WESTERN PACIFIC J1!!~~p.,~Sls Milepost No. 28 Vol. III, No. 4 NOVEMBER, 1951 Department of Public Relations WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD RENO BRANCH SACRAMENTO NORTHERN RAILWAY TIDEWATER SOUTHERN RAILWAY 526 Mission Street, San Francisco 5 Reno, Nevada, the "Biggest Little neither stock, bonds, nor debt, and all Lee "Flash" Sherwood, Editor Arthur Lloyd, Jr., Associate Editor City in the World," is better known expenses were paid monthly in cash. Member American Railway Magazine Editors' Association Member Northern California Industrial Editors' Association for its gambling palaces and marital A 50-mile extension was built from couplings and un couplings than as an Honey Lake to Madelain Plain, Cali­ industrial center. Behind all its glam­ fornia. The extended road was incor­ CONTENTS our and clinking of silver dollars, how­ porated March 31,1888, as the Nevada ­ Page ever, Reno is much like any other California-Oregon Railway (referred 3-8 Reno Branch American city. Situated in the Washoe to by many as the "Narrow, Crooked 9,10 WP Will Remember Valley at the eastern base of the Sierra and Ornery"). Later, the road from 10 Nevada and divided by the Truckee Madelain (formerly Madelain Plain) Flaming Youth . 11 River, it is a place of many fine homes, to Likely, California, was built, ex­ Mileposts in Gold 12,13 stores and hotels, the beautiful Uni­ tended to Alturas, California, and In Memoriam 13,14 versity of Nevada, growing industries finally on to Lakeview, Oregon, in In the Armed Forces and friendly people. J anuary of 1912. 15 "Oscars" For industrial development, a city 16, 17 In 1900, a branch line had been built The Last Gold Spike requires good transportation, and from Plumas Junction to Mohawk, 17 New Home for SN . Western Pacific has been able to con­ California, and this was named the W P - Forest Service Dinner 18 tribute greatly to Reno's needs through Sierra Valleys Railway Company. 19-28, 30 Caboosing its 33-mile Reno Branch, which con­ Towns on this line from east to west 29, 30 nects with the main line at Reno Junc­ Sports were Plumas Junction, Chilcoot, Vin­ tion. The history of this link goes back Business Education Day 31 ton, Beckwith, Band Mill, N & R Mill, 31 many years. Clairville, and Mohawk. From Mo­ Pacific Railway Club Way back in 1882, the Nevada and Railroad Lines 32 hawk tracks spread all over the woods Oregon Railroad Company put into in a 10-mile area to serve the logging operation its 70-mile line from Reno CORRESPONDENTS : Jim Baker, Chicago; Nevada Michelson, Elko ; Elsie Hagen, Keddie ; Robert operations then in full swing. Munce, Jr., Los Angeles; Alan Hudson, New York; Hazel Petersen, Oakland ; At Coady. Oakland Ter­ to Liegan (near Honey Lake), Cali­ minal; Helen Small, Oro",:il1e; Phyllis R?ckwel1! Portola j C\Jrjsse Doherty. Sacramento; Madge Slaught­ When the Western Pacific was built ner, Sacramento Mechamcal Dept. j Mllton Ziehn, Sacramento Northern; Marcella, Kahl,. Sacramento fornia. The road did not prosper and Shops' Irene Burton, Sacramento Store; Bob Gonsalves, J. C. Parker, Salt Lake ~Ity ; Rlta Connolly, (1905-1908) , some of the Sierra Val­ Molly'Fagan Lawrence Gerring, Jim Mills, Maurice Notter, Carl Rath, Dudley Thlcke~s, Frank Tufo, was sold under foreclosure to the note San Francisc~; Charles H . Myers, San Jose; Virginia Rustan, Stocktonj Dora Monroe, Tldewater South- holders in 1884. Now owned by a pri­ leys Railway was purchased by it and ern; Shir~y Lee, Wendover. vate concern, Moran Bros., there was the remainder was rechristened Sierra ~7 2 M I LEP OSTS MILE POSTS 3 r 0 :;; '" o > ~~I '"w = z WP's new line straightened out many NCO curves. fornia. The Reno Branch, between in operation between the rails of the Mile Posts 0.00 and 3.25, was entirely standard gauge roadbed, and it was new location, as was the stretch be­ not until 1918 that the narrow gauge tween Mile Posts 11.0 and 25.32. Be­ rails were removed. tween Mile Posts 3.25 and 11.00, and Passenger service was started over between Mile Posts 25.00 and 33.00, the new branch line on Monday, Feb­ the track was widened out from nar­ ruary 4, 1918. According to the time­ row to standard gauge. However, dur­ table, operation was to have started on ing construction the narrow gauge was Sunday, but final details of construc- NCO's narrow gauge tracks ran between new standard gauge rails. Photos on this page from collection of A. A. Kramm, assistant engineer. "Gus" was in charge of the Reno Branch construction. TRUCKEE .: ;i ~ @CARSON CITY • MARYSVILLE ~\ \f( L ali:e Tahoe & Mohawk Railway. On J anuary 1, Junction and Hackstaff by WP and 1915, that line was merged with the sold for scrap during World War I. Nevada -California - Oregon Railway. The line from Plumas Junction to In 1917, the N -c-o - tracks, land Reno was rebuilt as the Western Pa­ and buildings - between Reno and cific Reno Branch. Grading began in Hackstaff (now Herlong) was pur­ June 1917 and was completed in De­ chased by Western Pacific, including cember of that year by the Utah Con­ what tracks were left of the old Sierra struction Company. The actual con­ Valleys Railway. The rail on the nection with WP's main line was at N-C-O was removed between Plumas Rainbow (now Reno Junction), Cali- 4 MILEPOSTS MILEPOSTS 5 The Reno local heads for Portola after circling the Vaughn Tract and stops near Peavine to pick up a load of logs. WP's staff at Reno includes, front row, left to right: Raymond S. Davis, general clerk; Ervin A. Webb, chief clerk ; Frank M . Rowe, general agent; Martin H. Buckley, agent; Frank E. Bedient, traffic repre­ service substituted. Later this was dis­ n ess of millworking, sash and door sentative. Back row, from left: C. C. Duck, tra ffic representative, Elko; John Elkins, cashier; Edna Stackhouse, operator; Phillip Hazlett, warehouseman. continued for the present freight only manufacturing, prefabricated h omes, service, which operates daily except warehousing and distributioJ;l, and a tion had not been completed, necessi­ Connections were made at Reno Sunday between Reno and P ortola. sausage factory. A Western Pacific tating a one-day delay. Junction with WP's eastbound "P a ­ Until a few years ago, there was drill track has been constructed from Consisting of a combination baggage, cific Express" at 9: 05 a. m ., and the little industr ial activity along the Reno which these industries are served by mail and express car and one combi­ local retu rned to Reno, arriving on Branch. During recent years, how­ spurs. Adjacent to the Vaughn Tract, nation day coach and smoking car, the schedule at 10: 35 a. m. D eparting ever, th ere h as been considerable de­ another industrial area is now under train pulled out of Reno station at 7: 00 again from Reno on the 33-mile trip at velopment along th e line, particularly development by C. J . Catron , which a . m . with Engineer Mor iarity at the 4: 25 p. m ., the local connected with the just north of Reno in what is known will also be served by Western Pacific. controls and Fireman Rutherford westbound "Pacific Express" and re­ as the Vaughn Tract. Many industries With the national trend toward de­ working the boilers. Conductor Cor­ turned to Reno at 7:45 p. m . No con­ have located in this n ew industrial dis­ centralization of industry, an increas­ r igan collected fares from the passen­ n ections were made with the "S cenic trict, including those en gaged in busi- ing interest is being shown by indus- gers and, with the assistance of Brake­ Limited." Air view of the Vaughn Tract showing : ( 1) Sanford Tractor Co.; (2) Beacon Distributing Co. ; (3) Fra­ man Bryden , look ed after their com­ Regular passenger trains were dis­ tex Co. ; ( 4) Vaughn Millwork Co.; (5) Nevada Air Products ; (6) E. R. Johnson Box Co.; (7) w. S. fort. continued in 1932 and a mixed train W atkins Mill N o.2. Original Reno station of the narrow gauge. From th e collection of David Myrick. 1951 as it did for the entire year 1950, and with the present trend of business WP WILL REMEMBER from that area, total carloads for the year 1951 should be well above the "When a man devotes his life to an On hand at the conclusion of his last 1950 figure. industry he has truly paid that indus­ shift were his wife, Mamie, and grand­ The Vaughn Millwork Company, try the greatest compliment possible." son, Tommy Young. Members of the whose annual payroll of over $1 mil­ Now retired, after serving Western B. of L. F. & E. and their auxiliary hon­ lion includes an average of 260 men Pacific well, are: ored the Mullens with a dinner on and women the year round, is the Harold A . Chalmers, conductor, Sac­ October 26. largest individual source of traffic on ramento Northern, Stockton. Fond of hunting and fishing, Harvey the Reno Branch. Petroleum products, Charles E. Gaffney, switchman, Oro­ plans to spend much of his time doing coal, food products, autos, scrap, liquor, ville. just that and enjoying life in his cot­ tage at Aukum, EI Dorado County. building materials, etc., are also Ma?'vin V. Hickman, agent-telegra­ handled in sizeable volume. The Reno pher, Hayward. yard is spacious and offers excellent Serapio C. Lemos, section laborer, team track facilities, including a 20- Oakland. ton electric crane, six-car capacity Martin F.