USA > California > Nevada County > History of Nevada County, California; with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and manufactories > Part 32
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During the severe snow storm in the early part of January. 15.30. the road became lockaded for a day, and the plows were koja constantly running to prevent an accumulation of ww that would have taken weeks to clear away. The following thrilling account is from the pen of C. F. Methodman in the Trucker Repuldivan, of a snow plow adventure during that terrific stort, in which he was the chief actor. ". . gale increased until it became a hurricane. Early in the day it homme evident that a new and hitherto nulward of danger threatened the Central Pacific. It was a danger that caused the bravest men to turn pab. The snow whole showed indications of falling. These shoes are over thirty miles in length, and for years have withstand every shock of the elements Before the storm af Friday, they trembled und tottered, and each instant threatened to fall. The west-bound lightning express plunged into a slide near Yuha Pas, and seriously injured George Hamilton, the engineer, and his fire- man. Soon after noon one hundred feet of corrugated iron shed blew down near the saun pdace, and freight train No. 6 went crashing into the ruins. The collision caused another large section of sholding to fall, and the doomed train way buried beneath a mass of broken timbers and deep piled drifts. Three men were completely hidden from sight, but providen- tially sullered no serious injury. Buckley's show plow ran to the wreck with a full crew of workmen, and by great exertion
128
HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Weerstand in drawing the rear call of \ bl k t . Meantime five hundred feet of new hel fill between that point and Emigrant Cup The snow driftel Hvis the gh the opening in the hed, and Formulated a rapidly that Buckley's train could not return to, the smomit It w literally imprisoned at fino A tom on the Siena meste toil and danger to hundred of pas follow The times al firemen the conductor and brakenon the operators, train di- patel, formen and upprintendents all have multiplied til The wmfare between the men and the comments is wealthy of being better understand. It is a warfare wherein lorain mad on cle are arrayed against cold darkness and avalanches, againt death in a thousand forms. William luckett a brakeman on No. 6. Friday morning was knocked off' the curs, and fulling beneath the wheels was crushed and killed. Three of his companions were buried beneath Ilu fall- ing shorts as alove described. Hamilton and his tireman were luch placed in imminent peril. At tunnel 9. two miles east of the Summit, a watchman found it imposible to pass the large drifts, mud attempting to turn back found that a show slide had blocked the way In atter desper, he kindled a fire in the innel, and sat down to wait until relief came. It was . Mirmely coll. At. Yuba Pass crews of men worked all night. Prearier work or more discouraging never was assigned to human beings,
.. .. Of late years no headlights are placed on the plows. From the moment the hoarse whistles indiente the start, all in front of the flow is profound darkness. There is no limit to the speed of a snow-plow train, and when trying in the teeth of a hurricane, it is impossible to face the darting snow granules, which ent and sting the eyes like needle points. Up over the mold-boards of the plow come lige masses of snow which sometimes seem ready to bury one.
"* * * It. is n trute saying that one-half the world does Ind know what the other half is doing, and few people have any conception of the constant perils of these railroaders As an example of these porils, perhaps the following is not amiss. It was intended that the engines should wood up at Cold Strenm. Just before the woodsheds were reached, however, the plowing became so heavy that. Coburn pulled the bell-rope for 'off' brakes.' This meant that more power was requisite and the head engine had no sooner sounded the whistle than every throttle was wide open and every engine was working under a full head of steam. The speed was something alarm- ing. It not only cleared the track, but caused the engines to shoot clear through the long wood shed and far out into the storm and darkness. When the momentum was finally over- come, it was necessary for the engines to back down to the wood piles. A snow-plow cannot be backed without being thrown from the track, for the loose snow gets under the apron and
futh polere j w bwlily from the rails. Accordingly the phew w _ umsuplesl and left stan ling while the engines w nt back to the wheels In due time they were supplied with fil, and the whistle sounded off brakes. The darkness was intens that none of the engineer save the head one, knew that ti plos had been detached. As a result five of the engines started out of the slowly at full speed While the engines were working up, the two crews came down from the topand wore standing inside the plow. After the engines had got moler full headway these mon discovered that there was some misunderstanding, and that a frightful collision would occur when the six engines struck the plow. With u rush for the down of the snow plow. each one endeavoral to jump out into the show by the side of the track. The banks thrown up by the plow were from four to six feet in hight and one could not spring upon them from the door. It was necessary to climb the iron ladder on the rear of the plow, and to spring there- fromn. One by one the six men in the ear climbed the ladder and escaped Graham climbed on the plow and sitting astride the safety rope, braced himself to withstand the shock. The head engine screamed for down brakes, but the flying engines on the iey rails had no power to check the speed. Wooden was the last man out, and just as the collision came he partly sprang and was partly hurled out into the snow. The last man did we say! No! The Republican editor was behind Wooden, and had just grasped the top round of the ladder as the engines struck. Couplings of the head engine were crushed into frag- ments. The hind end of the snow-plow was shivered as if by a stroke of lightning, and the plow was dashed ahead as if it was suddenly shot from a cannon. Every engine felt the heavy shock, and the wheels of each were instantly reversed. Knocked from the ladder, The Republican man struck some portion of the forward engine. In a twinkling he was rolled and crum- pled in all conceivable shapes between the engines and the clean-shaven snow wall left by the plow. Perfectly conscious, he was nevertheless as helpless as a straw in a threshing machine. Indeed, the principal thought at such a moment is a wonderful appreciation of the majestic power of a ten-wheel, fifty-ton locomotive. Jammed and twisted and whirled and dragged, one has time to wish that a friendly squeeze of the cylinder-head, or a sudden clash of the walking beam would end the agony, rather than the cruel wheels should close the scene. But there is a constant tendency downward, and finally ; a sudden drop under the wheels. The darkness of a stormy night is absolute blackness under a train of moving engines. There is not a ray of light. Yet no light could have aided in a com- plete realization of the situation. Every muscle quivers as it touches the whirling. grinding wliccls. One is dragged along by their very contact, yet not fast enough to escape being over- taken by the truck-wheels and drivers of the next locomotive.
One thinks that death is delayed but one instant and wonders if legs or arms or heal will be crushed first. There is no thought of the past or future. Suddenly there is a conscious- less that by lying perfectly still and straight there is possibly room between the wheels and the snow wall for one's body. Instinctively the wall is hugged. The wheels still graze, graze, graze as they pass. But thank God they are moving slowly now, and yet more slowly. The train is stopping. M. Mack is engineer of the head engine, the 85, and Dan Higgins is fire- man. Tlw second is Jim Kelley's engine, the 56, and Ed. Dolan is tireman. The 209 is third, C. C. Trott is engineer and C. Wradick firemau. When the train stopped, we were lying under this engine. None of these three had pilots. The 38, Lawrence Kearney engineer, and Sam Kennedy, lireman, was fourth, and had a pilot. This would have crushed us had it passed. Geo. Spoor's engine, the No. 8, Win. Weadick, fireman, was fifth, and Sam Young's engine, the 200, M. Wallace, fire- man, was last. Young's engine was reversed and had a small snow-plow on the hind end. This would have been death inev- itable. After climbing into Trott's cab it was found that the wheels had torn our overcoat and cut off the cape of our hood or sailor's cap. We were quite unhurt. The straw had not been broken by the threshing machine. The plow is broken but can be pushed to the Summit. Had she not been broken, every man on the train would probably have been killed. Orders came to run to Cisco, and between Sunnit and Cisco cighit hundred feet of snow-sheds lay prostrate. The broken plow conkl not go, and so the orders were countermanded. Had a show-plow train dashed into the fallen sheds, no man on board would have lived to tell the tale. All Saturday night Stand- ish, with a crew of fifty men worked at the cast end of the break. Superintendent Pratt with four hundred workmen, worked on the west end. By nine o'clock Sunday morning the road was open. The storm had cleared away."
The unprecedented severity of the April storms of the past season blocked the road for several days. Snow sheds crum- bled under the weight of their burden, Avalanches of snow buried trains, land slides covered the track, and all the forces of nature seemed arrayed against the efforts of inan. But in the end, the unflagging exertions of the men conquered all diffi- culties, and the road was opened for the imprisoned trains to pass through.
Accidents of a more or less serious nature have been frequent on the line of this road within the limits of this county, but no more than is incident to the operating of all railroads, especially in the mountains, where the heavy grades and sharp · curves add greatly to-the danger. Upon Sunday, October 13, 1872, an accident occurred to the eastward bound passenger train while going down the grade between Summit Station and Truckee, resulting in the death of five persons. The train
RESIDENCE OF JAMES CHAMPION, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA CO, CAL.
PUBLISHED BY THOMPSON & WEST.
HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
was lying drawn by two enging, which like to from the Vivala Ity by the way of tiras Vas A paluminary cars and ran sone distance alead and in wel allow the train to overtake then The can cans ring in that a n ille of trustel thirty wir eles in length anl with a praleof eighty fett tl. m. From this time tl . railroad quant n was never entir ls land all. every gini it was brought out rullet and poli Lal and lail carefully away within easy reach A nel to lin in was at one time uuler lisch ion down the grale at the rate of events mit an hour the brakes not being able to control them and coluded with the ng with terrific fre killing Daniel & Marshall the endurter John Hawke, muil agent Captain Taylor guard on Wel Furgo & Co's var, mul Van Volmer and Muer krakenen The three first named were well known residents of this county.
At four o'clock, A. M. December & 1971, the westward bound passenger train ran into the rear end of a freight train near Born, smashing a cattle car mol the calm and throwing the rear emigrant eur down an embankment thirty fret high Two mu and a lay were killed and a number of other badly injured. The freight train was behind time and its light- were not seen in time to avoid the collision
As the west ward bound train approached Trucker, June 16. 1878. it was nearly thrown from the rails by a pile of rocks that had been placed upon the track A wareh resiabel a lonely cump fire, by which reposed na hodinu named Pom, who confessed that los was the author of the de. He had been ejerted from a preceding train for some misdemeanor, and placed the rocks upon the track for revenge. He then built a enmp-tire und hid himself down to nwnit patiently what might ho in store for him. But fire- water overcame him and he slept the sloopof innocence, until the rude land of the curagal brakeman Alook him into a realization of what lor had done. For his little attempt to avenge his would dignity, he was sent to lunguish eightren months in the penitentiary.
Many lesser necidents have occurred, some of them resulting futully to an unfortunate few, but the details will have to Ir united from this work.
NEVADA COUNTY NARROW GATHE RAILROAD.
The advantages of railroad connection with Sacramento and San Francisco were early recognized by the business men of Nevada City and Grass Valley. The organization of the Sacramento, Anburn and Nevada Railroad Company, as detailed in the article on the C. P. R. R. shows the interest taken in this project. The question received considerable attention as soon as the Sacramento Valley road was completed from Sacramento to Folsom. in 1856. In common with all localities that hoped to become n business center, Nevada county desired the rond extended to her two commercial towns. In 1859, the Saerminento, Pleer and Nevada railroad was pro- jected, and a survey was commenced from Folsom to Auburn. by Sherman Day. The intention was to eventually extend the line to Nevadn City, and the merchants of this county sub- scribed n sum sufficient for n survey of a route from Auburn to
As soon as it became evident that the great hansen mental road would be built great efforts were made to have the. Hennes l'as route adopted but in this they suffered a dis appointment In 1570 a road to Marysville and Colors was seriously considered and a bill was presented to the legislature to authorize the issuance of bones to the l'alu, Marysville and Novada Railroad to, Coluna to give $100,000, Marsaib. $100000. Yoba omity $50,000 and Nevada county $150000. this bill failed to lind favor with the Legislature aml died. A survey of the line from Nevada City to Marysville was mail. by Robert Is. Harris, and the following report was presented to a committee of citizens.
Length of line in Nevnela county,
passing from Novala fity through Grass Valley nul Pen
Valley to the county line. . ... 26 23-100 miles lu Yula county, passing through Smartsville, Timbretoo und Swiss Bar to Marysville. ..... 23 47-100 miles
C'est of four foot eight and one-half incli gange, Yula county. $ 349.435
Cost of four foot eight and one-half inch gange, Nevada county . 552,968
Equipments and Buildings 104,100
Total Cost $1,006,503
C'ost of a three foot gauge in best manner, Yuba county . . $ 323,741
C'est of a three foot gauge in best manner. Nevada county 504.777
Equipuents and Buildings $6,900
Total Cost $ 915,418
Three foot grade, low estimate, Yuba county ..
269,056
Three foot grade, low estimate, Nevada county
367,352
Equipments and Buildings 81,500
Total Cost
$ 717,938
The cheapest thing about a railroadl is the preliminary sur-
ves and it is always soer to make one and talk about the big thing on byung to do than it is to build the road, and so the ppe found, for no money was at hand to construct the len l hu and the projet was abandoned
The Best thing in order was to connect with the Central Pacific at some point along the line of that road, and tofun was selectedas the most desirable place In 12 there was eon si kralde talk of a horse railroad from Nevada City and Grass Valley de l'olfas and the matter went so far as to be brought to the attention of the la gislature, where it was reported upus alors to the Committee on Roads and Highways, and died frem want of vitality It was after the failure of this design that the idea of a narrow gauge road met with favoralde con- sidderation like heaven the idea spread and increased until it had thoroughly imlated every our with enthusiasm & mert ing of interested citizens was enled at Nevada City January 25 1874 by which a conference committee of ten euch from Netals City and Grass Valley was appointed By them n sub-committee of six was appainted to prepare u bill for the Legislature This was done and the bill finally passed March 11, 1574, the event being enthusiastically celebrated in Grass Valley und Nevada City; the Governor's approval way received nine days later, and the hill become a law. The com many wus incorporated without any subsidy, and was allowed to charge tou cents per mile for passengers and twenty cents lur ton for freight, with additions for hazardous freights.
The gentlemen names in the bill as incorporators met March 24, und fixed the rapital stock ut $400,000, iu forty tlumi und shares of ten dollars each, and a committer d' museu was appointed to solicit subscriptions. Now was the time for the people to anke a practical display of their good will towards the road; so long as they were outy required to meet and jones resolutions or to shout and you when powder was learned that. some one else la paid for, they were equal to the ocasion, but when they were asked to subscribe to the capital stock they logan to crawl into their shells. The committee succeeded in getting $242,000 andescribed, and as this was not sufficient to build the road, the estimate for a three foot gange being $500,000, the project was in imminent danger of dying as lad it's predecesors. The officers of the company were: John C. Coleman, President: J. W Sigourney, Vice- President; George Fletcher, Secretary ; . I. H. Bates, Chief Engineer; John C. Coleman, J. W. Sigourney, William Watt, Edward Coleman J. M. Lakenan, Niles Searle and R. W. Tully, Directors. These gentlemen after many consultations decided to proseente the work, and let the contract to M. F. Beatty December 4, 1874. who sublet it to Turton & Knox.
The work was commenced in February, 1875, and was com- pleted from Colfax to Grass Valley in April, 1876, and regular trains began to run between those pointy. It was a great day
130
for tira Valley that tint naw the iron low cost or Ing int, the rity with it- burden of passengers arol freigh var la a n o' jubilee and mutual congratulation wa let floresi was entirely completed to Novada City May 20 1876 and fire tin can up from Gira Valley load I with people to partici. pate in the ceremonie to take place. The el cannon wa dragged to the summit of Sugar loaf and from the brows of thint. lefty hill roared forth its congratulations to the cheering end breath A large procession, loaded by the military and langt marched to the depot to meet the incoming train. A highly decorated and properly inscribed the was prepared and two polished spikes fastened it to the last rails When the Inst. spike was driven long the military fired a value. Then was the gentle wir atlighted with discordant sonen; the cannon from the bifty emineure of Sugar Loaf lazed forth in noisy hilurily, the shrill stenm whistle and the resonant Iw.] swelled the chorus, while responsive shouts went up from thousands of julihaut throats. Judge Searly delivered a con- gralulatory address frin the pilot of the engine, and the crowd lisperseil, some of them to their homes mil some of them to "lake sulbin." The next. duy the first through train was run from Nevala City to t'offux, and the road was fairly inaugu- mutol
Thr total length of the road is 22 64-100 miles. There are two lumnels, one at. the Town Talk four hundred and twenty fort in length, und one between Grass Valley mund Colfax three hundred and eighty feet long. A How truss bridge one hundred nud sixty feet long spans Bear river at n hight of ninety-tive fort, and a similar structure crosses Greenhorn creek at a light of eighty seven leet ; the trestles approaching these bridges are Four hundred and forty and four hundred and eighty feet long respectively; besides these there are five other trestles, making n lotul length of trestlework of five thousand one hundred and seventy-six feet. The steepest grade is one hundred and twenty-one levt to the mile, one place approaching the summit between Grass Valley and Nevada and mother between Grass Valley and Colfax at Cressy's summit. The shortest radius of curve ix 302 94-100 feet, equal to a nineteen degree curve. The condition of the rond was as follows January 1, ISSO :-
$ 361,265.13
Gross Earnings. .. .. Operating and General Expenses . ..
$186,296.72
Interest. on First Mort- gage Boils. .
72,237.78
Interest. on Floating Debt
22,843.67 281,378.17
Excess of Earnings over all Expenses . .
$ 79,886.96
ttofirstroten and
2152 651 22
TOTA. POUNDS TOTAL POUNLS
RECEIVED FORWARDED
RECEIVED IN FORWARDED
STATIONS.
ISTD.
OF THE ROAD.
Bank sterk .
Exe of Lash Hem
over Au litel Account- 12 77
$500.736 96
Capital Stock Subscribed $242.200.00
Funded Debt.
16,000.00
Floating Debt Secured .
1C & E. Coleman loan.
500.00
Profit and lars l'iofit. . .
$1,536.96
5590,736 216
Number of passenger cars, two; innil and baggage cars, two; box fright cars, sixteen; platform cars, twenty; other cars, six : locomotive engines, three.
Total xiner Opening her 31. 1-25
3AM
1 .~ 33
44-
28,004 121,415
3,550 , 24,430
Tut11.
74
345
23
11
324
Bị Can attta. tiou Turket.
By Excursion Tickets
4,072
| Regulor.
Rronion Picnic Growmuls .
3.769
3.391
7,100
TOwy TALK.
tion Tickets.
Regular
944
lo Commata- lion Tickets.
By Excursions Tickets
015
615
Regulur.
7.124
54
140
14
17
7.037
9
13
Kress" Summit
15
54
Buena Vista
Picnic Grownil, Slormi's
2.4:4
181
2,613
Storm's Side Track
You Bet Side Track.
199
199
Colfax
STATIONS.
Colfax
You Bet Side Track
Storm's Side Truck
Buena Vista.
Kress' Sunmit
Union Mill
Grass Valley
Town Talk
Nevada City ..
746 286120,3 71151 100 34 31,675 5,360 1,240 3,64) 2,289 34,064 40,356 20,072 26,360 222,529
Total.
39,626,600 39,626,600 133,554,305 133,554,305
The leading articles nre merchandise, flour and feel, Imuber, wood, hay, pow- der, fruit, coal and iron.
For a year the town of North San Juan has been agitated over the question of an extention of the road to that place from either Nevada City or Grass Valley. The cost is estimated at about $300,000, and the people in that vicinity seem to think that they would like to buy the elephant at that price. Truckee also desires more railroad facilities, and in 1872 the question of a road to open up the Sierra valley received some attention, and is now in a l'air way to be an accomplished fact. The following year a narrow gauge road from Oroville through the Sierra valley and Beckwith pass to terminate at Reno or Truckee was estimated to cost $2,000,000, the distance to Reno being one hundred and thirty-one miles. Nothing has ever resulted from the agitation. A railroad from Truckee to Tahoe City is also one of the things hoped for, and the Legislature passed an Act, approved March 29, 1878, incorporating A. J. Bayley, J. F. Moody, J. A. Huntington, J. P. Bayley, and H. M. Hollister as a company to construct the desired linc.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
ROADS AND BRIDGES.
Early Mountain Roads-Toll Roads -- Present Toll Roads-Rates of Toll- Turnpike to Washoe-Marysville and Nevada Plank Road-The First Bridges- Freeman's Crossing-Robinson's Crossing-Cooper's Bridge -- Other Toll Bridges-Grass Valley and Nevada Bridges-Pine Street Bridge -A Tale of Horror.
ROADS.
THE sudden and imperative demand for routes of travel, created by the ever increasing development of mines in the recesses of the mountains, and the extreme difficulty and
NEVADA COUNTY NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD.
STATEMENT SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS CARRIED BETWEEN ALL STATIONS DURING THE YEAR INTH. GRAAH VALLEY
7.107.33
Value of Material
Inve tinent in 'itizen's
SINCE OPENING SINCE OPENING OF THE ROAD.
Nevada City ... . IBISST.012
1.506,921
40,741,636
4,298,026
Gris Valley .. . . 21,077.774
1.211,710|
71,136,078 3,218
4,772,049
Kress' Smumit. .
120
1,250
39,868
666,210
Storms' Side Tr'k
20,794
5,741,000
. 112,578
19,856,712
Degalin's Mill ...
53,525
1,793,796
202,760
11,123,921
Yin Brt Sple 'T'k
1.144,850
2,612,000
2,933,907
9,110,325
Gable's
19.043
80,000
19,043
80,000
Colfax
3,410.762 26,676,917
18,365,217
83,646,062
.
13
33
-
:,98%
397
16,040 4,722 8,600 49,14 292.520
-
I
416
I'nion till
36
2
43
72
Total since opening of rond to Dec. 31, 1879.
TONNAGE REPORT, N. C. N. G. R. R. CO.
Buena Vista . ...
12.720
250.000.00
21
Total
7.619
935.04
HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY CALIFORNIA.
MILL ST. FOUNDRY
WATER POWEN
OFFICE
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--
-
-
FOUNDRY OF M.C. TAYLOR, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA CO, CAL
PUBLISHED BY THÔN JON & WEST.
131
WIRTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
expanse of constructing them reporel ony by the county in that direction had the county goverment was great roads at all commuratwith --- utter inqm ihinty the only rate of havel che points The trial, Fun gorges and acro feri mento cn a 110 phiees imph abk by w vor gud wed tratepirteken reen winding up and around the I ] with their last of p. plies for the mining cump far in the dirt of mountain & m of the cus were insen sible that ever the an fald make had to be abandoned and the grand t ken to the's de ti untion upon the back of un
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