Spur of the Moment – Freight Destinations on Bridge and Plumas Streets

SN 141 begins the turn from Plumas St. to the Sacramento Northern, SN, yard with two Pacific Fruit Express refrigerated boxcars or ‘reefers’ on August 18, 1950, northeast view. This update will begin a detailed exploration of the local destinations of these freights as they switched out cars for the local businesses.

L306-05-Jim Lee Photo, Milton Ziehm Coll., Caterpillar Tractor Co. Neg. 74365 Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 29466sn, (Image 1 of 26)

The review will cover SN spurs to Diamond Match Lumber Co., enclosed in red, then to Rosenberg Bros. dried-fruit packing house, enclosed in blue, and finally California Packing Corporation, or “CalPak’, the creators of the Del Monte brand, enclosed in green. In 1957, these were the only three businesses using both the SN and Southern Pacific, SP. Note that the two railroads also sent spurs to an adjacent CalPak facilities to the east, those spurs to be dealt with in the next update.

L306-10-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 28, l, Courtesy of UC Santa Barbara Library Geospatial Collection, c-7490_455, r, (Image 2 of 26)

Since images found from the electric era were almost exclusively from the period 1957-1962, the Western Pacific Circular No. 167-E ca. 1957 proved useful to identify businesses as Sanborn maps beyond 1945 could not be obtained. Note how dried fruit and almond products were divided between the SP and SN, respectively. Review of Polk’s Guides revealed many addresses as noted, although some were not the actual warehouses supplied by the railroads.

L306-15-The WP Railroad Circular No. 167-E, Yuba City, Part 1, (Image 3 of 26)

This east-facing aerial from Dec. 24, 1955 showing the aftermath of the flood is inserted here to again show the SP route through the area to be covered since ground shots of SP freights switching in this section are rare. As with the previous images, the SP Diamond Match Lumber Co. spur is indicated in red, and the one to Rosenberg Bros. is in blue. The main line, indicated in yellow, continued off the lower right border of the image using sidings to supply CalPak.

L306-20-Copyright Department of Transportation, 4724-14, (Image 4 of 26)

Images of SN freight in the Diamond Match Co. spur could not be found, but streetcars tried them out for size during excursions. This north view across Bridge St. from Feb. 18, 1957 shows Birney 62 in the waning days of Diamond Match’s presence in Yuba City.

L306-25-McDonald Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 217821sn, (Image 5 of 26)

Just one year later, on June 15, 1958, the BAERA-sponsored excursion through Marysville-Yuba City included a visit to Diamond Match with British Columbia Electric Railway, BCER, 1225 also seen in a north view. As indicated in this image, Diamond Match had closed down its business in Yuba City during the previous year.

L306-30-Yuba City, Diamond Match Siding on Bridge St., BCE 1225 on Addison Laflin Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 173937sn, (Image 6 of 26)

Next to Plumas St. and the SN spur supplying Rosenberg Bros. The configuration of the track is shown in the left diagram, and the outline for its path in 1969 is shown on the right.

L306-35-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 28, l, Courtesy of UC Santa Barbara Library Geospatial Collection, cas-2579_1-12, r, (Image 7 of 26)

In the previous update, Birney cars were followed down Plumas St. from the SN station to A St. In this update, ahead to the BAERA-sponsored excursion of May 18-19, 1957, as railfans follow Birney 62 past the produce stand and Jimmie’s Market toward the Rosenberg Bros. spur in this north view.

L306-40-Walt Vielbaum Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 133536sn, (Image 8 of 26)

The May 3, 1958 excursion with Muni 178 is shown in a south view as the streetcar passed the “X” between the two poles marking the entrance to the spur. The presence of overhead wire or track in the asphalt cannot be confirmed by what is seen here.

L306-45-McDonald Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 217839sn, (Image 9 of 26)

Ernest Haase may have taken the only photo of BCER 1225 at the entrance to the Rosenberg Bros. spur during the excursion of June 15, 1958. Northwest view.  Rosenberg Bros. was bought by Consolidated Grocers Corp. of Chicago in December 1947, but remained in Yuba City as a separate company, albeit a subsidiary of the parent company, according to vasonabranch.com.

L306-50-Ernest Haase Photo, Moreau Coll. Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 10 of 26)

Hasse also took a shot of the streetcar deep into the spur in another northwest view from June 15, 1958. The complex machinery at the top of the building that appeared to be related to grain storage can be matched with the image seen in L306-20. As an aside, Consolidated Grocers later became Consolidated Foods and eventually the Sara Lee Corporation. For more on Rosenberg Bros., click here

L306-55-Ernest Haase Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 11 of 26)

The same place as the previous image, this time from May 19, 1957 with Birney 62.

L306-60-McDonald Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 217823sn, (Image 12 of 26)

Attempts to see the spur takeoff and tracks in the asphalt fail even in this south view of SN 1005 on excursion on June 17, 1962 toward the corner of Plumas St. and B St., but at least the overhead wire can be clearly visualized.

L306-65-McDonald Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 217854sn, (Image 13 of 26)

Before following a SN motor switching at CalPak, some images of the portion of the facility accessible to the public will be presented. This southeast view BCE 1225 was taken during the excursion of June 15, 1958 as it occupied the western-most or short SN rail siding that did not enter the plant facility and appears to have been used for the temporary placement of cars not involved in switching at CalPak.

L306-70-Addison Laflin Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 173935sn, (Image 14 of 26)

Panning to the northwest, Birney 62 sits on the eastern-most spur that ran along the west side of the main facility on May 19, 1957. To the right or east of the track is the employment office. Note the track is fenced off from the main facility, probably accounting for the absence of any photographs behind the barrier.

L306-75-Photo Vic Dubrutz Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 175917sn, (Image 15 of 26)

Next the opportunity to include one color image, and Richard Kampa was a master of Kodachrome photography in the 1950s. This view of Birney 62 is again at the eastern-most spur that ran along the west side of the main facility on May 19, 1957. Toward the right border are piles of packing crates that will be seen in greater detail in an image to be presented shortly.

L306-80-Richard Kampa Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 163103sn, (Image 16 of 26)

Further to the northwest, this south view at CalPak on May 19, 1957 shows Birney 62 on the rail siding, the track also fenced off but not extending past several types of tanks to the south.

L306-85-Addison Laflin Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 157156sn, (Image 17 of 26)

Now back to the main spur closer to the entrance, this north view from the May 3, 1959 excursion of Muni 178 shows houses along the north side of B St. west of the Plumas St. intersection. This area is occupied in 2024 by the Town Center Senior Manor.

L306-90-McDonald Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 217834sn, (Image 18 of 26)

On May 21, 1959, Ernest Haase was in Yuba City and captured SN 654 in part of its switching routine outside the fenced off areas of track at CalPak. This first southwest image shows the freight motor with freight on the rail siding either arriving or leaving. The likely scenario is that the image shows the motor leaving the load it arrived with on the rail siding before entering CalPak, or it had already brought the boxcars out of CalPak and is putting the two segments together before heading off.

L306-95-Ernest Haase Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 19 of 26)

This north view from May 21, 1959 shows SN 654 heading away from CalPak, crossing the switch to then access the main spur into the CalPak facility. In this view, the SN track and overhead wire into the Rosenberg Bros. facility are finally documented to have coexisted.

L306-100-Ernest Haase Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 20 of 26)

SN 654 is now on the main spur into CALPAK, with at least one boxcar now visible on the parallel short spur in this east image from May 21, 1959.

L306-105-Ernest Haase Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 21 of 26)

SN 654 heads toward the entry to the CalPak facility in this south view from May 21, 1959. At this point, presumably, the motor continued past the gate into the facility to do its bidding.

L306-110-Ernest Haase Photo, Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 22 of 26)

Back outside the CalPak grounds at the intersection of Plumas St. and B St., Birney 62 makes a left hand turn from the former to the latter street in this northwest view from the May 18, 1957 excursion.

L306-115-Ken Lass Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 161479sn, (Image 23 of 26)

Birney 62 takes a brief stop after negotiating the turn onto B St. in this southwest view from the May 18, 1957 excursion. This view gives a greater appreciation for the extent of fruit crates seen down B. St. in the background on the adjoining grounds of the CalPak buildings.

L306-120-Ken Lass Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives 161480sn, (Image 24 of 26)

The buildings housing Diamond Match Co. remained past Feb. 8, 1972 as shown in this detail from a northwest aerial view, but, as presented earlier, had been vacated by 1958. The building housing Rosenberg Bros. is slightly reduced in size.

L306-125-Copyright Department of Transportation, 17568-3, (Image 25 of 26)

Continuing with the northwest aerial from Feb. 8, 1972, the expanse of the CalPak facility covered in this update can be appreciated. More on the facility to the east as well as other SN spurs on B St. in the next update.

L306-130-Copyright Department of Transportation, 17568-3, (Image 26 of 26)