Down to the Wire at the City Limit

Birney 62 poses for railfans with the Sutter Buttes and a Diamond Walnuts’ packing plant in view during the May 19, 1957 BAERA-sponsored excursion. The northwest view includes the grade crossing at Clark Ave., and the end of overhead wire a short distance up the line indicated by the leaning pole to the right of the track. This area had been called Gomez in earlier Northern Electric timetables. The Sutter Buttes appears in the background, and will be seen in the northwest views to follow.

L309-05-Vic Dubrutz Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 175919sn, (Image 1 of 33)

The odd shaped western border of Yuba City in 1960 was such that it receded abruptly to the east along the Sacramento Northern, SN, right-of-way back to Gray Ave. Ref: G4364 Y8 1960 S8 Case D copy

L309-10-Courtesy Earth Sciences and Map Library, University of California, Berkeley, (Image 2 of 33)

Turning the clock back to the final day of streetcar service in Marysville-Yuba City, Feb. 15, 1942, a northwest view of Birney 70 just short of the Clark Ave. grade crossing presents a very different picture.  Although still showing the end of overhead wire, a city limit sign is now present, as is the beginning of a third-rail. Note the siding to the north with Western Pacific, WP gondola cars and the crane, but the building later housing Diamond Walnuts has not been built yet.

L309-15-Louis Bradas, Jr. Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 69144sn, (Image 3 of 33)

The earliest photo with the City Limit sign was taken on the last day of passenger service in the north end, Oct. 27, 1940. Here the Cooper Ave.-Clark Ave. interval is seen in the same northwest view with SN 109 heading west to Colusa.

L309-17-Ted Wurm Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 223049sn, (Image 4 of 33)

Each of the north-oriented aerials show Cooper Ave., Clark Ave. and Gray Ave. as the north-south roads with grade crossings across the SN, right to left, respectively. By 1957, there was a large increase in industry north of the right-of-way, and an increase south of the right-of-way by 1969.

L309-20-Courtesy of UC Santa Barbara Library Geospatial Collection, l to r, c-7490_455, cas-1957_yuba_city, cas-2579_1-12, (Image 5 of 33)

This north view down Clark Ave. with Birney 70 on Feb. 15, 1942 matches fairly well with the previous aerial from 1941, showing little growth along this road north of the right-of-way.

L309-25-Wilbur C. Whittaker Photo, Vielbaum Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 132741sn, (Image 6 of 33)

This head-on northwest view of Birney 70, also from Feb. 15, 1942, displays the third rail and the end of overhead wire in the distance.

L309-30-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 199093sn, (Image 7 of 33)

This final northwest view of Birney 70 at Clark Ave. and the city limit from Feb. 15, 1942 reveals a few other warehouse structures south of the right-of-way, seen along the left margin.

L309-35-Sappers, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 125315sn, (Image 8 of 33)

The Western Pacific, WP, Circular No. 167-E ca. 1957 provides a few industries for which there is no corroborative evidence from ground-based images, but the listing addresses can be matched up against aerial images. The Sunsweet plant at 909 Spiva Ave. was discussed in the B St. update. The businesses boxed in red should be present in aerial images at Paloro, while Harter Packing Co. should be visible in aerials of the area known as Harter.

L309-40-Courtesy Bruce Eldridge, (Image 9 of 33)

Now to May 18, 1957, Birney 62 sits one pole short of the end of overhead wire in this southeast view during the BAERA-sponsored excursion. The location is confirmed by the  combination of the trees on the south side of the tracks as seen in the previous 1957 aerial, and the periodic elongated railroad ties on the north side of the tracks that had once supported the third rail.

L309-45-Walt Vielbaum Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 133526sn, (Image 10 of 33)

Same place and southeast view as the previous image, this time with SN 1005 on excursion on Apr. 14, 1964.

L309-50-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 144269sn, (Image 11 of 33)

The Diamond Walnuts packing plant between Clark Ave. and Gray Ave. is featured in this northwest view of Birney 62 on the second day of its excursion tour, May 19, 1957. It is not listed as a SN customer in the Western Pacific Circular shown previously. The previous images from 1942 show a siding to the north of the main line, but in this image the presence of a switch from the main line is equivocal.

L309-55-Vic Dubrutz Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 175918sn, (Image 12 of 33)

This northwest view of Birney 62 on the first day of its excursion tour, May 18, 1957 shows the building housing Sunsweet on the left or south of the tracks, and a lumber facility just west of the walnut packing plant on the north side. In this image, switch tracks emanating from the mainline to both sides of the track are now apparent.

L309-60-Addison Laflin Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 172993sn, (Image 13 of 33)

To add some color to the conversation, same scene, northwest view between Clark Ave. and Gray Ave. and the end of the overhead wire, this time with British Columbia Electric Railway, BCER 1225, on display on June 14, 1958. Finally, a clear view of the two switches and the two sidings to either side of the mainline.

L309-65-Ernest Haas Photo, Moreau Coll., Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 14 of 33)

One year later, May 3, 1959, the northwest view of Muni 178 shows the switches feeding the sidings on either side of the mainline, and a bonus, two railcars on the siding to the north by the lumber yard.

L309-70-McDonald Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 217835sn, (Image 15 of 33)

It would be hard to leave this subject without at least one Richard Kampa color shot, this a northwest view of Birney 62 on excursion, May 19, 1957.

L309-75-Richard Kampa Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 163105sn, (Image 16 of 33)

All the findings reviewed in the ground shots are summarized in this southeast view of the area designated as Gomez from Mar. 24, 1965. The red arrow points to the leaning pole on the north side of the tracks indicating the end of overhead wire. The green arrow points to the spur that served the lumber operation; it is unclear if track continues to the walnut plant. The yellow arrow points to the plant occupied until about this time by Sunsweet.

L309-80-Copyright California Department of Transportation, C1422-1, detail, (Image 17 of 33)

There is no evidence for any SN business west of Gary Ave. until approaching the Colusa Highway, at that time part of Highway 20 and Highway 15. The southeast view on the left and the detail on the right from Mar. 24, 1965 show multiple tracks forming by the business making pipes, most likely Valley Concrete and Pipe Co. as listed on the WP Circular shown previously.

L309-85-Copyright California Department of Transportation, C1422-1, detail, (Image 18 of 33)

The SN called this location Paloro as indicated in the WP Circular. When the Northern Electric was in operation, there was a station in its place called Tharp, Tharp Rd. being one block west of the ex-site of Paloro in 2024. No images of Paloro from the electric era could be found, and appreciation to photojournalist Ted Benson for sharing his images of this place taken on Sept. 18, 1973 to document its existence as a SN station.

L309-90-Ted Benson Photos, Courtesy Ted Benson, (Image 19 of 33)

Now for more history about the SN customers in Paloro. This southwest view of the approach south of and at Paloro from Jan. 14, 1953 is consistent with O. F. Chiles Co., makers of petroleum products, listed as a SN customer in the WP Circular shown previously.

L309-95-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 2866-1, (Image 20 of 33)

A closer look at the entire right-of-way seen in the previous southwest view of the approach south of and at Paloro from  Jan. 14, 1953.

L309-100-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 2866-1, (Image 21 of 33)

Comparison of two northwest directed aerials from Jan. 14, 1953, left, and Mar. 7, 1958, right, respectively, reveals the growth of the Paloro area during this time interval. Note how the Colusa Highway, at this time Highways 15-20, transitions from a four-lane road from the east to a two-lane road after it passes Onstott Rd.-State Highway Alternate 40, in 2024 known as the Golden State Highway, or Highway 99. The tall tanks marked by the green arrows in both images will be explained next.

L309-105-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 2866-4, l, 5885-4, r, (Image 22 of 33)

A closer look at the Paloro area from the northwest directed aerial from Mar. 7, 1958 shows a sign on the large warehouse, orange row, indicating the Palora Warehouse Co., consistent with the WP Circular listing except for the last letter in the name. The green arrow points to Texaco, marked in the previous image, and also present in the listing by its formal name, the Texas Co. That document also indicates that both that the warehouse and the Valley Concrete and Pipe Co. utilized a team track at this site.

L309-110-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 5885-4 Mar. 7, 1958, (Image 23 of 33)

The WP Circular lists Paloro as having a significantly large team track, left. The drawings from Mar. 8, 1968 shown in the center and right panels show the addition of businesses to this area just after the end of the electric era. Consistent with these findings, aerial views starting in 1968 show that the Valley Concrete and Pipe Co. had vacated the area by that time.

L309-115-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 39516sn, (Image 24 of 33)

The widening of the Colusa Highway to four lanes further west past the SN grade crossing is confirmed in this document from Apr. 1964. The document confirms the Paloro Warehouse Co. and Texaco, although this drawing documents the area and the company as Palora as noted in L309-110. In 2024, the road in this area is called Palora. This is not the first example of a stop named by the SN differing in spelling versus the local spelling (for another example, the SNs “Raliez” versus “Reliez”.)

L309-120-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 39513sn Apr. 1964, (Image 25 of 33)

This vertical aerial from Jan. 28, 1970 shows the team track arrangement, just falling short of showing the single siding to Texaco to the west. Not the absence of concrete pipes in the area as discussed earlier.

L309-125-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 16467-1, (Image 26 of 33)

Last up is a place the SN called Harter, that is still identified as Harter by the road that passes through it in 2024. The left panel shows an additional separate listing of the Harter Packing Co. from the previous one for Yuba City from the WP Circular. The drawing to the right is anther one from Apr. 1964 showing the planned widening of the Colusa Highway at the SN crossing, but it also indicates two spurs or sidings in the Harter area.

L309-130-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 39513 Apr. 1964 copy, (Image 27 of 33)

The vertical area to the left from July 23, 1968 has the SN Harter area boxed in red, the latter enlarged on the right. The two orange arrows mark two spurs corresponding to at least one for Harter Packing, and a second one added to it or another business added after the ca. 1957 WP Circular. More research needed for that time period.

L309-135-Courtesy of UC Santa Barbara Library Geospatial Collection, cas-sut-2365_165, (Image 28 of 33)

This southeast view of SN 109 at Harter from ca. 1940 speaks for itself. Harter Tomato Co. was the last big customer in Yuba City for what was then the Union Pacific, the UP, when it and its 600 plus carloads per year shut down at the end of 2002.

L309-137-Bert H. Ward Photo, Harrison Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 223036sn, (Image 29 of 33)

As for ground images at Harter during the SN electric era, three were found. The best one is one by Bert Ward that is present on p. 89 in Jim Harrison’s “SN” for which a copy of a print or negative was not found. The 1938 image shown here by Paul Smith has SN 109 with a caboose seemingly in tow. In 2003, only one carload, to Colusa Tractor, was moved along the 3.39 miles between the Feather River and Harter Rd. See this article for more … https://www.appeal-democrat.com/union-pacific-drops-line/article_cf91e296-3e82-535f-be9c-c5d6b3da255a.html

L309-140-Paul Smith Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 30 of 33)

This next image is a northwest view from 1939 of SN 109 just west of Harter, the small station and large warehouse marking Colusa Junction in the background. Yuba City to Harter was abandoned on Sept. 15, 2004 according to Jeff Asay in “The Iron Feather”, p. 504. The abandonment proceeded quickly and without protest from potential customers. See Jeff’s book for more details.

L309-145-Sappers Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 137208sn, (Image 31 of 33)

This northwest image of Union Pacific 1516, Southern Pacific Patched GP-40 approaching the Cooper Ave. grade crossing and the severed track to the cold storage facility is a reminder that the tracks of the SN Yuba City operation remained in play into the 21st century. Thanks to Ted Benson, and to Dick Dorn for his help with this image and on this project as a whole.

L309-150-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 168429sn, (Image 32 of 33)

This concludes the nine part series of presentations of Yuba City during the SN electric era. All of what has been covered in a single northwest view from Feb. 8, 1972.

L309-155-Courtesy California Department of Transportation, 17568-2, (Image 33 of 33)