Nostalgia & History > WP on a Wednesday . . .

.   .   .   just another set of power at WP's Oroville, CA, engine facility in NOV '73.
JB

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Great catch, remarkable consist.
Remarkable ground cover if it gets tracked across the living room carpet.
t4p.

Great photo, which brings up a question I've had in the back of my mind for years.  Did the WP yard in Oroville get much use in the later years of the railroad? 

I don't think any trains originated or terminated there, and I can't recall WP using helpers in the Canyon in the late diesel era (with the modest 1% grade).
Perhaps a local or two went south from here to switch industries down towards Marysville and points beyond?

I also recall reading this is where BN power would be taken off and put on Highline trains, to avoid an unnecessary trip to Stockton.

Rich



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2026 03:18PM by PasadenaSub.

Outstanding image, Oroville was a great place back then.
—Mac

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great catch, remarkable consist.
> Remarkable ground cover if it gets tracked across
> the living room carpet.
> t4p.

My first thought was Haz Mat site. Wow. Cool shot.

PasadenaSub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great photo, which brings up a question I've had
> in the back of my mind for years.  Did the WP
> yard in Oroville get much use in the later years
> of the railroad? 
>
> I don't think any trains originated or terminated
> there, and I can't recall WP using helpers in the
> Canyon in the late diesel era (with the modest 1%
> grade).
> Perhaps a local or two went south from here to
> switch industries down towards Marysville and
> points beyond?
>
> I also recall reading this is where BN power would
> be taken off and put on Highline trains, to avoid
> an unnecessary trip to Stockton.
>
> Rich

Yes this was where power and freight cars were added and removed from Highline trains. 

PasadenaSub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great photo, which brings up a question I've had
> in the back of my mind for years.  Did the WP
> yard in Oroville get much use in the later years
> of the railroad? 
>
> I don't think any trains originated or terminated
> there, and I can't recall WP using helpers in the
> Canyon in the late diesel era (with the modest 1%
> grade).
> Perhaps a local or two went south from here to
> switch industries down towards Marysville and
> points beyond?
>
> I also recall reading this is where BN power would
> be taken off and put on Highline trains, to avoid
> an unnecessary trip to Stockton.
>
> Rich

Yes, Oroville was a going concern right up to merger day. As like any place, there were slow times and other times quite busy. Oroville was a crew change for all trains east, west and up the highline. Most trains were blocked, but some were power through on the main. There were 3 shifts on the switch engine 7 days a week although when traffic slumped they would reduce to 2 shifts. The yard office operated in 3 shifts as well and MOW crews operated out of the marshalling yard.

Oroville operated a lot like Roseville, trains off the 2nd sub would get more power for the 3rd and 4th sub. And yes, BN power was often pulled in Oroville, serviced and sent back up the Highline. In the summer you could pull your pickup right up by the cow track on the west end near the tall light town and watch the switch engine both day and night. The light tower provided good light the the GP7 kicking cars in run 8 was always a great show. The engine service tracks were a wonderful place to see lots of power sitting and idling, day and night as WP only shut down units fir their mandatory inspections.

Clives comment on the ground around the service area was spot on. I tracked that good stuff in my pickup and took it home many times. It sure did smell good on a hot summer day.

PasadenaSub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great photo, which brings up a question I've had
> in the back of my mind for years.  Did the WP
> yard in Oroville get much use in the later years
> of the railroad? 
>
> I don't think any trains originated or terminated
> there, and I can't recall WP using helpers in the
> Canyon in the late diesel era (with the modest 1%
> grade).
> Perhaps a local or two went south from here to
> switch industries down towards Marysville and
> points beyond?
>
> I also recall reading this is where BN power would
> be taken off and put on Highline trains, to avoid
> an unnecessary trip to Stockton.
>
> Rich

Oroville was WP's 2nd Yard, just behind Stockton in importance. Before Stockton Diesel Shop was built, Oroville was seriously considered for expansion into a modern humpyard and diesel repair facility with U23Bs being purchased for the hump. Alas WP was not in the financial position to build such a large yard.

Posted from iPhone

ChrisCampi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TCnR Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > Remarkable ground cover if it gets tracked across the living room carpet.
> My first thought was Haz Mat site. Wow. Cool shot.

It was an honest-to-goodness Superfund site but has been cleaned up by UP: https://www.epa.gov/archive/epapages/newsroom_archive/newsreleases/c0828bd8b2eae1fc852570d8005e144c.html

 EPA REMOVES OROVILLE, CA SITE FROM SUPERFUND LIST

Release Date: 8/29/2001
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, 415/744-2201

     Soil, groundwater cleaned up

     SAN FRANCISCO   With the cleanup complete, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today removed the Western Pacific Railroad Site in southern Oroville, Calif. from the national listing of federal Superfund sites.

     While this is just the fifth Superfund site deleted in California, 35 sites in have construction completed and another 38 sites have construction underway.  There are currently 95 Superfund sites in California overall.

     "Our work is done here," said Keith Takata, director of the EPA's Superfund program in San Francisco.  "Just 10 years after targeting this site for federal cleanup, we can say that the groundwater and soil no longer pose a threat to workers or the surrounding community."

     The U.S. EPA named the 90-acre Western Pacific Site as a  federal Superfund site in 1990.  

     From 1920 through 1982, Western Pacific used the western portion of the property to fuel, repair and maintain rail cars, which resulted in soil and groundwater at the site becoming contaminated with waste solvents, oils, grease and heavy metals. Under separate orders from the state and U.S. EPA, the site's current owner, Union Pacific Railroad Co., removed contaminated soils from the property in 1989 and again in 1998.

     The EPA sampled and monitored groundwater for a decade before determining earlier this year that an on-site pump and treat system had cleaned up contamination to federal cleanup levels.  The site has been zoned only for industrial use in the future, and the EPA will conduct a review of the site every five years to ensure the property remains free of contamination.

     Today's announcement followed a 30-day public comment period that generated no responses.  The EPA continues to work on another Oroville Superfund cleanup, Koppers Industries, Inc.

Was there still a great deal of traffic going to/from the Oroville and Yuba City areas on WP to prompt all those switch crews in Oroville?  Is that the traffic that generated the need for switching activity outside of Stockton?   

Yes, Oroville had a lot of lumber traffic and all the car setouts from the Inside Gateway. SP still maintained trackage rights to Oroville via the WP after they abandoned their own line there to switch several industries. SN traffic from Chico and Yuba City generally went south to South Sacramento.