The Sankey Solution, Part 2- Natomas Levee and Pleasant Grove

An east view from the Natomas Rd. or levee in Sutter County highlights the Sacramento Northern, SN, trestle over an irrigation canal with the snow-capped Sierra range as a back drop. A photo like this from the active SN era has not been found, and little was documented from this area by photographers in the 20th century. A photographer would have gotten off at the SN flag stop at Short to obtain this view. See the next image.

L317-05-Stuart Swiedler Photo, (Image 1 of 25)

A north view of Short is shown ca. 1940. Proceeding from the previous update on the abandonment of East Nicolaus to Catlett in 1965, a chronological review of the abandonment of the SN mainline should next focus on the Oroville Dam construction and abandonment of the SN 3.78 mile section eliminating Lorraine on July 29, 1966. However, this update will maintain the focus on the portion centered around Sankey for the sake of continuity with the previous updates.

L317-10-Howard T. Wolfe Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, (Image 2 of 25)

By the beginning of 1972, the SN had eliminated service between Sankey and Catlett. These maps from 2024 and 1935 provide the names of the station stops in this section. Appreciate that the stop named Pleasant Grove was located west of that unincorporated community.

L317-15-Courtesy Google Maps, l, David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries, 6345073, r FINAL, (Image 3 of 25)

The majority of the area in this update starting south has been monitored by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, established in 1989, and Reclamation District 1000, established in 1911. For the differences between these two agencies, click here. The Natomas Basin has been earmarked by the Army Corp of Engineers as “one of the most at-risk areas in the nation for catastrophic flooding” and remains an area of active levee maintenance. Click here for link.

L317-20-Courtesy US Army Corps of Engineers, l, and Reclamation Dustrict 1000, c and r, (Image 4 of 25)

Basic timetable information about the Northern Electric, NE, left and SN, right, eras indicate that Catlett was called Alamos in 1912, confirmed by maps of the period. Catlett appeared in the 1914 timetable (not show.) Both Pleasant Grove and Catlett had significant spur capacity for freight cars, but Short was never more than a flagship.

L317-25-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 13474, (Image 5 of 25)

Other than a couple of images of Short shot from a passing train as shown in L317-10, there were no other images found from the NE or SN eras taken from the Natomas Rd. or levee. Here from Apr. 2019 are shown the trestle support remnants of the southern-most creek crossing, Curry Creek, left, and less obvious trestle support remnants of the one to the north, Pleasant Grove Creek, right. Note the Union Pacific freight in the distance in the latter.

L317-30-Stuart Swiedler Photos, (Image 6 of 25)

There are two roads crossing the Pleasant Grove Creek Canal. Views from Key Rd., top, and to the north, views from Fifield Rd., bottom, are provided. The latter road corresponds to the site of the Short shelter. North of here is the irrigation canal crossing shown at the onset of this presentation. In addition to the snow-capped Sierra, April is a great time to visit this area to witness the wildflower display.

L317-35-Stuart Swiedler Photos, (Image 7 of 25)

On reaching Housely Rd., the view down the former right of way to the south is shown on the left dominated by a field of California poppies, the former site of the shelter for the Pleasant Hill station to the east of the right-of-way is shown on the right.

L317-40-Stuart Swiedler Photos, (Image 8 of 25)

The location on the shelter is confirmed by the north view on the left from a train en route to Marysville ca. 1940, paired here with a corresponding north view from the same location in 2019. Some believe the small structure at the Pleasant Grove Cemetery down a short way on Housely Rd. to the east was derived from the shelter shown here.

L317-45-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 106490sn, l, Stuart Swiedler Photo, r, (Image 9 of 25)

The print on the left was labeled “NE Ry and Cross Canal Looking North from Pleasant Grove Station, Feb. 6, 1915”. A corresponding north view from 2019 is shown on the right. It would appear that the image on the left was produced to show the flooding, no longer in Reclamation District 1000, but instead, Reclamation District 1001. Read on for a further explanation.

L317-50-Courtesy Library of Congress HAER CAL,33-SAC.V,1--46, l, and Stuart Swiedler Photo, r, (Image 10 of 25)

A map of Reclamation District 1001 is shown on the left, an area that includes everything reported on previously up to the SN Bear River crossing at the Sutter-Yuba County border to the north. The central panel shows the area of interest, the SN crossing of the Cross Canal boxed in yellow. The right shows the remnants of a trestle that once crossed this canal.

L317-55-Courtesy Reclamation District 1001, l, and Google Maps, c and r, (Image 11 of 25)

Approaching the trestle site from the Pacific Ave. levee, these southeast images were taken to document the remains of the trestle supports and the overgrown canal crossing. Thanks to Sandra and James Bros. Airstrip for allowing access to the trestle area.

L317-60-Stuart Swiedler Photos, (Image 12 of 25)

Returning to Housley Rd. and the Pleasant Grove station area, the northwest view on the left from Apr. 2019 was taken to correspond to Dudley Thickens “north view from back of no. 7 at Pleasant Grove, Apr. 21, 1940” on the right. In the 2019 view, the crossing of the canal shows the overgrown vegetation, while Thickens’ images shows the trestle outline, red arrow. Otherwise, there were no ground images found for this trestle, although it is seen in vertical aerial views from the 1950s and 1960s.

L317-65-Stuart Swiedler Photo, l, Dudley Thickens Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 60145sn, r, (Image 13 of 25)

The view on the left is the SN right-of-way north of the trestle in 2019 from the Joseph Bros. Airstrip levee with the warehouse in Catlett in view in the distance. The view more oriented to the west is shown on the right, also from the same levee in 2019.

L317-70-Stuart Swiedler Photos, (Image 14 of 25)

At the north end of the previous stretch of right-of-way is Catlett Rd., a southeast view down the former right-of-way on the left, and the northwest view on the right. The path is now blocked by solar panels belonging to Catlett Warehouse, a wholesale rice company that features rice drying and warehousing facilities.

L317-75-Stuart Swiedler Photos, (Image 15 of 25)

Back to ca. 1940, another one of Howard T. Wolfe’s unique station shelter portraits from a train, maybe the May 25, 1941 “Final Excursion” to Chico. Behind the Catlett shelter, note the warehouse partially obscured by the tree, and the siding with an isolated boxcar.

L317-80-Howard T. Wolfe Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 230301sn, (Image 16 of 25)

The name of the area was probably changed to Catlett because J.R. Catlett provided the land for the NE right-of-way, left. The WP Circular no. 167-E ca. 1957, right, shows that the C. F. Quiggle Warehouse was serviced by the SN, a business that most likely also processed rice based on facilities that go back to that date seen in images to follow.

L317-85-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 132043, l, Courtesy Bruce Eldridge, r, (Image 17 of 25)

First back to Sept. 15, 1988, a north view from Catlett Rd. shows the warehouse in the foreground and the large silos to the north. Certainly less built out than what is seen in 2024, but a similar enough structure.

L317-90-Harre Demoro Photo, Courtesy John Harder, (Image 18 of 25)

Back in time to June 16, 1959, two oblique aerials. On the left, the last section of the active SN right-of-way north of the Catlett warehouse seen in a south view, and on the right, a southeast view taken from above early Highway 99 at the Stripling Rd. intersection.

L317-95-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 6956-8, l, 6956, r, (Image 19 of 25)

A detail from the previous southwest view from June 16, 1959, the Catlett facilities are in the center, and in the distance, the Cross Canal trestle, orange arrow, and a structure that corresponds to a building associated with the Pleasant Grove substation, green arrow. More about that substation in a later update.

L317-100-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 6956-5, (Image 20 of 25)

One more view from April 24, 1984, toward the southeast showing everything discussed in this update after railway abandonment. It is unfortunate that so little photographic documentation of this attractive portion from the Central Valley from the 20th century was available.

L317-105-Copyright California Department of Transportation, C10003-27, (Image 21 of 25)

In spite of the loss of track north of Sankey Rd., service to the warehouse at Sankey continued. These northwest views from Aug. 3, 1976 show two scenes of WP 702 heading south on the more complex arrangement of SN track north of the interchange relative to that present in the electric era.

L317-110-Kenneth J. Meeker Photo, Courtesy Feather River Rail Society, (Image 22 of 25)

Harre Demoro visited the area on April, 23, 1985. Two isolated gondola cars signaled that the portion north of the WP crossing was still active, left. North of Stanley Rd. he found the shell of Amtrak 9220, a dome car built in 1954 by the Budd Company for the Northern Pacific, center and right. Demoro never figured out who set up the temporary track and placed the passenger car on it, as reported in the Oct. 1985 issue of Pacific News, page 16. Maybe wishful thinking regarding a plan to set up a rail corridor along Highway 70 between Sacramento and Marysville.

L317-115-Harre Demoro Photos, Courtesy John Harder, (Image 23 of 25)

When Demoro returned to Sankey Rd. on Sept. 15, 1988, he took this southeast view. It had been more than three years after the line south of Sankey to Rio Linda, the last link of Sankey to SN track, was abandoned on May 8, 1985. The image speaks for itself as to the fate of the short extension north of the crossing to the warehouse.

L317-120-Harre Demoro Photos, Courtesy John Harder, (Image 24 of 25)

A summary of the SN mainline abandonments covered, as well as branch lines covered or to be covered elsewhere, is shown here. Continuing with the portion below Marysville, the loss of the section between Globe and Rio Linda is up next.

L317-125-Wayne Hom Drawing, Courtesy John Harder, l, and Moreau Coll., Courtesy BAERA, WRM, (Image 25 of 25)