposed.
Tim
Westwood Junction was that of the Fernley & Lassen branch of the Southern Pacific, built by an agreement with the Red River Lumber Company. At this point the railroad constructed a spur line to the south of the newly created town of Westwood. The Southern Pacific’s goal was to extend the line north to Klamath Falls, Oregon. It was after all, the Red River Lumber Company’s intent to build several mills, the next one scheduled for near Lookout. By 1917, the Southern Pacific was anxious to extend the line north, but Red River was not ready. The mammoth mill at Westwood was more than it could handle. In the meantime, the Southern Pacific was nervous that its competitor the Western Pacific might extend a branch to Westwood and siphon off traffic, since Southern Pacific’s five-year agreement with Red River which the railroad had all inclusive freight deal was about to expire.
Then came along World War I and that changed everyone’s plan. When the war ended, the nation went into a severe recession, so expansion was off the table for many. . In the meantime, the Southern Pacific focused on the troubled Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad, as an alternative route north to Oregon, which it eventually did.
This site, it should be noted, also served as a junction for the railroad logging operations of the Fruit Growers Supply Company and the Lassen Lumber & Box Company.
In 1910, with no substantial proof that a railroad was coming to Susanville, some of the powers to be thought the town could use a makeover. In February, the Lassen County Chamber of Commerce thought the town had a image problem. In their opinion, the town’s name should be changed with something of a more cosmopolitan flair. This was, of course, a delicate maneuver, since the town’s matriarch and namesake, Susan Roop Arnold, was still a resident of the community and had been for forty-six years. The Chamber advised her that it did not mean to be disrespectful, but felt changing the City’s name would be in the best interest of the community. The Chamber believed the town was destined to become an important city and that with name of with suffix “ville” carried a stigma, as being associated with a hamlet or village.
The City Trustees listened to Chamber’s proposal. They decided to postpone it until the March meeting. The Trustee’s appointed a committee to provide a propose name change. The group were not very creative and the best they could come up was Lassen. They cited that if the Lassen name was adopted, very few changes would have to be made. Numerous businesses and organizations had already incorporated the name into their respective establishments. The City said no, end of story.