Steam & Excursion > The Station Names On This Railroad Were As Beautiful As The Line!

The very first railfan excursion to run in the West took place in May, 1937 on the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad that ran between Colfax and Nevada City, California.  This line had not only a long history dating back to 1874, but also ran through some very beautiful country side.

One of the most enduring features of the 3-foot gauge line were the station names along the way.  Some of these were the following:

1. Chicago Park
2. Town Talk
3. You Bet
4. Buena Vista

In this photo, taken in 1942, just as the line was shutting down for good, we see NCNG 2-8-0 #8 taking on water next to the station at Chicago Park.  She sports a wartime shield on her headlight that dates the image as 1942, during the war and before the end of service.

You can see that the charm in this rail line remained all the way to the end.

Martin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/21 05:23 by LoggerHogger.

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The freight house at Chicago Park still stands.  It is possibly the only truly NCNG building still in existance today (Pure NCNG as opposed to the shared SP depot and packing sheds in Colfax). 
The recent River Fire came a bit too close for comfort, but did not claim the NCNG Chicago Park Freight House.
SR

The freight house was just over the left soulder and behind the photographer here.

BoilingMan Wrote:

> The freight house at Chicago Park still stands. 

Could you please point out where this building is located on a present-day map?  I can't seem to find any photos of it online, and nosing around the area on Google Maps isn't turning up anything that looks like a freight depot.

It's the big building with the silver roof.  It was heavily modified by a new owner about 10yrs ago, so you'd never suspect it's history these days.  The Red Square is about where the Depot sat, and the circle the Water Tower.
I misspoke about the freightouse being behind the photographer-  it was on his right.  The corner of the loading dock is just in the right corner of the photo.
SR

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Nice trackmapping Boilingman! 

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> It's the big building with the silver roof.  It
> was heavily modified by a new owner about 10yrs
> ago, so you'd never suspect it's history these
> days.  The Red Square is about where the Depot
> sat, and the circle the Water Tower.
> I misspoke about the freightouse being behind the
> photographer-  it was on his right.  The corner
> of the loading dock is just in the right corner
> of the photo.
> SR

BoilingMan Wrote:

> It's the big building with the silver roof. 

Thanks much!

Locals sometimes referred to the NCNG as the "Never Come, Never Go."

Boiling Man, I live off of You Bet Road and always wondered where  the location of the You Bet Station (on the old Alignment) was..
I always suspected it was under what is now Rollins Lake...Close to the Peninsula Camp Ground.. . ??
Mike 

Yeah, I think it was near there, although I’m not so sure the grade was below the lake level anymore at that point.
Somewhere I have some maps Herman Darr drew. I’ll dig around tomorrow and look for them. I’ll post anything thing I find here.
SR

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> Yeah, I think it was near there, although I’m
> not so sure the grade was below the lake level
> anymore at that point.
> Somewhere I have some maps Herman Darr drew.
> I’ll dig around tomorrow and look for them.
> I’ll post anything thing I find here.
> SR
Thank you for the name Herman Darr..I found his maps online..Thanks Again...Time to do some exploration

Okay, I found the maps last night  (filed in with my AFT stuff- oops!)
On my Google Earth map:  The RR came up from the South below today's lake level and exited the water in that little cove.  There was a 300ft tunnel through the hill (the gap in my yellow line).  The depot sat just north of the tunnel in what today is a large paved boat ramp  I think the depot was in that paved area.
SR

BTW:  Just beyond the paved lot there is a grade cut in the hillside- this MIGHT be the RR grade.  I was poking around this area a few years ago and thought it sure looked RRy to me!

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