Tag Archives: Railroads

History

Tuesday Tidbit—Those Premium Log Photographs

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log train Camp B
Train load of logs leaving Camp B, FGS Company,1923—Dick & Helen Harrison

For lumber companies back in the day, taking photographic scenes to show case premium logs and/of forest scenes served an unusual purpose that the casual observer would not be aware of. The photographs were used in portfolios to show bondholders, investors and other stakeholders what they were getting for their money.

This particular photograph is very revealing. These are Fruit Growers logs on Red River flat cars. When both Fruit Growers and Red River established their mills, they made agreement with the Southern Pacific Railroad to provide them with rail cars to transport the logs to the mill, saving the companies an expense. Red River found out the hard way that Southern Pacific was not always reliable and eventually purchased their own cars to care of those situation. In this particular instance, Red River was being a good neighbor to Fruit Growers and came to their aid to lend them some cars.

Tim

History

Those Rowdy Camp Followers

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Construction of Miller's cut near Susanville 1913. B.R. Zimmerman collection
Construction of Miller’s cut near Susanville 1913. B.R. Zimmerman collection

Daily life got crazy in Susanville when the railroad arrived in 1913. Numerous discussions were held to make the town “dry.” It was the belief of some that if there was a ban on alcohol, that it would rid the town of certain elements. The City was not so keen  on the other hand, as it received most of its operating revenue from liquor licenses. Continue reading Those Rowdy Camp Followers →

History

Some Confusing Railroad History

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The abandoned line at Pyramid Lake., Nevada Historical Society 1971

This kind of boggles my mind, that so many railroad historians get something so incredibly wrong.  What I am referring to is the abandonment of the Southern Pacific’s Westwood Branch line between Fernley and Flanigan. First we start off with Jack Bowden whose book the Modoc Line states that the 60 mile segment of track was abandoned in 1963. David Myrick places the date of abandonment in 1962. Eric Moody, the author of a book on Flanigan has the date as 1972!

The 1970 abandonment notice—David Martin

John Signor wrote: “The SP line from Flanigan to Fernley continued to support a once-a-week local until it was discontinued in 1966. Work crews began taking up the line south of Flanigan along Pyramid Lake on October 7, 1970.”

David Martin on one of his forays to Flanigan came across notice of abandonment posted on an old pole, which clearly indicates that the segment was indeed abandoned in 1970 and shortly thereafter the tracks removed.

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Local Railroad News for 1922

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1926 American Legion Convention delegates arriving at the Susanville Depot. Courtesy of Nellygrace Stoll.

It was certainly a banner year for the Southern Pacific. This, of course, was due to the fact of the completion of Fruit Growers Supply Company lumber mill in Susanville, the previous year. This increased rail traffic by the proverbial leaps and bounds. Now being shipped in 1922 were over 1600 monthly carloads of lumber by products. (Why, I do not know , but photographs of such seem to be non-existent.) There was also a major increase with passenger traffic. In 1921, Southern Pacific had a 3 car passenger train. The following year it doubled to six car daily passenger train, along with a special dining car.

In the fall of 1922 there were other developments in the works. One was the movement to reroute the NCO Railroad into Susanville. At the same time, the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce was pushing the Interstate Commerce Commission for a rail link between Klamath Falls and Susanville. It should be noted surveys for that line had been made as early as 1911.

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History

Closure of the Susanville Depot

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Susanville Depot, 1970.
Susanville Depot, 1970.

On October 12, 1979 the Southern Pacific closed the Susanville depot, one of the last vestiges of the Westwood Branch. Of course, it did not come as a surprise. About the only activity there was an occasional REA truck at the loading dock, but that company went bankrupt in 1975.

Depot 78
Susanville Depot, September 1978.

When the depot was built in 1913, it was a lively place. In 1927, an addition was made to accommodate the increase of passengers and freight. Changes were on the horizon. In 1933, the Southern Pacific discontinued passenger service. Another blow came in 1955 by two events. Fruit Growers Supply Company announced that summer it would close its Westwood mill. In December 1955 a torrential flood damaged the railroad tracks between Susanville and Westwood. Instead of making costly repairs, the Southern Pacific simply closed that segment. By 1970, there were only two lumber mills in Susanville—Coin and Sierra Pacific. Thus, the depot outlived its usefulness.

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History

Westwood Depot No more—End of an Era

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Westwood Depot, circa 1918—David B. Martin

In the summer of 1955, Fruit Growers Supply Company announced it would close their mill at Westwood. Another important event happened that year when in  December the region experienced severe flooding, causing tremendous damage to the railroad tracks between Susanville and Westwood. The Southern Pacific deemed it too costly to make the repairs to that section of the railroad with the pending mill closure.

However, with all this bad news,  Westwood Depot had some salvation. It should be noted, the depot was utilized by the Western Pacific on its Highline route between Keddie and Klamath Falls. Oregon. Thus, the Westwood Depot remained opened, how long was any one’s guess.

Westwood Depot closure notice—David B. Martin

In the spring of 1971, it was announced that the Westwood Depot would close on April 15, 1971. Just by happenstance, two Lassen College students, Roy Lopez and David Martin, paid a visit to the depot late that afternoon of the final day. One of the duo’s first encounter was to witness the Southern Pacific’s trainmaster from Redding to remove the station’s clock. The remainder of time was spent visiting with the Depot’s agent, J.C. Hoxie. When Hoxie escorted them out, the door was locked for good from the public.

On a follow up, the Southern Pacific transferred Hoxie to Wendel. The depot stood vacant for several years and was finally dismantled in either 1975 or 1976, as I have conflicting data. If anyone has more information on that event, please let me know, so I can update this post.

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History

The Demolition of Wendel

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Wendel, January 26, 2020

The railroad giveth and the railroad taketh could easily describe Wendel. In 1996, the Union Pacific Railroad received permission to abandon an 85-mile segment of the railroad from Wendel to Likely. The railroad implemented a plan to demolish most of the buildings it owned there. Among the first buildings demolished were a two-story railroad section house and the foreman’s house. Also torn dorn was a local favorite, the 24-hour cafe known as the Milepost Inn, which provided meals and housing for railroad crews laying over between trips, but was open to the public.

Tim

History

A Fernley & Lassen Railroad Question

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Susanville Depot, 1929—Hank Martinez

Some one wanted to know whether the Fernley & Lassen Railroad had a logo or specialized letterhead.  As far as I am aware the answer is no. It is fairly simple. The Fernley & Lassen was a branch line of the Southern Pacific, so all communications appear on Southern Pacific letterhead. If the Fernley & Lassen had been an independent railroad, things would have been different. It also should be noted that some time by the early 1930s, the Southern Pacific dropped the Fernley & Lassen name and the line then became known as the Westwood Branch.

Speaking of logos. Lassen County did not have a logo until the early 1950s, which happened by accident. State law required government vehicles, whether city, county or state display a logo for public identification purposes.

One odd thing about the county logo, at least to me, is that it features Lassen Peak, which happens to be in Shasta County.

Tim

History

Indian Valley Railroad

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Indian Valley Railroad. Courtesy of the Plumas County Museum
Indian Valley Railroad. Courtesy of the Plumas County Museum

One of the biggest issues T.B. Walker had against the Red River Lumber Company’s location at Westwood, was it lacked a railroad link directly to California.  For a time there was a glimmer hope with the Indian Valley Railroad.

On June 30, 1916, the Indian Valley Railroad (IVR) was incorporated to build a line from Paxton on the Western Pacific Railroad to the Engel Copper Mine near Taylorsville–a distance of 21 miles. Sixteen months later the rail line was completed. It should be noted, that it was originally proposed as a narrow gauge line, but Willis Walker of the Red River Lumber Company objected. After all, Walker was keen enough to see the possibilities for a link to Westwood, and with that would force the Southern Pacific Railroad to be more competitive in their rates.

Early on the IVR had its sights on Westwood. In 1918 a survey to extend the line to Westwood was conducted, There was speculation that the IVR would extend its line to Westwood, and in 1918 the IVR did survey a line to that place. With Red River’s main branch railroad logging extending along the east shore of Lake Almanor to Canyon Dam, there was not much territory separating the two lines. In 1927 a request was sent to the Interstate Commerce Commission to put in this proposed line to be known as the Northern California Railroad. It was rejected. However, in the works was the Western Pacific and Great Northern Railroads to connect their respective lines with a new railroad from Keddie, Plumas County to Klamath Falls, Oregon. This was approved in 1930, and Red River Lumber Company would finally have a second railroad connection it had always sought.

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