Difference between revisions of "Butte and Plumas Railway"

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====Truckee Lumber Company====
====Truckee Lumber Company====
In 1906, in anticipation of exhausting its timber lands near Truckee, the [[Truckee Lumber Company]] purchased new timber land in Butte County using a subsidiary, the Merrimac Land and Lumber Company.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 30, 1906, page 1</ref> In 1907 it decided to move its operations to Oroville, California.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' May 22, 1907, page 1</ref> The plan was to use the soon to be constructed Western Pacific Railway to move logs to a sawmill in Oroville. A standard gauge branch connecting to the WP at French Creek would be constructed by the Truckee Lumber company to reach its timber holdings at Stanwood with a future extension to Merrimac, its major holdings. While the WP was under construction the Truckee Lumber Company made an oral argeement with the WP to carry the logs to the Oroville mill at a fix rate.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 18, 1909, page 5</ref> Based on this agreement the TLCo. began constructing, in July 1909, a large state-of-the-art steel building two-band mill in Oroville. The company also began surveying and grading for the standard gauge spur up French Creek; eventually spending over $250,000 on the railroad.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' July 28, 1909, page 1</ref><ref>''Marysville Daily Appeal'' January 27, 1911, page 7</ref> When the WP began operating trains between San Francisco and Oroville in March 1910<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' March 17, 1910, page 1</ref> the newly established operating department would not honor the oral agreement the TLCo. had made with the construction department.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 6, 1910, page 1</ref> The TLCo. refused to pay the higher rate and stopped construction of the standard gauge branch.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' April 27, 1910, page 1</ref>  
In 1889 W. H. Kruger, President of the [[Truckee Lumber Company]], purchased from the Central Pacific Railroad 5,879 acres of timber land in Butte County which became part of the 12,611 acre Merrimac Land and Lumber Company.<ref>''Oroville Register'' July 25, 1904, page 1</ref><ref>Oroville Daily Register May 22, 1907, page 1</ref> The plan was to use the expected transcontinental railroad through the Feather River canyon to move logs to a sawmill in Oroville.<ref>Marysville Daily Appeal April 25, 1889, page 1</ref> In 1907, when the Western Pacific was under construction, the TLCo. decided to move its operations to Oroville, California.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' May 22, 1907, page 1</ref> A standard gauge branch connecting to the WP at French Creek would be constructed by the Truckee Lumber company to reach its timber holdings at Stanwood with a future extension to Merrimac. While the WP was under construction the Truckee Lumber Company made an oral argeement with the WP to carry the logs to the Oroville mill at a fix rate.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 18, 1909, page 5</ref> Based on this agreement the TLCo. began constructing, in July 1909, a large state-of-the-art steel building two-band mill in Oroville. The company also began surveying and grading for the standard gauge spur up French Creek; eventually spending over $250,000 on the railroad.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' July 28, 1909, page 1</ref><ref>''Marysville Daily Appeal'' January 27, 1911, page 7</ref> When the WP began operating trains between San Francisco and Oroville in March 1910<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' March 17, 1910, page 1</ref> the newly established operating department would not honor the oral agreement the TLCo. had made with the construction department.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 6, 1910, page 1</ref> The TLCo. refused to pay the higher rate and stopped construction of the standard gauge branch.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' April 27, 1910, page 1</ref>


====Narrow Gauge Butte and Plumas Railway====
====Narrow Gauge Butte and Plumas Railway====
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The railroad and lumber mill operated until the close of season October 1911.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' October 2, 1911, page 1</ref> During the Fall a Royal Tourist automobile was converted into a track speeder.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' October 18, 1911, page 1</ref> A review of the first year's short season convinced some of the large stockholders that the lumber mill and railroad were bad investments.  The Truckee Lumber Company did not open the mill the following season and the mill and railroad were left idle after building only 23 miles of track never reaching its initial goal of Stanwood.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 23, 1917, page 1</ref>
The railroad and lumber mill operated until the close of season October 1911.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' October 2, 1911, page 1</ref> During the Fall a Royal Tourist automobile was converted into a track speeder.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' October 18, 1911, page 1</ref> A review of the first year's short season convinced some of the large stockholders that the lumber mill and railroad were bad investments.  The Truckee Lumber Company did not open the mill the following season and the mill and railroad were left idle after building only 23 miles of track never reaching its initial goal of Stanwood.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 23, 1917, page 1</ref>


====Westside Lumber Company Ownership====
====West Side Lumber Company Ownership====
The Westside Lumber Company purchased the controlling interest in the Truckee Lumber Company in August 1912.<ref>''Sacramento Daily Union'' August 20, 1912, page 9</ref> There was much speculation in the local press about the WSLCo. starting up the lumber mill. However, the company never resumed milling. The WSLCo. did exchange it's No. 1 Heisler for B&P's No. 4 Class C Shay. One could speculate that this was the entire reason for purchasing the TLCo. because 5 years later the WSLCo. sold the controlling interest to the Swayne Lumber Company without ever operating the mill or the railroad.<ref>''Sacramento Daily Union'' April 17, 1917, page 6</ref> Prior to the sale, the WSLCo. sold the timber that had been languishing in the mill pond for four years raising local speculation that they would soon open the mill.<ref>''Chico Record'' March 31, 1916, page 2</ref>   
The [[West Side Lumber Company]] purchased the controlling interest in the Truckee Lumber Company in August 1912.<ref>''Sacramento Daily Union'' August 20, 1912, page 9</ref> There was much speculation in the local press about the WSLCo. starting up the lumber mill. However, the company never resumed milling. The WSLCo. did exchange it's No. 1 Heisler for B&P's No. 4 Class C Shay. One could speculate that this was the entire reason for purchasing the TLCo. because 5 years later the WSLCo. sold the controlling interest to the Swayne Lumber Company without ever operating the mill or the railroad.<ref>''Sacramento Daily Union'' April 17, 1917, page 6</ref> Prior to the sale, the WSLCo. sold the timber that had been languishing in the mill pond for four years raising local speculation that they would soon open the mill.<ref>''Chico Record'' March 31, 1916, page 2</ref>   


====Swayne Lumber Company Ownership====
====Swayne Lumber Company Ownership====
In 1909, at the same time the Truckee Lumber Company was grading the spur up French Creek, the [[Swayne Lumber Company]] constructed its first mill nearby.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 9, 1909, page 1</ref> The mill was located 1800 feet above the Western Pacific Railway tracks just northwest of Stanwood. A 4,200 foot long incline was built to move cut lumber from the Swayne mill down to the Western Pacific tracks.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' February 24, 1910, page 4</ref> The SLCo. built a short 36 inch narrow gauge railroad between the top of the incline and the sawmill.<ref>''Chico Record'' November 19, 1909, page 3</ref> The railroad was extended north into Swayne timber lands where the timber was logged and brought to the mill by a Class B shay built in June 1911. Expansions of the track and mill occurred periodically until disaster struck on October 24, 1916 when the mill burned to the ground.<ref>''Chico Record'' October 26, 1916, page 4</ref>
In 1909, at the same time the Truckee Lumber Company was grading the spur up French Creek, the [[Swayne Lumber Company]] constructed its first mill nearby.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' June 9, 1909, page 1</ref> The mill was located 1800 feet above the Western Pacific Railway tracks just northwest of Stanwood. A 4,200 foot long incline was built to move cut lumber from the Swayne mill down to the Western Pacific tracks.<ref>''Oroville Daily Register'' February 24, 1910, page 4</ref> The SLCo. built a short 36 inch narrow gauge railroad between the top of the incline and the sawmill.<ref>''Chico Record'' November 19, 1909, page 3</ref> The railroad was extended north into Swayne timber lands where the timber was logged and brought to the mill by a Class B shay built in June 1911. Expansions of the track and mill occurred periodically until disaster struck on October 24, 1916 when the mill burned to the ground.<ref>''Chico Record'' October 26, 1916, page 4</ref>


Initially the newspapers reported the mill was to be rebuilt. Instead, the controlling interest in the idle ex-Truckee/Westside mill in Oroville was purchased by the Swayne Lumber Company along with the Butte and Plumas Railroad and the extensive Truckee Lumber Co. timber lands.<ref>''Chico Record'' April 11, 1917, page 3</ref> The Truckee Lumber Company and the Butte and Plumas Railway both continued as subsidaries of the Swayne Lumber Company. The Southern Pacific Railroad's $400,000 mortgage on the B&P was changed to a $250,000 promissory note.<ref>''Sacramento Daily Union'' August 30, 1917, page 5</ref>  
Initially the newspapers reported the mill was to be rebuilt. Instead, the controlling interest in the idle ex-Truckee/West Side mill in Oroville was purchased by the Swayne Lumber Company along with the Butte and Plumas Railroad and the extensive Truckee Lumber Co. timber lands.<ref>''Chico Record'' April 11, 1917, page 3</ref> The Truckee Lumber Company and the Butte and Plumas Railway both continued as subsidaries of the Swayne Lumber Company. The Southern Pacific Railroad's $400,000 mortgage on the B&P was changed to a $250,000 promissory note.<ref>''Sacramento Daily Union'' August 30, 1917, page 5</ref>  


The original SLCo. mill site and incline were abandoned as the focus of logging shifted to the Butte and Plumas Railway.
The original SLCo. mill site and incline were abandoned as the focus of logging shifted to the Butte and Plumas Railway.

Latest revision as of 21:29, 17 January 2024

California / Logging / Butte and Plumas Railway

By John F. Hall.

History

Standard Gauge

The 36 inch gauge Butte and Plumas Railway, incorporated 1910, is not to be confused with the standard gauge Butte and Plumas Railway incorporated in 1902[1]. The standard gauge railroad was a paper railroad with a surveyed and partially graded right of way that was a front for the future Western Pacific Railway up the North Fork of the Feather River between Oroville and Big Meadow (Lake Almanor).[2] The assets of the standard gauge Butte and Plumas Railway company were transferred to the Western Pacific Railway in 1905.[3] The Butte and Plumas Railway Company was then dissolved by court order in 1906.[4] However, in 1910, the Western Pacific Railway played an important part in the incorporation of the narrow gauge Butte and Plumas Railway.

Truckee Lumber Company

In 1889 W. H. Kruger, President of the Truckee Lumber Company, purchased from the Central Pacific Railroad 5,879 acres of timber land in Butte County which became part of the 12,611 acre Merrimac Land and Lumber Company.[5][6] The plan was to use the expected transcontinental railroad through the Feather River canyon to move logs to a sawmill in Oroville.[7] In 1907, when the Western Pacific was under construction, the TLCo. decided to move its operations to Oroville, California.[8] A standard gauge branch connecting to the WP at French Creek would be constructed by the Truckee Lumber company to reach its timber holdings at Stanwood with a future extension to Merrimac. While the WP was under construction the Truckee Lumber Company made an oral argeement with the WP to carry the logs to the Oroville mill at a fix rate.[9] Based on this agreement the TLCo. began constructing, in July 1909, a large state-of-the-art steel building two-band mill in Oroville. The company also began surveying and grading for the standard gauge spur up French Creek; eventually spending over $250,000 on the railroad.[10][11] When the WP began operating trains between San Francisco and Oroville in March 1910[12] the newly established operating department would not honor the oral agreement the TLCo. had made with the construction department.[13] The TLCo. refused to pay the higher rate and stopped construction of the standard gauge branch.[14]

Narrow Gauge Butte and Plumas Railway

Butte and Plumas Railway GE Map.jpg Before its move from Truckee to Oroville, the TLCo. had purchased the narrow gauge assets of the Donner & Tahoe Railroad including three narrow gauge locomotives and rail. The Truckee Lumber Company decided to build and operate its own narrow gauge railroad. The narrow gauge Butte and Plumas Railway was incorporated in June 1910 for a railroad between Oroville and Stanwood, approximately 30 miles.[15]

The TLCo.’s Oroville Mill was completed in December 1910.[16] Meanwhile construction began on the the new Butte and Plumas Railway. The railroad took a completely different route between Oroville and Stanwood. It was necessary to work its way up the mountains, over ridges, and down into valleys to get there. By April 1911 the railroad was completed into Truckee Lumber Company timber lands near Berry Creek, 23 miles from Oroville.[17] The Oroville mill began cutting logs carried by the Butte and Plumas Railway.

After an unsuccessful negotiation between the WP and B&P over the cost of the standard gauge spur the TLCo. sued the WP for the amount of money paid to contractors to grade the standard gauge spur up French Creek.[18] The suit was not successful. The TLCo. needed cash to build its narrow gauge railroad. The company decided to issue $400,000 in bonds. The Southern Pacific agreed to guarantee those bonds in trade for exclusive shipping of lumber from the TLCo. mill to market; thereby cutting the WP out of the picture. However that guarantee came at the cost of a mortgage on the B&P of $400,000.[19]

The two Baldwin 0-6-0T locomotives from the D&T where not good enough for the steep grades of mountain work. A Class B shay was delivered from Lima in July 1911.[20] A month later a Class C shay was delivered.[21] One hundred narrow gauge cars arrived in July.[22]

The railroad and lumber mill operated until the close of season October 1911.[23] During the Fall a Royal Tourist automobile was converted into a track speeder.[24] A review of the first year's short season convinced some of the large stockholders that the lumber mill and railroad were bad investments. The Truckee Lumber Company did not open the mill the following season and the mill and railroad were left idle after building only 23 miles of track never reaching its initial goal of Stanwood.[25]

West Side Lumber Company Ownership

The West Side Lumber Company purchased the controlling interest in the Truckee Lumber Company in August 1912.[26] There was much speculation in the local press about the WSLCo. starting up the lumber mill. However, the company never resumed milling. The WSLCo. did exchange it's No. 1 Heisler for B&P's No. 4 Class C Shay. One could speculate that this was the entire reason for purchasing the TLCo. because 5 years later the WSLCo. sold the controlling interest to the Swayne Lumber Company without ever operating the mill or the railroad.[27] Prior to the sale, the WSLCo. sold the timber that had been languishing in the mill pond for four years raising local speculation that they would soon open the mill.[28]

Swayne Lumber Company Ownership

In 1909, at the same time the Truckee Lumber Company was grading the spur up French Creek, the Swayne Lumber Company constructed its first mill nearby.[29] The mill was located 1800 feet above the Western Pacific Railway tracks just northwest of Stanwood. A 4,200 foot long incline was built to move cut lumber from the Swayne mill down to the Western Pacific tracks.[30] The SLCo. built a short 36 inch narrow gauge railroad between the top of the incline and the sawmill.[31] The railroad was extended north into Swayne timber lands where the timber was logged and brought to the mill by a Class B shay built in June 1911. Expansions of the track and mill occurred periodically until disaster struck on October 24, 1916 when the mill burned to the ground.[32]

Initially the newspapers reported the mill was to be rebuilt. Instead, the controlling interest in the idle ex-Truckee/West Side mill in Oroville was purchased by the Swayne Lumber Company along with the Butte and Plumas Railroad and the extensive Truckee Lumber Co. timber lands.[33] The Truckee Lumber Company and the Butte and Plumas Railway both continued as subsidaries of the Swayne Lumber Company. The Southern Pacific Railroad's $400,000 mortgage on the B&P was changed to a $250,000 promissory note.[34]

The original SLCo. mill site and incline were abandoned as the focus of logging shifted to the Butte and Plumas Railway. Swayne combined its locomotives with the locomotives of the B&P and renumbered the fleet. New Seattle Car & Foundry logging cars were purchased and the B&P was rehabilitated, including rebuilding the grade and track near Oroville where the El Oro gold dredger had disrupted the roadbed dredging for gold while the B&P was idle.[35][36] In August 1917 extension of the B&P to Merrimac was begun.[37] Future extensions and spurs were built to access the extensive timber lands eventually creating a railroad of 63 miles of mainline, 6 miles of other track, 9 locomotives, and 135 cars.[38]

In 1938 the Great Depression and the advent of inexpensive steel frame windows and cardboard boxes reduced the demand for Sugar Pine and Yellow Pine, the forest's prime timbers. This reduction affected the SLCo.'s revenue so that it could not cover expenses. The SLCo. suspended operations in March 1939.[39] In November 1939 the SLCo. deeded the Butte and Plumas Railway to the Southern Pacific to satisfy the 1917 $250,000 promissory note.[40] The promissory note was a conversion of the mortgage that guarenteed the TLCo. bonds used for the original construction of the narrow gauge Butte and Plumas Railway after the company's initial funds were spent on the failed standard gauge spur up French Creek. Both the beginning and end of the narrow gauge B&P were due in part to the Western Pacific Railway not living up to it's oral contract with the TLCo. for freight tarrifs to carry logs to the Oroville mill. Thus ended the Butte and Plumas Railway.

Over the next two years the Southern Pacific sold off as much as possible then scrapped the remaining portions of the railroad. The Oroville mill was dismantled in March 1941 with the machinery sent to Jackson for use in the Amador Lumber Company's new mill.[41]

References

  1. ↑ Oroville Weekly Mercury October 31, 1902, page 3
  2. ↑ Map - Butte and Plumas Ry Projected Line, August 1904
  3. ↑ San Francisco Call June 11, 1905, page 39
  4. ↑ Butte and Plumas Railway Stock Certificate No. 7 Cancelled with written dissolution notice.
  5. ↑ Oroville Register July 25, 1904, page 1
  6. ↑ Oroville Daily Register May 22, 1907, page 1
  7. ↑ Marysville Daily Appeal April 25, 1889, page 1
  8. ↑ Oroville Daily Register May 22, 1907, page 1
  9. ↑ Oroville Daily Register June 18, 1909, page 5
  10. ↑ Oroville Daily Register July 28, 1909, page 1
  11. ↑ Marysville Daily Appeal January 27, 1911, page 7
  12. ↑ Oroville Daily Register March 17, 1910, page 1
  13. ↑ Oroville Daily Register June 6, 1910, page 1
  14. ↑ Oroville Daily Register April 27, 1910, page 1
  15. ↑ Oroville Daily Register June 6, 1910, page 1
  16. ↑ Sacramento Daily Union December 24, 1910, page 7
  17. ↑ Oroville Daily Register April 19, 1911, page 1
  18. ↑ Sacramento Daily Union January 22, 1911, page 25
  19. ↑ Oroville Daily Register July 13, 1910, page 1
  20. ↑ Oroville Daily Register July 20, 1911, page 1
  21. ↑ Oroville Daily Register August 11, 1911, page 4
  22. ↑ Oroville Daily Register June 22, 1911, page 1
  23. ↑ Oroville Daily Register October 2, 1911, page 1
  24. ↑ Oroville Daily Register October 18, 1911, page 1
  25. ↑ Oroville Daily Register June 23, 1917, page 1
  26. ↑ Sacramento Daily Union August 20, 1912, page 9
  27. ↑ Sacramento Daily Union April 17, 1917, page 6
  28. ↑ Chico Record March 31, 1916, page 2
  29. ↑ Oroville Daily Register June 9, 1909, page 1
  30. ↑ Oroville Daily Register February 24, 1910, page 4
  31. ↑ Chico Record November 19, 1909, page 3
  32. ↑ Chico Record October 26, 1916, page 4
  33. ↑ Chico Record April 11, 1917, page 3
  34. ↑ Sacramento Daily Union August 30, 1917, page 5
  35. ↑ Oroville Daily Register June 23, 1917, page 1
  36. ↑ Chico Record April 12, 1917, page 3
  37. ↑ Chico Record August 16, 1917, page 3
  38. ↑ Oroville Mercury Register November 30, 1939, page 1
  39. ↑ Oroville Mercury Register March 9, 1939, page 1
  40. ↑ Oroville Mercury Register November 30, 1939, page 1
  41. ↑ Oroville Mercury Register March 25, 1941, page 6

Reference Material Available Online

Equipment Rosters

Butte and Plumas Railway Locomotive Roster


Photographs

  • Swayne Lumber No. 3 in Oroville

  • Swayne Lumber No. 6 in Oroville

Maps

Further Reading

Beckstrom, Paul & Braun David W. The Swayne Lumber Company Pacific Fast Mail Edmonds WA 1992.

California / Logging / Butte and Plumas Railway

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