A Visit to Knight Foundry!

On Saturday January 13th, a handful of Railtown volunteers and staff took a field trip to the historic Knight Foundry in Sutter Creek. Although it is much older, first opened in 1873, Knight Foundry is very reminiscent of the Jamestown Shop complex, with its belt-driven machine shop featuring many of the same types of equipment. However, whereas the Sierra Railway Jamestown Shops house only the tools and machines needed for the upkeep of railroad equipment specifically, Knight Foundry is a rare example of a nineteenth century engineering shop, capable of designing and manufacturing almost any industrial component.

As a direct connection to our history, the Sierra Railway contracted work out to the foundry on occasion. As it happens, the foundry was making parts for one of the Niles Canyon Railway's steam locomotives during our visit.

It was a special experience to see the foundry and machine shop at work, a prime example of living history in action. Many of the skills and trades still employed here were and still are used at Railtown. Interpretive Aide Mike Ninneman was so impressed by the foundry's knowledgeable docents and their demonstrations that he returned after lunch to buy a membership. Be sure to join us on future field trips, a calendar of events will be sent out soon!

Cleaning up the place!

Late last month, a demolition crew began work near the entrance to the Railtown property making quite a ruckus. It didn't take long for folks to take notice of the activity, and we were pleasantly surprised to see some much needed cleanup being done on the property adjacent to the end of the main track!

The property owner decided to remove the old mobile home that had been deteriorating for many years after their last tenant was vacated, greatly improving the aesthetic around our park as visitors enter Railtown. The small victories really add up!

Rebuilding the Freight Shed ADA Ramp

This past month, our staff and volunteers began work to replace the old ADA ramp at the North end of the Freight Shed. The building is the oldest on the property and has been suffering from deferred maintenance for many years. With the Polar season underway, this project was critical to complete in a quick and efficient manner. The project was completed in just over a week, just before the Polar Express rehearsal. Great work everyone!

The old ramp is a pile of rubble in this photo. A temporary ramp was installed adjacent to the old ramp foundations while the new one was being built.

Volunteers Mike DeCesare and Mike Vargas assess the condition of the deck while Gary Hosman takes measurements to facilitate construction of the new ADA ramp.

Park Maintenance Assistant Caleb Jones making custom deck boards for the new ramp.

Maintenance Work I Danny Taylor and Park Maintenance Supervisor Ryan Cannutt working to complete the ADA ramp while our weekday maintenance crew were setting up the North Pole.

The end result! Good job everyone!

The Roundhouse Boiler Shop

An overview of the Sierra Railway Jamestown Shops circa 1922, taken during an I.C.C. survey.

Over the past few years, Interpretive Aide Mike Ninneman has been working to update the historical background information about Railtown for our interpretive program. Much of the information supplied to our volunteers has been passed down through the years from older published sources or anecdotes taken from first or secondhand accounts. However, as with any subject, careful research has revealed numerous errors which have been incorporated into Railtown's storytelling over time.

One example is the "Blacksmith forge" located in the Roundhouse. Previous interpretive manuals cite its origins as the 1950s, when the original Blacksmith Shop was leased to a leaf spring manufacturing company. The common speculation has been that following the Great Depression the Blacksmith performed all his work in the Roundhouse, which is why a forge was installed there. This is not the case, as demonstrated in part by the I.C.C. Valuation records for the Sierra Railway.

The Boiler Shop as it exists today. Aside from some clutter, it has changed little over the past century.

During the late 19th early 20th Centuries, the Interstate Commerce Commission was responsible for the regulation of American railroads, which included setting operational, maintenance, and safety standards as well as helping common carrier railroads set freight rates. Many of these responsibilities were later assumed by the Federal Railroad Administration in 1967 under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Transportation; the I.C.C. was finally dissolved in 1996.

In 1916, the I.C.C. began a valuation survey of the Sierra Railway in order to accurately estimate the cost or value of the railroad's assets so that freight rates could be fairly determined. To do this, the dimensions and construction materials of all rolling stock and buildings as well as the original purchase price and manufacturer/previous owner (if known) along with the age and depreciation of all tools, machines, and equipment had to be documented. All of this information helped the I.C.C. determine the owners' ultimate cost or investment in the railroad's infrastructure. Based on this information, the I.C.C. kept freight rates in check so that the railroad could maintain a profit without charging customers exorbitant fees. Over the years, knowledge and documentation of the Sierra Railway's operational practices has been lost or forgotten; fortunately, the I.C.C. valuation records exist intact, providing significant detailed information on this early period in its long and storied history.

Back to the main point, the forge inside the Jamestown Roundhouse was installed in 1912, according to the I.C.C. records. However, this forge was not used by the Blacksmith, but rather by the Boilermaker. You see, when the original roundhouse burned down in 1910 and the current roundhouse was built to replace it, the old alleyway between the Roundhouse and Machine Shop was enclosed, creating what was known as the "Boiler Shop". This area was used exclusively by the Boilermaker and his helpers to perform maintenance on the steam locomotives.

The Boilermaker was essentially a locomotive mechanic who, under the direction of the Master Mechanic, performed nearly every kind of maintenance task pertaining to the steam locomotives, such as inspecting the boilers, changing the tires, replacing broken staybolts and braces, removing and "safe-ending" boiler tubes, laying firebrick, servicing brake valves and components, cleaning out* and patching the tender tanks, etc. (In the old days, many of the water tanks were fed by shallow wells, which deposited large amounts of sand in the tender tanks, which had to be scooped out periodically to prevent sand from running through the injectors.)

The Boiler Shop was his workspace, and while it may have occasionally been shared with the Blacksmith, it was generally used by shop personnel working on the steam locomotives. While it is okay to use the general duties of a Blacksmith as a point of reference, it is important to properly interpret the role of the Boilermaker as it is a position unique to railroad shops. As the public's primary source of information on the history of the park, it is crucial for us to learn as much as we can about our subject matter so we may disseminate accurate information to our audience.

Exploring the Sugar Pine Railway

On Wednesday, October 18th, Railtown Interpretive staff Daniel, Mike, and Avery accompanied Volunteer Curtis Watson on the old Sugar Pine Railway grade near Gurney in Twain Harte. Although seldom mentioned in our tours, the Sugar Pine Railway and its owner the Standard Lumber Company (later Pickering) were an important part of railroading in Tuolumne County, especially in regard to the Sierra Railway.

Volunteer Curtis talks with Interpretive Aides Mike and Avery about the Sugar Pine Railway.

The original Standard Lumber Company plant at Sonora circa 1905.

In 1901, Thomas Bullock and partners founded the Standard Lumber Company for the purpose of expanding the local logging industry to export finished lumber all over the country. Two years later, the Sugar Pine Railway was established, branching from the Sierra Railway mainline at Ralph (originally Campbell's station) at Milepost 54, just under three miles from Tuolumne.

Camp Sequoia on the Sugar Pine Railway above Lyons Dam. This camp only operated in 1913.

In the early days, logs were felled and milled at numerous small mountain sawmills above Twain Harte and the rough cut lumber was then shipped via the Sugar Pine Railway down to finishing mills in Sonora. By 1913, insurance for these mountain mills became unobtainable due to the threat of fire, and the company established a new permanent mill site at Standard, a town built exclusively to sustain the lumber company's operations. Over time, the mills out in the woods and in Sonora were shut down and replaced as the Standard mill was modernized, but the Sugar Pine Railway continued branching out into the woods throughout the Stanislaus River watershed. The railroad remained in regular operation until 1965, and the rails were finally scrapped in 1974, just three years after Shay No. 7's fire was dropped for the last time.

Daniel, Curtis, and Avery explore the Depot site in Tuolumne. The water standpipe is all that remains.

Since the walk on the Sugar Pine grade above Gurney was shorter than expected, Mike led the group on a driving tour of other points of historical interest on the way back to Railtown, including the old Depot site in Tuolumne, the junction at Ralph, and the old townsite at Standard. The trip was very enjoyable, we hope to be able to hold more expeditions like this in the future!

Curtis, Daniel, and Avery stop to see the Apple packing house and Pickering telephone shack at Ralph.

The 597 Odyssey!

Back in August, our crew of maintenance volunteers began work to replace several rotted plywood panels behind the bar in Mountain Observation car No. 597. Over the years, exposure to rain has led to a buildup of moisture between the exterior siding and the interior paneling, causing the wooden panels to deteriorate. Fortunately, this was nothing that our volunteers couldn't handle, and the work was wrapped up this week.

David Ethier and Greg Romelfanger fit and fasten new plywood panels in the 597.

Gary Hosman checks how the work is going

By October, the work was finished! Robert Williams and David Ethier admire the results.

Following a few coats of wood stain, the finished panels really pop!

Tales of the Roundhouse 2023

After much preparation and anticipation, "Tales of the Roundhouse" has come and gone again, with many satisfied visitors and volunteers! Not a typical "Halloween" event, Tales of the Roundhouse is one of the few events we do here at Railtown that brings a number of unknown individual stories of life and death on the Sierra Railway to a larger audience.

One of the unique things about Railtown is the opportunity we provide visitors to experience railroad history in an authentic period setting. Tales of the Roundhouse is an excellent example of not only how to relate history to current generations in an entertaining manner, but why what we do here matters: keeping stories of the past alive to be discovered by our visitors.