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Williams Loop
The Williams Loop is a rail spiral on the Union Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route through the Sierra Nevada mountains in northeastern California, connecting the Sacramento Valley to Salt Lake City via the Feather River canyons. Located about five miles east of East Quincy, the loop is used to gain elevation on the eastward climb to its summit at Beckwourth Pass while maintaining the railroad's overall 1.0 percent (compensated) grade, the least steep of any grade on a transcontinental railroad. Built in 1914 by the Western Pacific Railroad, the loop and the nearby Spring Garden Tunnel help surmount the divide between the East Branch North Fork Feather River and the Middle Fork Feather River. The Williams Loop is part of Plumas County Plumas County () is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beckwourth Pass
Beckwourth Pass is the lowest mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range at an elevation of . Geography Beckwourth Pass is located at the eastern edge of Sierra Valley at Chilcoot-Vinton, California on the border between Plumas County and Lassen County, east of Portola, California and northwest of Reno, Nevada. California State Route 70 crosses over Beckwourth Pass and the Feather River Route of the former Western Pacific, now Union Pacific Railroad beneath it via the Chilcoot Tunnel. Route 70 and the railroad line provide an alternate route between Sacramento, California and Reno, Nevada when Interstate 80 and the Overland Route, which cross the Sierra Nevada near Donner Pass, are impassable due to winter storms. History James Beckwourth is credited with the discovery of Beckwourth Pass in 1850. In 1851, he improved what was originally a Native American path into Sierra Valley to create his Beckwourth Trail. The trail ran from Truckee Meadows (what is now known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Infrastructure In California
Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 film), a film by Geoffrey Jones for British Transport Films *'' Mirattu'' or ''Rail'', a Tamil-language film and its Telugu dub Magazines * ''Rail'' (magazine), a British rail transport periodical * ''Rails'' (magazine), a former New Zealand based rail transport periodical Other arts *The Rails, a British folk-rock band * Rail (theater) or batten, a pipe from which lighting, scenery, or curtains are hung Technology *Rails framework or Ruby on Rails, a web application framework *Rail system (firearms), a mounting system for firearm attachments *Front engine dragster *Runway alignment indicator lights, a configuration of an approach lighting system *Rule Augmented Interconnect Layout, a specification for expressing guidelines for pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plumas County
Plumas County () is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the county is East Quincy. The county was named for the Spanish ''Río de las Plumas'' (the Feather River), which flows through it. The county itself is also the namesake of a native moth species, ''Hadena plumasata''. History Before the California Gold Rush of 1849, the indigenous Mountain Maidu were the primary inhabitants of the area now known as Plumas County. The Maidu lived in small settlements along the edges of valleys, subsisting on roots, acorns, grasses, seeds, and occasionally fish and big game. They were decentralized and had no tribal leadership; most bands lived along waterways in and around their own valleys. Areas with high snowfall, including the Mohawk and Sierra valleys, were hunting grounds for game in the warmer months. In 1848 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Fork Feather River
The Middle Fork Feather River is a major river in Plumas and Butte Counties in the U.S. state of California. Nearly long, it drains about of the rugged northern Sierra Nevada range. Its headwaters are located near Beckwourth in the largest alpine basin in the Sierra Nevada, the Sierra Valley. The convergence of several streams there creates the Sierra Valley Channels, the largest of which is Little Last Chance Creek, flowing out of Frenchman Lake across the northeast side of the valley. Flowing west, it is joined by Big Grizzly Creek, with waters from Lake Davis. The river continues west, passing Portola and turning northwest at Clio, where it is joined by Sulphur Creek. In the area of Graeagle, It is joined by Frazier Creek, flowing out of Gold Lake, then Gray Eagle Creek, flowing out of Long Lake. After flowing through the Mohawk Valley, it then turns westwards into a canyon. Jamison Creek and Nelson Creek enter from the left, then Onion Valley Creek a few miles onward. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Branch North Fork Feather River
The East Branch North Fork Feather River is a left tributary of the North Fork Feather River in the northern Sierra Nevada, Plumas County, California. Primarily within the Plumas National Forest, its course extends from Paxton (north of Quincy) to Belden. Course The East Branch is formed by the confluence of Indian Creek and Spanish Creek just upstream of Paxton. Indian Creek and Spanish Creek drain an extensive watershed along about of the Sierra Crest in eastern Plumas County, along its border with Lassen County. Indian Creek is long, but is long measured to the head of its tributary Last Chance Creek. Spanish Creek, the smaller of the two, is about long. From the confluence, the East Branch winds west for through a steep and narrow canyon until its confluence with the North Fork next to Caribou Rd (40°00'49.9"N 121°13'32.4"W), about northeast of Oroville. The river canyon is an important transportation corridor, forming route for SR 70, which parallels the nort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spring Garden Tunnel
The Spring Garden Tunnel is a railway tunnel located at Spring Garden, California. At long, it is the longest of 34 tunnels on the Feather River Route ( cf. Chilcoot Tunnel) and crosses under the drainage divide between the East Branch North Fork Feather River (north portal, ) and the Middle Fork Feather River (south portal, ). History The Western Pacific Railroad (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad) built the tracks along the Feather River in 1909 to complete the Feather River Route, a San Francisco Bay Area to Salt Lake City route competing with the Southern Pacific's route over Donner Pass. While significantly longer, the Feather River Route was preferred by some over the Donner Pass route (elevation about ) over the Sierra Nevada mountains, because the former's summit under Beckwourth Pass is at a lower elevation (about ) and most of the route follows a gentler grade along the Feather River. The tunnel was designated one of Plumas County's " 7 Wonders of the Railr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route directly competed with SP's portion of the Overland Route for rail traffic between Salt Lake City/Ogden, Utah, and Oakland, California, for nearly 80 years. The Western Pacific was one of the original operators of the ''California Zephyr'' passenger line. In 1982, the Western Pacific was acquired by the Union Pacific Corporation and it was soon merged into their Union Pacific Railroad. History The original Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870) was established in 1862 to build the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, between Sacramento and San Jose, California (later Oakland, California). After completing the last link from Sacramento to Oakland, this company was absorbed into the Central Pacific Railroad in 1870. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trains (magazine)
''Trains'' is a monthly magazine about trains and railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ... aimed at railfan, railroad enthusiasts and railroad industry employees. The magazine primarily covers railroad happenings in the United States and Canada, but has some articles on railroading elsewhere. It is among the 11 magazines published by Kalmbach Media, based in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It was founded as ''Trains'' in 1940 by publisher Al C. Kalmbach and editorial director Linn Westcott. From October 1951 to March 1954, the magazine was named ''Trains and Travel''. Jim Wrinn, a former reporter and editor at the ''Charlotte Observer'', served as editor from 2004 until his death in 2022. Carl A. Swanson succeeded him. Editors * Al C. Kalmbach, 1940–1948 * Willard V. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruling Gradient
The term ruling grade is usually used as a synonym for "steepest climb" between two points on a railroad. More simply, the steepest grade to be climbed dictates how powerful the motive power (or how light the train) must be in order for the run to be made without assistance. Even if 99% of the line could be run with a low-powered (and inexpensive) locomotive, if at some point on the line there is a steeper gradient than such train would be able to climb, this gradient "rules" that a more powerful locomotive must be used, in spite of it being far too powerful for the rest of the line. This is why special "helper engines" (also dubbed "Bankers") are often stationed near steep grades on otherwise mild tracks. It is cheaper than running a too-powerful locomotive over the entire track mileage just in order to make the grade, especially when multiple trains run over the line each day (to help justify the fixed daily cost of the helper operation). In the 1953 edition of ''Railway Engineer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Route Summit
A route summit is the highest point on a transportation route crossing higher ground. The term is often used in describing railway routes, less often in road transportation. In canal terminology, the highest pound on a route is called the summit pound. Examples of usage Rail * Beattock Summit * Stainmore Summit, formerly the second highest railway in England until its closure in 1962 * Summit Tank - highest point Unanderra - Moss Vale * Cullerin - highest point Sydney - Albury * Shap Shap is a linear village and civil parish located among fells and isolated dales in Eden district, Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Westmorland. The parish had a population of 1,221 in 2001, increasing slightly to 1,264 at the 2011 ... Transport infrastructure {{Rail-transport-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiral (railway)
A spiral (sometimes called a spiral loop or just loop) is a technique employed by railways to ascend steep hills. A railway spiral rises on a steady curve until it has completed a loop, passing over itself as it gains height, allowing the railway to gain vertical elevation in a relatively short horizontal distance. It is an alternative to a zig-zag, and avoids the need for the trains to stop and reverse direction while ascending. If the train is longer than the length of each loop it may be possible to view it looping above itself. The term "loop" is also often used for a railway that curves sharply and goes back on itself: if the railway crosses itself, then it forms a spiral or helix; otherwise, it forms the much more common horseshoe curve or bend. List of spirals Argentina * Two spirals between Tacuara and Meseta at and on the heritage ''Tren a las Nubes'' section of the Salta–Antofagasta railway part of the General Manuel Belgrano Railway. Australia * Spiral on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
