Nostalgia & History > Necrophoaming the SN #11

SN 11

Dutton to Molena.

Just across Montezuma Slough from Van Sickle Island was a substation. The operator at this substation also controlled the swing bridge here at Dutton. (Actually, I'm not sure if the name Dutton applied to both sides of Montezuma Slough- USGS maps put the name on the island side) I never set foot here. From across the slough there's nothing to see, and aerial photos showed only a possible concrete slab. Getting there looked to be a real hassle, with not much promise of something to photograph.
But I did turn up something interesting that made up for this slacking..

Photo 1. This is the Drawbridge Operators report from June 1915. Montezuma Slough was rather busy! The bridge opened 104 times that month (about 3.5 times a day). Surprised me. The slough must have been a protected Note that No. 2 was stabbed for 4min on the 28th. Ouch!

Photo 2. MP 49.98. Montezuma. This is looking back towards Pittsburg. The smoke stacks are the PG&E plant near Mallard and the overhead structure of the swing bridge ramp on Van Sickle is silhouetted in the steam plume from the power plant cooling pond. This area is still crossed with causeway much like Van Sickle. The area was criss-crossed by waterways so access looked messy. All the decking appears to be gone- pilings only.

Photo 3. Same spot, looking towards Sacramento. Here we pick up SN rail again. It swings off to the right to serve a cattle chute- this was obviously a spur at one time, but now the switch is gone.

Photo 4. The cattle chute at the End of Track.

Photo 5. MP 51.97. Molena. Note the two poles that carried the catenary over the switch.

Photo 6. The shed at Molina. My guess would be fruit packing- but only a guess.

Photo 7. Still at Molina, but get'n artsie.

SR Bush
Dutch Flat

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What a wonderful series...thank you - B

You correctly captured the atmosphere of long forgotten trackage! Thank you!

Thank you.
These are places best visited alone with time on your hands- makes it easier for the camera to it's job.
This is f-11 country.

SR

I've really enjoyed this series and look forward to future installments.

Do you have pix all the way to Chico and Airport?

I have a few misc. prints of the r-o-w around Sutter from 1992.

In reference to the Cattle Shute in ypur Photo # 4 :
I rode a BAERA excursion on October 10, 1965 that covered all of Solano County on original SN trackage.
Part of that trip took us to Montezuma and THAT cattle shute. We were aboard TWO Key System articulated bridge units, pulled by an SN diesel locomotive. It was a fantastic trip overall !

So, at one time it was possible to ride SN trackage all the way to Montezuma, which you cannot do today!
Sad, actually !!

By the way, Mr. Boiling... If a family lived at Montezuma by the name of HALL --

They'ed be known as the "Halls of Montezuma" ...

Let's take a look at this area about FIVE years ago-- photos courtesy of "STASH" ...

Photo 1. End of Track at Montezuma.

Photo 2. Montezuma looking towards Chipps Island.

Photo 3. Montezuma looking toward Molena and RVJ.

Cheers.

KRK



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/14 11:43 by KeyRouteKen.

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Historic info below, provided thru courtesy of Western Railway Museum:

Montezuma (MP 49.98) Montezuma is the southern end of the line. The line itself is barely visible due to
heavy vegetation and can be identified by some remaining line and power poles along the right of way. To
the south wetlands extend to Chipps Island and Suisun Bay. Remnants of the wooden trestles that crossed
the wetlands are visible from Montezuma. The land near the tracks remains much as it was in 1913. The
region is rural with family owned farms, ranches and wildlife preserves in the immediate area. Sheep and
cows are still visible along the right of way. A 1000-foot livestock loading spur and depot were adjacent to the
main line. The spur remains in place, along with a few portions of the adjacent livestock holding pens. The
depot no longer exists.

Molena (MP 51.97) Molena Station was established on land purchased from Moses and Lena Dinkenspiel in
1913 to serve the nearby community of Birds Landing. It was named Molena in honor of Moses and Lena.
The region remains rural with much of the surrounding area containing family-owned farms and hunting
preserves. A small waiting shelter was built there along with a speeder shed and a freight shed, where space
was provided for an express agent. Express service was provided at Molena until 1926, when the agent
retired, and locals had to go to Birds Landing to pick up items shipped on the railroad. A spur was built from
the north to provide freight service to a large warehouse. In 1926 the San Francisco-Sacramento Railroad
Company converted the spur to a 1018-foot passing siding by extending the spur across Dinkenspiel Road.
The passing siding is still in place. The last passenger train passed through Molena in 1940. With the elimination of passenger service, Molena began a gradual decline. The only surviving buildings are a
speeder shed and warehouse. A few line poles also remain.

The Molena warehouse was constructed in the 1920’s. It was used by area farmers to transfer and store
grain and other agricultural products for eventual loading onto Sacramento Northern rail cars on the adjacent
spur for shipment to markets. The warehouse is of wood frame construction with walls and roof covered with
corrugated steel panels. There are few windows or interior walls, reflecting a utilitarian style typical of line
side buildings constructed by the Sacramento Northern and others at the time. A large door at the northeast
corner allowed trucks to enter the building from an adjacent access road. On the west side there are five
large sliding doors that were used to transfer goods to rail cars on the spur. The building is 85 feet wide by
220 feet long. The roof is divided into two parts, with a gable roof over the main warehouse and a hip roof
over the south end. The building is currently used by area farmers for hay bale storage.

Thanks everybody-- just wanted to add a few details to an otherwise, fantastic photo series...
And a special thank you to "Boiling Man" (SR) ...

KRK

Thanks Ken- I did not know that. (Old Johnny Carson reference) The warehouse somehow seemed suited to shipping fruit to me, but I don't know what sort of fruit growing went on around there- none is apparent now-days.
I hope the museum can someday push down to Montezuma- the view of the Suisun Bay while dropping down the gentle hill to Molena is wonderful!
But I know there's a bridge in bad shape that would require big money just RR east of Molena- a shame.
SR

The "Halls of Montezuma"? Really? Are we testing the limits of what will get us kicked off TO?

gonx Wrote:
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> Do you have pix all the way to Chico and Airport?
>
> I have a few misc. prints of the r-o-w around
> Sutter from 1992.


No, I only went as far as Sacramento.
The balance of things to photograph tipped heavily towards the south end. As I've said, this project was testing the waters for a possible book. My thinking a the time was that a book of weeds & tall grass wasn't going to cut it. I felt I needed "before" photos to make it work- and much more so on the north end. My preference was to use the work of one single photographer to keep the look of the finished work more, I don't know... polished?
But I never was able to coax any of the old timers into it. I invested two years (off & on, mind you) in the south end. Had I interested a collaborator by the time I reached Sac I would have continued north.
But...

SR