Hetch Hetchy Railroad
| Hetch Hetchy Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Locale | East Central California |
| Dates of operation | 1917 – 1949 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) |
| Headquarters | Groveland |
The Hetch Hetchy Railroad (HHRR) was a 68 mile (109 km) standard gauge Class III railroad constructed by the City of San Francisco to support the construction and expansion of the O'Shaughnessy Dam across Hetch Hetchy Valley.[1]
Based in Groveland, the HHRR operated from 1917 to 1949. It primarily carried construction crews and materials, but also took excursion passengers, freight, and mail. The line extended from its western terminus at Hetch Hetchy Junction (a junction with the Sierra Railroad at Sierra milepost 26, 1,000 feet (300 m) elevation at ), topping out at Poopenaut Pass at 5,064 feet (1,543 m) elevation (), to its eastern terminus at about 3,800 feet (1,158 m) elevation on the rim of the Hetch Hetchy Valley (est. ) above the construction site.
The mountainous terrain resulted in steep grades (over 4%) and extremely sharp curves (30 degrees, a 190-foot (58 m) radius), requiring trains to move slowly, at speeds of less than 8 miles per hour (13 kph).[1]
History
Construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam
With the passage of the Raker Act in 1913, San Francisco began to plan to tap the Tuolumne River watershed for water and power. A key element of the plan was a new reservoir in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, but access to the area was poor, so a railroad was planned. The first 9 miles (15 km) were completed in 1915, and the remaining 59 miles were completed by October 1917. Construction costs for the HHRR were about US$3 million, far less than what the city might have paid contractors to transport concrete and other materials for the dam over the rough terrain.[1]
Hetch Hetchy Railroad operated as a common carrier from July 1918 to February 1925 while the dam was under construction. As a common carrier it was subject to rules of the California Railroad Commission, so there are published time tables and tariffs for this period. However, unlike most common carriers, the president of the railroad was San Francisco Mayor James Rolph, and the vice president and general manager was the construction project's chief engineer Michael M. O'Shaughnessy. Revenue to support operation of the railroad was generated by charging timber companies and others along the line for freight. The line also carried mail for those in the area.
Since the support of the public in San Francisco was essential to the remote construction project's success, excursion trains were run to the site. For about US$30, passengers would board a sleeper car in San Francisco on Friday night, crossing California's Central Valley overnight, then boarding Hetch Hetchy line excursion cars on Saturday morning. Tourists spent two days viewing the construction site and the surrounding forest, spending Saturday night in bunkhouses and eating meals prepared on site. On Sunday afternoon they boarded the train for the trip back down the mountain, met the sleeper cars for the Sunday night valley crossing, and arrived back in San Francisco on Monday morning in time to go to work.[1]
Raising the O'Shaughnessy Dam
Intensive operations supporting the construction of the dam were complete in 1923, but the rail line continued operating as a freight and mail hauler, especially in winter when roads were too muddy for freight or were snowbound.
Between 1934 and 1938 the line was pressed back into construction service while the height of the dam was increased from 364 feet (111 m) to the present 430 feet (130 m) above bedrock.[2] Since repairs were necessary before the line could again haul heavy freight to support construction hauling, and it was the height of the Great Depression, an Emergency Relief Act provided about 600 workers to refurbish the line. Operations of the restored line were turned over to the Sierra Railway, and the reconstituted railroad started operations May 13, 1935, with a train of four cars powered by Sierra engines #30 and #32.
Decline and deconstruction
The amount of freight that remained to be hauled after construction activity ceased in 1938 was not sufficient to continue using steam engines; gasoline locomotives were used instead. Rain washouts and difficulties clearing heavy snowfalls made winter operations very difficult. The station at Hetch Hetchy Junction was removed in 1938. Sidings and spurs were ripped up and the steel sold to support the war effort in the early 1940s, and structures in Groveland were removed 1944. Roads into the area improved, and with low usage the railroad tracks deteriorated. In 1949 the entire line was dismantled.
An abandoned HHRR bridge across the Tuolumne River was removed between 1967 and 1971 to clear the canyon for the expansion of Lake Don Pedro.[3]
Several parts of the railroad's right-of-way were used for roadbeds: State Highway 120 in Big Oak Flat, and Cherry Oil Road to Camp Mather and beyond to the O'Shaughnessy Dam.
Stations
- Milepost 50 — Jones Station — The site is marked by an old apple tree. In 2004 volunteers with metal detectors found stove parts, many nails indicating building locations, cans, buttons, cooking implements, and many other artifacts.[4]
Rolling stock
Locomotives
Seven locomotives saw regular service. Six were owned by the HHRR and one was leased from the Sierra Railroad.
Hetch Hetchy Railroad #1
Hetch Hetchy Railroad #2
The Heisler locomotive that would eventually become Pickering Lumber #2 was one of the first locomotives purchased when San Francisco began buying for the HHRR in 1917.[5] Built in 1918, it may have worked tender to tender Hetch Hetchy #4. In 1923 #2 was sold to Standard Lumber Company which became Pickering Lumber.[6]
Hetch Hetchy Railroad #3
Baldwin #35780 was built in 1910 and saw first service as Youngstown & Ohio River #1. It became Hetch Hetchy Railroad #3 in 1919. In 1927, about three years after HHRR passenger service was discontinued, this engine was sold and transported to Grants Pass to became California & Oregon Coast #301. In 1941 it became Ideal Cement Company #301, which was retired around 1950.[7]
The numbers for HHRR #3: 2-8-2, 21×24" cylinders, 46" drivers, 165 lbs. BP, 167,000 lbs. total weight, 131,000 lbs. on drivers, 31,330 lbs. TF.[7]
Hetch Hetchy Railroad #4
Hetch Hetchy Railroad #4 was built in 1920 by American Locomotive Company. This 2-8-2 Mikado had 20×28" cylinders and 48" drivers, weighed 97 tons and was had an overall length of 79'-10". In 1924 when HHRR sold five engines, this one went to the Newaukum Valley Railroad in Washington where it was renumbered #1000. In 1944 it was sold to the Santa Maria Valley Railroad, and in 1958 it was donated to the Travel Town museum in Los Angeles, California.[5]
Hetch Hetchy Railroad #5
Hetch Hetchy #5 is a 2-6-2 built by Alco/Cooke in 1921, construction number 62965. This engine saw service on HHRR through the raising of the dam in the 1930s, then in 1937 it was sold to Weyerhaeuser who moved it to Vail, Washington and gave it #100. In 1948 Weyerhaeuser moved it to Sutherlin, Oregon where it rests today.[8][9]
Hetch Hetchy Railroad #6
Hetch Hetchy #6 is a three truck 80 ton Class C Shay locomotive with build date 1921-11-26 and construction number 3170. This oil-fired engine developed a tractive effort of 35,100 lbs. with 200 lbs. boiler pressure in the three 13.5×15" cylinders pushing 36" drivers.[10]
On January 30, 1978, "Hetch Hetchy Railroad Engine No.6" was added to the National Register of Historic Places, where it is listed as being located at . The listing, with NRIS Reference number 78000360, says the "architect" is Lima Locomotive Co., calls it "Engine (Locomotive) No. 6;Shay No. 6", and lists its period of significance as 1900-1924 and year of significance as 1921.[11]
Sierra Railroad #12
Other stock
Hetch Hetchy Railroad Motorcar No. 19 appears in a list of equipment invited to Railfair '99. [12] This motorcar may be in the collection of Railtown 1897.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hanson, Warren D. (2005). "San Francisco Water and Power, A History of the Municipal Water Department and Hetch Hetchy". June 2005. SFPUC Communications. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
- ↑ Greene, Linda (September 1987). [http://www.nps.gov/archive/yose/history/greene1987v2.pdf Historic Resource Study, Volume 2 of 3] (PDF). Yosemite: the Park and its Resources 948–961. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
- ↑ Barnes, Dwight (1987). Chapter 17, The Dirt Begins to Fly. The Greening of Paradise Valley. Modesto Irrigation District. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
- ↑ In Search Of...Lost Rangers and Pioneers 2004.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Travel Town: Locomotives: Santa Maria Valley #1000. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
- ↑ Pickering Lumber #2. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 California and Oregon Coast No. 301. Retrieved on 2006-04-10.
- ↑ Surviving Steam Locomotives of Oregon. Retrieved on 2006-04-10.
- ↑ Rob Jacox's Western Rails: Weyerhauser Sutherlin OR. Retrieved on 2006-04-12.
- ↑ Shop Number 3170. Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
- ↑ National Register Information System. Retrieved on 2006-04-09.
- ↑ (no title). Retrieved on 2006-04-11.
References
- Ted Wurm, Hetch Hetchy and its dam railroad, Howell-North Books (1973), ISBN 978-0831071028
