Feather River Railway

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For the former Western Pacific Railroad line, see Feather River Route.
Feather River Railway
Overview
HeadquartersFeather Falls, California
LocaleButte County, California
Dates of operation1922–1966
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Western section of 1948 route with connection to Western Pacific line
Eastern portion of route in 1948


The Feather River Railway was built in 1922 for the Hutchinson Lumber Company to bring logs from Feather Falls, California, to a connection with the Western Pacific Railroad (WP) at . The WP would then transport the logs to the Hutchinson sawmill in Oroville, California. The sawmill burned in 1927; and the railway was unused through the Great Depression until reorganized as a common carrier in 1938 to serve a new sawmill built at Feather Falls. Georgia-Pacific purchased the sawmill and railway in 1955. The railway ceased operation after portions of the grade were flooded by Oroville Dam during the Christmas flood of 1964.[1]

Locomotives[]

Number Builder Type Date Works number Notes[2]
1 Lima Locomotive Works 3-truck Shay locomotive 1921 3169 purchased new; placed on display at Oroville in 1961
2 Lima Locomotive Works 3-truck Shay locomotive 1922 3177 purchased new. Sold to Sierra Railway.
3 Lima Locomotive Works 3-truck Shay locomotive 1923 3221 purchased new
4 H.K. Porter, Inc. 0-6-0 Tank locomotive 1907 3951 built as Mammoth Copper Mining Company #4; scrapped in 1957
5 Willamette Iron and Steel Works 3-truck Willamette locomotive 1923 9 purchased new; scrapped in 1957
8 GE Transportation GE 44-ton switcher 1951 30791[3] built as C.D. Johnson Lumber Company #8; purchased in 1963
91 Lima Locomotive Works 3-truck Shay locomotive 1928 3322 built as Polson Logging Company #91; purchased for parts in 1958; scrapped
102 Electro-Motive Diesel EMD SW900 1959 25504[3] built as Hammond Redwood Company #102; purchased in 1961
A[3] Plymouth Locomotive Works gas-mechanical locomotive 1930[3] 3476[3] built for Garfield & Company[3]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Barnhill Web Design. "Feather River Railway". TrainWeb. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  2. ^ Stephens, Kent (1965). "The Feather River Railway in 1965". The Western Railroader. Francis A. Guido. 28 (306): 12.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhill Web Design. "Feather River Railway". TrainWeb. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
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