During the last days of electric railroading in California, many fan groups organized trips on the last remaining "juice" lines around the state. This trip took place in the early 1950s in Sacramento, California, on Sacramento Northern Railway's "Belt Line." This route was constructed for Northern Electric, a passenger/freight interurban that ran from Chico to Sacramento, in about 1908. Passenger trains could run directly through Sacramento's downtown streets, but freights were relegated to a circuitous route along the city limits (just inside the city levees) to reach the industries and Sacramento River docks along Front Street. In order to secure street trackage rights, Northern Electric operated local streetcar lines in Sacramento, Chico, and Marysville/Yuba City. NE later combined with a second interurban, Oakland Antioch & Eastern, to create the Sacramento Northern. While its trackage did not rival the massive Pacific Electric, SN had the longest single mainline run of any interurban in the United States, 187 miles from Chico to Oakland, with Sacramento the hub of the system.
SN ceased interurban passenger operation in 1940-1941, and sold its streetcar operation to National City Lines in 1943. From the late 1940s until the mid-1960s, SN slowly de-electrified their line, leaving small islands of electric operation. Third-rail operation north of Sacramento was shut down after a state law (prompted by the death of a child in rural Rio Linda, north of Sacramento) banned exposed third rail on unprotected right-of-way. Sacramento de-electrified in 1953, and the last segment, Marysville/Yuba City, switched off the power in 1965, the last electric freight operation in the state.
Today's fan trip begins just south of the Tower Bridge, Sacramento's iconic Art Deco crossing of the Sacramento River. Today's ride is provided by a double-truck Birney style streetcar, originally built for Fresno Traction and later sold to Central California Traction (another electric interurban that ran from Sacramento to Stockton) for their Sacramento streetcar line. (Modeler's note: The car is based on a Bachmann Brill frame, with a white metal body based on a Connecticut streetcar prototype. Headlights are from a Suydam lighting kit, with Bowser poles. The body is a little cockeyed because of the height of the Bachmann motor, a problem I'm still trying to fix.
This photo shows the fan trip entering Sacramento just west of the bridge, running south down Front Street. This view shows the River Lines docks, where freight was transferred from riverboats and barges to Sacramento Northern, Central California Traction, Southern Pacific and Western Pacific trains. In the foreground is the SN/CCT union freight yard. Note that the freight yard is about 15 feet lower than Front Street, which is on an elevated levee. A 4% grade on a sharp curve drops trains from the main line to the yard, a spot much reviled by freight crews for frequent derailments. Activity on the waterfront has slowed in anticipation of new dock facilities in an improved deep-water channel across the river in West Sacramento.
Note the new General Electric 70-ton diesel-electric in the yard, part of Central California Traction's quick conversion from electric to diesel in 1946. Behind it is a Sacramento Northern Baldwin-Westinghouse steeplecab. Thanks to Hovey Moore of the Mo-Mo Club, one of Sacramento's hottest jazz clubs, for allowing us to take this photo from his upstairs windows!
Here you can see the dreaded yard entrance at Front and N Street, as the streetcar passes the Bert McDowell grocery warehouse. As the hub of the transportation network for the Sacramento Valley, Sacramento has many distribution centers for fresh produce, transferring goods from farmers' trucks to refrigerator cars for distribution across the country.
Warehouses and depots block most direct views of the Sacramento River from Front Street, but at a few points there are open docks like here at Front and O Street, where you can see across the river to West Sacramento and California Dehydrating's facility, also served by SN freights. In the foreground is a machine shop attached to the Sacramento Machine Works complex, an iron foundry that has graced Sacramento's riverfront since the Gold Rush.
Farther south on Front and T Street is Knox Lumber, in the shadow of Pacific Gas & Electric's gas storage tank. PG&E owned the local streetcar line until it was sold to National City Lines in 1943, and still provides electric power to Sacramento. The gas tank was originally built to hold locally generated manufactured gas, originally from coal and later from oil, to illuminate Sacramento streetlights and homes, before the widespread adoption of electric power in the 1890s. Today it stores natural gas for home heating and stoves, using the same distribution network.
On X Street, a portion of the belt line shared with Central California Traction, the fan trip passes a row of bungalows. The passing streetcar doesn't seem to faze the neighborhood cats waiting for their dinner to be served.
At Alhambra Boulevard, the SN line turns north while CCT turns south. A bit north of Alhambra is one of Sacramento's local farmer's markets. While the big distributors deal strictly wholesale, the local markets sell produce to residents straight off the truck.
Just north of the farmer's market, the SN belt line crosses Southern Pacific's Ione branch at R Street. The route runs to the foothills today, but it was the original route for the Sacramento Valley Railroad, the first common carrier railroad on the Pacific coast.
The Libby cannery is one of Sacramento's largest, and in the 1920s it was one of the two largest in the United States (the other was California Packing Company No. 11.) The Libbys got their start packing meat in Chicago, but saw the opportunity for fruit and vegetable canning in Sacramento about 1910. The appearance of a Sacramento City Lines bus (dressed in standard NCL "fruit salad" color scheme) set off a wave of jeers and catcalls from the trolley fans in the streetcar.
Jeers turned to cheers as the fan trip turned from Alhambra Boulevard up C Street past the 17th & D Street freight yard, SN's locomotive facility in Sacramento. The sight of the magnificent "Bidwell" parlor car and a Niles passenger combine, even if out of service and awaiting sale as mother-in-law quarters or scrap metal, sent traction fans' hearts soaring. Repairs are done at SN's shops in Chico or the old OA&E shops at 40th & Shafter in Oakland, this facility is mostly a place for locomotives to refuel and crews to lay over. Barely visible over the "Bidwell" is the cab of a new Western Pacific diesel. WP purchased Sacramento Northern in the 1920s as a freight feeder, and while SN has purchased its own gaggle of 44-ton GE locomotives, they sometimes borrow WP diesel switchers.
The "belt line" ends at the B Street railroad berm, Southern Pacific's mainline east over the Sierra Nevada and part of the original Central Pacific route of the Transcontinental Railroad, begun in Sacramento in 1863. Locally served industries Golden State Dairy and Cal-Hi Beverage are located just south of the berm, in the shadow of the Victorian homes and massive tree canopy of Sacramento's residential neighborhoods.
In addition to the Libby cannery, the other contender for "biggest cannery in the United States" is California Packing Company's Plant No. 11, which has facilities on both sides of the SP berm. Cal-Pack, also known as Del Monte, has three other SN-served canneries nearby, including Third & X Street and Front & Q Street, with another in North Sacramento. Between the cannery and the tracks is the California Almond Growers' Exchange, whose operation is equally massive. The fan trip carefully crosses C Street after waiting for the speed demon in the powder-blue Chevy to cross the tracks.
Crossing under the B Street berm to Haggin Yard. In case of major flooding, this crossing can be closed off.
Haggin Yard is the major division point in the center of SN's network. All southbound freights are broken up here for distribution to industries by local switching turns, including transfers to interchanges with Western Pacific, Southern Pacific and Central California Traction. Cars intended for points south of Sacramento are transferred via the local switching turn across the Sacramento River to Westgate Yard in West Sacramento to be reassembled into southbound freights.
At the north end of Haggin Yard, the streetcar prepares to cross the American River, pausing to give the fan trip some photos of assorted Sacramento Northern crummies on the Haggin Yard caboose track. Because the Belt Line is considered within yard limits, cabooses are generally not found operating on its length, unless they are being transferred from North End to South End facilities.
Traction fans are taking what fan trips they can before the wire comes down, scheduled for January 1953. Future fan trips may capture other sights along the SN Belt Line, including the Tower Bridge and American River Bridge, more bungalow architecture along X Street, and Sacramento's Japantown, just east of the waterfront industries on Front Street. But those photos are still at the lab, and they sometimes lose film for years...I hope you have enjoyed this traction travelogue of Sacramento Northern's belt line!
Jetrock, Very nice work and love your layout.
Ed
I enjoyed your fantrip, Jetrock. I've never been on a real-life fantrip before and I feel like I've just been on one. I love the Sacramento Northern Railway. I own five Suydam brass HO scale SN "Niles" Wood Interurban cars. Here's what I own:
Two (2) SN "Niles" #126 combines
One (1) SN "Niles" #125 "Berry Car"
One (1) SN "Niles" #200 coach (I'm looking to add a few more #200 coaches to my collection)
one (1) SN "Niles" "Bidwell" car
And because I have seen your wonderful layout representing the Sacramento Northern Ry during it's last days, I am inspired to build a pike representing the Sacramento Northern Ry since I own some Suydam SN equipment. But, I also own around 15 Suydam brass Pacific Electric Wood Interurban cars, including my favorites - the "Tens" and the combines ( that some "Tens" were converted to). I am a bigger fan of the Pacific Electric Railway and someday I will definitely get around to building a pike representing the PERy.
Thanks for inviting me to take a tour of the Sacramento Northern Ry. By the way, the cellphone shots weren't so bad. I could see the engines, rolling stock and surroundings pretty good. But, next time use a regular digital camera and a little extra lighting. Some of the car's detail in the shots were hidden in shadows. Were you trying to achieve a twi-night effect? Because if you were, you did a nice job. But, I'm a stickler for detail and I wanted to see them - especially the detail on your SN equipment. But, regardless...I had fun.
I'll be back for another tour, soon.
No, I really just need to set up some lights for photography and use my digital camera. The final goal is for the setting to show Sacramento in high summer--lots of bright light--although according to prototype practice twilight is just as appropriate, as most freight traffic on the belt line was done at night. I have a ways to go in the lighting department, currently the lights are just a row of rope lights with a few 20w halogens every few feet.
There are some good reference books for Sacramento Northern--the Signature book by Harre Demoro is very comprehensive, and it's not too hard to find copies of the Ira Swett "Interurbans Special" issues on the SN. But there are plenty of good books about PE!
Once I get wire hung up I'll be able to better represent the heyday of the SN, but I'll have to build a new branch line to really do it justice. Unlike the Belt Line, which ran around the perimeter of the city, SN's passenger route wandered through downtown Sacramento's business district and in front of California's state capitol building before crossing the Tower Bridge into rural Yolo County.
PE is a fascinating line just from its sheer quantity and diversity--it really shaped the fabric of southern California.
In either case, it's easy to start with a little switching layout or a loop; even with interurbans rather than trolleys, a 2x4 or 2x6 layout is quite feasible, and easy to expand into a larger layout later.