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2009 Truckee Trestle Tour
The Truckee Trestle Tour for 2008 was a resounding success! The weather cooperated and the group spent the day chasing grade and admiring trestles. The 2009 tour is scheduled for August 1st. See the details below. Venue:The Truckee Donner Railroad Society invites YOU to join us on a tour of Logging Railroad Trestles north of Truckee. We will visit logging railroad routes, roadbeds, and trestle locations of: the Truckee Lumber Co., Crown Willamette Paper Co., Hobart Estates [Sierra Nevada Wood Lumber Co.], Boca and Loyalton Railway [later Clover Valley Lumber Co.], and Verdi Lumber Co, time permitting. When:August 1st, 2009 Where:Meet at the Truckee Chamber of Commerce in the old train depot in downtown Truckee. Preparation:1. Secure a current copy of the USFS's TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST MAP 2. Suggested Reading, for greater enjoyment of the Tour: Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California, Volume I
3. We recommend hiking gear; good boots or hiking shoes are a must. This is a backwoods adventure, so come dressed comfortably and prepared for an expedition. It might be warm, dusty, and perhaps thundershowery. We will hike a couple of miles [broken into smaller segments]. The trip will involve travel on 40-50 miles of paved highway, USFS system roads, some rather doubtful 4-wheel-drive trails, and old railroad roadbed. If your vehicle won't make it on 4WD roads, don't worry, there are usually plenty of people to carpool with. Please bring whatever food and drink you'd like to have for lunch and a long afternoon---there will be no fast food available on this tour. Cameras are recommended. Cell phones are allowed, and may even become useful for regrouping after we leave Truckee. 4. This tour usually takes from 5-7 hours, depending on road and trail conditions, questions, photo opportunities, debates, wildflowers, wildlife, serendipitous finds, etc., and has never been the same twice. We will never be more than 30 miles from Truckee, so escape is possible if/when boredom/fatigue sets in. Cost:For Truckee Donner Railroad Society members the tour is free. Life Membership is $250 or $25 for an Annual membership. For nonmembers, donations are encouraged but not required. All proceeds collected go toward the development of the Truckee Railroad Museum.
Below: Site of an old engine house of the narrow gauge Hobart RR in Sardine Valley. The Hobart used grade and sometimes ties from the abandoned Boca and Loyalton RR. This engine house is a spur off of such a grade. Below: Abandoned Boca and Loyalton railroad line on Stampede Dam Road between Stampede Reservoir and Boca Reservoir. There used to be a plaque in the valley marking the route of the Donner Party through this valley as well. Below: Hobart Estate RR ran from Truckee to Hobart Mills (about 7 miles away). It was a standard gauge railroad that connected the mills to the Southern Pacific Railroad lines in downtown Truckee. TDRS has its rolling stock parked in Truckee on the only remaining piece of track from that line. A 1000 foot trestle crossed Prosser Creek just south of here. This area is now covered by water in the winter since the building of Prosser Dam in 1959 to 1962. Below: Part of the tour group in 2006. Tour leader, Nelson Van Gundy, is on the right. For more information: Call Truckee Donner Railroad Society Historian and Tour Coordinator, Nelson Van Gundy: Cell 530-386-0638; Home 530-587-1165. |