Steam & Excursion > At This Point They Left Joint Trackage & Went On Their Own Line!

Joint trackage agreements have been around nearly since the beginning of railroads.  However, while such agreements were somewhat common on mainline railroads, there are fewer examples of them being used for logging railroads.

Back when the Sierra Railroad was first being built in the the foothills of the Sierra above Jamestown, California, they were hoping to attract new business into the region that would create shipments for that new shortline.  They were successful in accomplishing this with several such businesses such as when the Standard Lumber Co. agreed to build a large sawmill just a few miles east of Sonora.

To feed the new Standard Lumber sawmill a logging railroad was needed.  Rather than build a parallel railroad next to the Sierra trackage running east of Standard, the lumber company was able to use their negotiating leverage to acquire trackage rights over approximately 8 miles of the Sierra for its new Sugar Pine Railway. 

Under this agreement, not only did the Sierra receive all the lumber loads to be shipped out of the Standard mill, but they also received the revenue from the logs and other supplies shipped over the section of joint trackage.  As we see below the Sierra Railroad billed the Standard Lumber Co. and it's Successor Pickering Lumber Corp. each month for the logs and supplies shipped by the lumber company over the Sierra.

One other complication for Pickering Lumber with utilizing joint trackage over a common carrier such as the Sierra RR. was that their locomotives and other rolling stock was under ICC inspection rules that otherwise would not have applied had they just built their own line next to the Sierra RR.  We see in the last view one of the ICC monthly inspection reports on Pickering's Heisler #1.

In the top photo we see Pickering Heisler #1 at Ralph Station on the Sierra just as she is leaving the joint Sierra track and she is now on Pickerin's own line.  The track in the bottom left of this 1954 photo is the Sierra track that continued on to Tuolumne and the West Side Lumber Co. mill.

Martin



Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/18 04:00 by LoggerHogger.

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They mis-spelled gauge.  I'll have to look at my old forms to see if that was corrected by then.

All of the museum's from 1915 through 1953 the word gauge is spelled correctly.  I am sure that the ICC used different printing firms in different parts of the country rather than printing them all in Washington, so somebody in California can't spell.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/18 07:26 by elueck.

It's interesting that they had a different rate for forestry product loads vs supply loads.  You would think that that would be reversed.  It encouraged the Pickering to minimize the non-revenue loads.

wingomann Wrote:
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> It's interesting that they had a different rate
> for forestry product loads vs supply loads.  You
> would think that that would be reversed.  It
> encouraged the Pickering to minimize the
> non-revenue loads.

That is interesting. In fact, the railroad lost money on this move, overall.

Looks like just about where Soulsbyville Rd turns off the Sonora,Tuolumne rd.I must go explore out there next time I come visit the US.
Regards,dK

It's nice to see a photo showing the mid-train helper.

Posted from Android

Yes, that is the place. Ralphs Station is also locally known as Buckhorn Hill. You can see the old Pickering right of way leaving the Sierra rignt of way on the north side as well as where the spurs/sidings were off both the Sierra (south side) and Pickerings track to receive apple shipments. Back in the earlier days of the Sierra they would haul about 50 box cars of apples out during harvest season. There were many more loal orchards then than now exist in that area.

John