Through the end of the 19th century, additional railroads were constructed, bringing the outside world closer to the remote corners of the county. In 1862, the central pacific and the union pacific railroad companies began building a transcontinental railroad that would link the united states from east to west. The central pacific railroad cprr was a rail company chartered by u. The sierra nevadas were finally conquered by the central pacific railroad, after almost five years of sustained construction effort by its mainly chinese crew about 10,000 strong, with the successful completion at donner pass of its 1,659foot 506 m tunnel no. Bhi publications publishes railroad photo books intended for use by manufacturers and modelers. Specializing in western railroad history books by john r. The 2020 truckee river railroad operating schedule is now available. Sps sierra crossing, that i received from my grandmother at 18 years old. He noted that the donner pass opening through the sierra nevada has been used for centuries. Ghost towns, lake tahoe, railroad or trains, truckee, and winter sports. With our alltime donner pass map from february 2015 in hand, i drove to colfax, where an eastbound stack train was climbing the grade at a leisurely pace. The nowabandoned tunnels were built for the transcontinental railroad on the route where the first wagon train entered california. Arthur sommers has previously authored auburn, a visual history of placer.
History of the truckee area truckeedonner historical society. Working for the sp, and sharing an interest in railroad history, has given the author an ability to probe deeply into his subject. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from sacramento, california, to complete the western part of the first transcontinental railroad in north america. Signor the full story of rail operations over the wests. Southern pacifics sierra crossing, by signor, john r. Keseberg was the last member of the donner party to arrive at sutters fort on april 29th. Mar 10, 2017 the plow cut through snow that reached depths of feet, across 14 miles near the donner pass. Posted in uncategorized monthly meeting for march canceled. Donner pass southern pacifics sierra crossing john r. It told quite a bit about not only the operations on the railroad but also about all of the equipment that is used to keep and mantain the railroad through the harsk sierra mt. Digitized and orthorectified aerial image courtesy usgs click to enlarge.
History of the truckee area truckeedonner historical. Read about its history and use today by union pacific. Coates during the last three ice ages, glaciers covered the truckee river basin and surrounding mountains carving out donner lake and many other lakes. The trains are heavy, the railroad is tough and the scenery is awesome. The pass over donner peak in northern california is known as donner summit. He is a founding member of colfaxbased placersierra railroad heritage society. While most books written about the donner party emphasize the. For an interesting study of the harshness of winter weather at donner pass see the article by mark mclaughlin, reign of the sierra storm king. Like the sierra nevada mountains themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual approach from the west. Track work, the summer chore of every mountain railroad susceptible to snow in the winter, was underway, and even stacks out of oakland are not immune. Donner pass is well known for two different incidents that occurred near the. The donner party sometimes called the donnerreed party was a group of american pioneers who migrated to california in a wagon train from the midwest.
New visitor center at donner pass about more than just one. The book starts with a history of the railroads of california starting with the. Choose from seven unique hikes on saturday, followed by lunch, music and a historical talk that ties all the hikes to the history. Postcards, posters, maps, and books about the human and natural history of the area are for sale in the visitor center. It was the first major civil war conflict to take place in northern territory and resulted in more than 20,000 casualties in one day. The reader will find lots of railroad history in addition to some really good storytelling.
Truckee became home to expansive locomotive facilities for helper locomotives on trains westbound over donner pass after the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The railroad society and truckee donner his torical society are jointly planning the new museum our vision for the truckee history railroad museum is a timeline of. Truckee donner historical society was founded july 24, 1968 to preserve the history of the truckee donner area. Apr 16, 2018 he is a founding member of colfaxbased placersierra railroad heritage society. The entire hike is basically walking through an old abandoned railroad tunnel that has been overrun with graffiti but is still a fantastic example of the history of northern california. Batterdale books buys and sells secondhand books on british and overseas railways, canals, trams and buses, and industrial history. In 1862, the central pacific and the union pacific railroad companies began building a transcontinental railroad that would link the united states from east to. Today, it hosts both interstate 80 formerly us route 40, the lincoln highway and union pacifics roseville subdivision. Incorporated in 1861, cprr ceased operation in 1885 when it was acquired by southern pacific railroad as a leased line. The transcontinental railroads western leg was known as the central pacific, the vision of theodore d. Truckee became home to expansive locomotive facilities for helper locomotives on trains westbound over donner pass after the completion of the transcontinental. Track work, the summer chore of every mountain railroad susceptible to snow in the winter, was. We join his story about three weeks after the donner party arrived at the blocked pass.
The sps venerable donner pass was actually completed by predecessor central pacific. Central pacific railroad photographic history museum. The rail motorcar on the class 1 railroads of the united states, by keilty, edmund, interurban press special no. The pass has been used by the california trail, first transcontinental railroad, overland route, lincoln highway.
The pass has been used by the california trail, first. Winter on donner pass is only at the halfway mark but already is proving one to be remembered. The tragic story of the donner party legends of america. Donner pass summit tunnels truckee, california atlas. Examining the smoothed and striated rock along old highway 40 near donner pass, one can still see much evidence of this glacial action. She was well aware of my passion for donner pass, skiing, and the sp. Donner pass is a high mountain pass located in the sierra nevada mountain range, through which emigrants first traveled to california in 1844. Aug 18, 2016 with our alltime donner pass map from february 2015 in hand, i drove to colfax, where an eastbound stack train was climbing the grade at a leisurely pace. Discover donner pass summit tunnels in truckee, california. His description was first published as an article in a nashville, tn newspaper in the spring of 1847 and later in a book published in 1879. The donner pass region is at the crossroads of a nation, where native americans traveled for millennia, emigrant wagon trains made their way to california and where the country built its first transcontinental railroad and highway. At the summit, over 90 feet of snow falls annually.
Arguably donner pass is the most important square mile. Truckeedonner historical society was founded july 24, 1968 to preserve the history of the truckee donner area. Dana hunt conductor, naugatuck railroad thomaston, conn. The planning for the new truckee history railroad museum is underway. Donner pass and the snowsheds that have faded away. The transcontinental railroad connecting california with the eastern states was completed in 1869. Despite this, the route is a vital artery in ups system today between chicago and oakland, california. Postcards, posters, maps, and books about the human and natural history of the area are for sale at the museum.
November and december were mild, but in january things began to shift the pace and strength of storms seemed to increase, but only incrementally, and not really alarmingly. Judah, an accomplished engineer who surveyed a manageable grade through the sierranevada range running 115 miles from sacrament to the nevada state line. Donner pass is rich in human history from prehistoric times to today. Now, with donner pass, he has expanded his coverage of great mountain railroads in the west to include the grandfather of them all, sps sierra crossing. Ncngrr museum hosts book discussion and signing event yubanet. Apr 09, 2018 truckee became home to expansive locomotive facilities for helper locomotives on trains westbound over donner pass after the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Working for the sp, and sharing an interest in railroad history, has given the. Arguably donner pass is the most important square mile in california with many firsts. Americas first transcontinental railroad, which was finished may 10th, 1869, established an important train yard in downtown truckee. Rotary snowplow returns to donner pass cool video ice age now. Patrick breen was a member of the donner party and kept a diary of their ordeal during the winter of 184647. The best land under heaven is incredibly i picked it up in a bookstore in truckee in part because it was the staff pickif youre looking for a book on the donner party, the locals in an indie bookstore ought to know the contendersand because of those two, selfproclaimed selling points. Donner pass and the snowsheds that have faded away trains.
Promoted heavily by theodore judah, the engineer who plotted the donner pass route in 1860, central pacific held its first stockholders meeting in sacramento on april 30, 1861. It depicts the history of the area and the people who came into this part of the sierra, including local native americans, the donner party, and builders of the transcontinental railroad. Donner memorial state park, a california state park. For thousands of years people have been crossing the sierra at donner pass and have left behind evidence of their activities. The route over donner pass was originally the vision of theodore d. This volume presents all you ever wanted to know about southern pacifics rail passage over californias donner pass. As the donner party approached the summit of the sierra mountains near what is now donner lake known as truckee lake at the time they found the pass clogged with newfallen snow up to six feet deep. In the donner party tragedy, twothirds of the men in the party perished, while twothirds of the women and children lived. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating the bodies of. Nov 22, 2017 he noted that the donner pass opening through the sierra nevada has been used for centuries. The donner party hike is a weekend of fun interpretive hikes and talks sept. Winter weather wallops operations on donner pass trains.
The donner pass summit tunnel hike is one of the best hikes i have been on in a long time, if only because it is so historic and unique. Railroads of nevada county by andrew brandon arcadia. At the base of the eastern slope of donner pass, the railroad established a construction camp, now known as truckee, before following the truckee river to the nevada state line. Following that is a discussion of the historic shortlines which have served the golden state. The placersierra railroad heritage society psrhs was formed to preserve and protect the history of the donner pass route portion of the transcontinental railroad. History of truckee railroads since very early on, railroads have played a major part in the development of truckee. In 1846, a group of settlers from illinois, originally known as the donner reed party but now usually referred to as the donner party, became snowbound in early fall as a result of several trail mishaps, poor decisionmaking, and an early onset of winter that year. Rotary snowplow returns to donner pass cool video ice. The plow cut through snow that reached depths of feet, across 14 miles near the donner pass. The book starts with a history of the railroads of california starting with the central pacific. Oct, 2018 the donner pass summit tunnel hike is one of the best hikes i have been on in a long time, if only because it is so historic and unique. It took two months and four relief parties to rescue the entire surviving donner party.
The pass has served as a route through the sierras for thousands of years and was used as a migratory trail long before the donner partys fateful attempt. Southern pacific puts you at the controls of southern pacific diesels in the early1990s, taking trains between roseville, california and reno, nevada through the foothills of the sierra nevada and high up through the incredible 7,000foot donner pass. Preserving railroad history along the donner pass route. The northern pacific railroad, the sioux, and the panic of 1873 by m. The most difficult challenge in its construction was the crossing of the sierra over 7,056foot donner pass. While there were many who put great time, energy, and money into the venture his unyielding efforts in what he called his railroad central pacific laid the groundwork and firmly believed an acceptable route with manageable grades could be built through californias seemingly.
Donner pass summit tunnels truckee, california atlas obscura. The railroads first and second lines of defense against snowstorms flangers and spreaders were unable to keep the tracks clear due to the depth of snow walls, so the rotary was required to clear large amounts of snow in a timely manner. Ncngrr museum hosts book discussion and signing event. Apr 09, 2018 the central pacific railroad was the first railroad to enter nevada county as it constructed eastward in 1865. Please join us in our efforts and enjoy the website.
It continues to discuss the history of the big four railroads of california, the southern pacific, santa fe, union pacific, and western pacific. The donner party ordeal is arguably truckees most famous historical event. The central pacific railroad was the first railroad to enter nevada county as it constructed eastward in 1865. Truckeedonner historical society welcome to the truckee. This book i thought was very immformitive about the southern pacifics donner pass. Summit tunnel at donner pass, central pacific railroad, 1999. In 1846, a group of settlers from illinois, originally known as the donnerreed party but now usually referred to as the donner party, became snowbound in early fall as a result of several trail mishaps, poor decisionmaking, and an early onset of winter that year. It was october 28, 1846 and the sierra snows had started a month earlier than usual. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation and sickness. Besides maintaining the historic joseph research cabin the gateway cabin, the society is also responsible for operating the old jail museum which was built in 1875. Railroads of nevada county by andrew brandon arcadia publishing. Beaumont hill sps southern california gateway 1990. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 184647 snowbound in the sierra nevada mountain range.
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