San Joaquin and Eastern Railroad
Encyclopedia
The San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad (SJ&E) was a standard gauge
common carrier railroad that operated in the foothills
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Fresno County in the U.S. state
of California
. The line was abandoned in 1933. The railroad hauled primarily lumber and agricultural products.
The SJ&E was originally built to get men and supplies to the Big Creek
Hydroelectric Project and Dam for the Pacific Light and Power Company (now Southern California Edison
). The track was constructed for $1,055,728 by a railroad contractor named Stone & Webster Company and grading commenced on February 16, 1912 and construction was completed on December 15, 1912. The 55 mile line started at El Prado (near Friant where it interchanged with the Southern Pacific Railroad
. The SP branch continued on to Fresno where it intercepted the SP Mainline. From El Prado the line went east to Auberry and then terminated at Big Creek (Cascade/Cascada).
The railroad was known as the “crookedest railroad in the world”. The railroad featured 1073 curves up to 60 degrees. The railroad had 43 wooden trestles and 255 steep grades with the steepest at 5.3%.
The track was abandoned and dismantled in 1933 amid the Great Depression
.
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
common carrier railroad that operated in the foothills
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Fresno County in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The line was abandoned in 1933. The railroad hauled primarily lumber and agricultural products.
History
Big Creek, California
Big Creek is a small census-designated place in Fresno County, California located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the north bank of Big Creek. It lies at an elevation of 4984 feet . Its population is 175...
Hydroelectric Project and Dam for the Pacific Light and Power Company (now Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...
). The track was constructed for $1,055,728 by a railroad contractor named Stone & Webster Company and grading commenced on February 16, 1912 and construction was completed on December 15, 1912. The 55 mile line started at El Prado (near Friant where it interchanged with the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
. The SP branch continued on to Fresno where it intercepted the SP Mainline. From El Prado the line went east to Auberry and then terminated at Big Creek (Cascade/Cascada).
The railroad was known as the “crookedest railroad in the world”. The railroad featured 1073 curves up to 60 degrees. The railroad had 43 wooden trestles and 255 steep grades with the steepest at 5.3%.
The track was abandoned and dismantled in 1933 amid the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Route
- El PradoEl Prado, CaliforniaEl Prado is a former settlement in Fresno County, California. It was located at the junction of the San Joaquin and Eastern and the Southern Pacific Railroads north-northwest of Clovis, at an elevation of 377 feet . It still appeared on maps as of 1922....
MP 0.0 (near Friant) (Interchange with Southern Pacific Railroad) - MarshallMarshall, CaliforniaMarshall is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located on the northeast shore of Tomales Bay south of Tomales, at an elevation of 23 feet .Marshall is located on the east shore of Tomales Bay...
- Wellbarn MP 16.1
- PratherPrather, CaliforniaPrather is an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California. It is located northeast of Fresno, at an elevation of 1657 feet ....
- AuberryAuberry, CaliforniaAuberry is a census-designated place in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 2,369 at the 2010 census, up from 2,053 at the 2000 census...
MP 26.1 - LeronaLerona, CaliforniaLerona is an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California. It is located west-northwest of Shaver Lake Heights, at an elevation of 2789 feet ....
MP 34.9 - White Pine MP 43.0
- West Portal MP 50.4 (with a 1-mile branch north to Powerhouse 2 on the San Joaquin RiverSan Joaquin RiverThe San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
) - Dawn (Interchange with the Shaver Lake RailroadShaver Lake RailroadThe Shaver Lake Railroad was a standard gauge logging railroad that operated in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Fresno County. The line was abandoned in 1927.-History:...
- Big CreekBig Creek, CaliforniaBig Creek is a small census-designated place in Fresno County, California located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the north bank of Big Creek. It lies at an elevation of 4984 feet . Its population is 175...
(Cascada) MP 55.6 - Camp 2
- Dam 2 (of Huntington LakeHuntington LakeHuntington Lake is a reservoir in Fresno County, California on Big Creek, located in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 2,130 meters . Several smaller streams also flow into the lake and it receives additional water from the underground tunnels of Southern California Edison's Big Creek...
)