Tag Archives: Railroads

History

A Trip to Klamath Falls, 1934

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Great Northern’s Depot, Bieber.

While searching through files concerning railroad passenger service between Keddie and Klamath Falls, I came across the following account, that I thought some might find of interest

On September 22 and 23, 1934, a special excursion train sponsored by the Plumas County Chamber of Commerce went from Keddie to Klamath Falls. At Bieber, Lizzie Durfee and Ellen Elliott boarded the train to its final destination at Klamath Falls and the following is their published report.

Big Valley Gazette, Bieber, California — 4 October 1934: “This excursion was the first passenger train to leave Big Valley since the dedication of the railroad three years ago. Big Valley waited fifty years for the railroad, but there is no passenger service yet. Of course, there are better roads and the automobile, so we do not miss the train service too much.

“The excursion left Bieber about eleven o’clock Saturday morning. It was a little chilly but the cars were comfortable and the crowd was sociable and friendly.

”A stop was made at Merrill going up and the excursionists listened to a recital of the resources of Tule Lake section that seemed almost incredible. Space does not allow a detailed account but the crops and stock produced for disposal this year totals over $4,000,000. As a souvenir of the good will of the people of Merrill. each excursionist was presented with a ten pund box of potatoes of the best variety grown in that section.

”Klamath Falls was reached about 3 o’clock and courtesy cars took the visitors around the city and showed them the vantage points, and the growth and expected development of that busy bit little city.

”The banquet that evening was a pleasant affair where everybody visited with his neighbor on either side of him and across the table. Of course there were speakers of good will and friendliness and the banquet ended with everyone in the best of humor.

”The return home was uneventful and arrived back in Bieber six Sunday evening.”

It should be noted that nearly 200 people participated in the event.

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History

Davis Cut – A Manmade Landmark

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Davis Cut, Fernley & Lassen
Davis Cut near Susanville of the Fernley & Lassen Railroad, 1912

Thousands of people drive by this landmark, and ,many are probably oblivious. Located a short distance north of Johnstonville on Center Road, is a railroad cut—named Davis. It really is somewhat insignificant as railroad construction goes, but it was the first in the Honey Lake Valley when the Fernley & Lassen Railroad was under construction.

In April 1912, the Southern Pacific Railroad announced construction of the Fernley & Lassen Railroad, and awarded the contract to the Utah Construction Company. That company hired a numbered of sub-contractors, the most prominent of which was J.H. Maxey Construction Company. No time was wasted on construction as there was a deadline to reach Westwood by March 1, 1914.  In the fall of 1912, a construction train reached Davis Cut, near Johnstonville.  There were several fatalities associated with the construction of the railroad, and one of them occurred at Davis Cut. On April 13, 1913, James Cook, a powderman for the J.H. Maxey Construction Company, was killed there in an explosion to blast the rock.

John C. Davis family, circa 1890–Courtesy of Robert and Eulalee Trussell

The cut was so named for the John C. Davis family. Davis, a native of Germany, came to California in 1850. In February 1858, he made his home in the Honey Lake Valley. In 1866, Davis purchased property just north of Johnstonville where he lived until his passing in 1894.

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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