West Side and Mendocino Railroad
Encyclopedia
The West Side and Mendocino Railroad is a defunct railroad that operated in California
.
The WS&M had a 16.84 mile route that ran west from Willows, California
to Fruto, California
. It began officially operating on July 1, 1888, however special excursion trains were being chartered by San Francisco real estate developer Eastin Eldridge & Company in order to bring prospective buyers to Fruto and develop the area. Fruto existed as a postal location from 1888 - 1953. Fruto today is a Willows postal location.
There was a depot at Fruto. The stationmaster lived at the depot. The depot was destroyed by fire in the 1950s. The end of the line at Fruto also had a water tower, freight storage area, livestock loading area, and a roundhouse.
In the branches early days there were two trains that ran the line; one freight and one passenger. The passenger train originated at Fruto and ran to Willows in the morning. It returned to Fruto in the afternoon. The freight train originated at Willows in the morning and returned to Willows in the afternoon.
During World War I
and II
the line hauled chromite
ore to Bay Area
smelters.
, a non-operating subsidiary
of Southern Pacific
, at Willows. The Northern Railway had been operating the mainline 8 – 10 years prior to the construction of the WS&M and ran from Tehama, California to Woodland, 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 WS&M had a 16.84 mile route that ran west from Willows, California
Willows, California
Willows is the county seat of Glenn County, California. As the county seat, the city is a home to regional government offices, including the California Highway Patrol, California Department of Motor Vehicles and the United States Bureau of Reclamation...
to Fruto, California
Fruto, California
Fruto is an unincorporated community in Glenn County, California. It is located west-northwest of Willows, at an elevation of 610 feet . It is located along State Route 162.A post office operated at Fruto from 1888 to 1953....
. It began officially operating on July 1, 1888, however special excursion trains were being chartered by San Francisco real estate developer Eastin Eldridge & Company in order to bring prospective buyers to Fruto and develop the area. Fruto existed as a postal location from 1888 - 1953. Fruto today is a Willows postal location.
There was a depot at Fruto. The stationmaster lived at the depot. The depot was destroyed by fire in the 1950s. The end of the line at Fruto also had a water tower, freight storage area, livestock loading area, and a roundhouse.
In the branches early days there were two trains that ran the line; one freight and one passenger. The passenger train originated at Fruto and ran to Willows in the morning. It returned to Fruto in the afternoon. The freight train originated at Willows in the morning and returned to Willows in the afternoon.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the line hauled chromite
Chromite
Chromite is an iron chromium oxide: FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. Magnesium can substitute for iron in variable amounts as it forms a solid solution with magnesiochromite ; substitution of aluminium occurs leading to hercynite .-Occurrence:Chromite is found in...
ore to Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
smelters.
Connection with the Southern Pacific Railroad
The West Side & Mendocino connected with the mainline of the Northern RailwayNorthern Railway (California)
The Northern Railway was a non-operating subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad during the 19th century, created primarily as a device to consolidate the management of a number of smaller subsidiary railroads....
, a non-operating subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Southern Pacific
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....
, at Willows. The Northern Railway had been operating the mainline 8 – 10 years prior to the construction of the WS&M and ran from Tehama, California to Woodland, California.
Timeline
- October 3, 1878 - Northern Railway (a Southern Pacific subsidiary) completes construction from Williams - Willows. (Other sources say railroad reached Willows on September 26, 1878).
- July 31, 1882 - Northern Railway completes construction from Willows - Orland.
- 1884 - Plans are made to build a railroad from Willows to the Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast of Mendocino County. The proposed route is to be along the Elk Creek and through Grindstone Canyon. It was anticipated that the railroad would haul local fruit as well as haul redwood and sugar pineSugar PinePinus lambertiana, commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine, is the tallest and most massive pine, with the longest cones of any conifer...
lumberLumberLumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
from Mendocino County to a proposed lumber mill in Willows. However, the railroad never made it more than 17 miles east of Willows. - October 26, 1886 - Contract to build line awarded to Turon & Knox of Sacramento.
- April 1887 - Grading complete.
- March 1888 - Began laying track using Chinese labor.
- May 15, 1888 - West Side & Mendocino consolidated into Northern Railway/Southern Pacific.
- July 1, 1888 - Northern Railway/Southern Pacific opens line from Willows - Fruto (16.84 miles) and line is known as the "Mendocino Branch" of Southern Pacific's Benicia Division, Clear Lake Subdivision.
- July 14, 1898 Northern Railway sold and consolidated into Southern Pacific.
- World War I - Line hauls chrome ore.
- 1917 Line hauls copper ore from the Frank Tendor Copper Mine.
- 1927 Line hauls materials for the Stony Gorge Dam project and livestock.
- 1951 Southern Pacific abandons most of the branch line except for a one-mile section west of Willows that was left in place to handle wood products produced at the Setzer Box Company mill in Elk Creek.
- 1993 Southern Pacific leases their "West Valley Line" (Davis - Tehama), including the small portion of the Mendocino Branch serving the Johns-Manville Fiberglass Plant east of Willows, to the California Northern Railroad.
Route
- WillowsWillows, CaliforniaWillows is the county seat of Glenn County, California. As the county seat, the city is a home to regional government offices, including the California Highway Patrol, California Department of Motor Vehicles and the United States Bureau of Reclamation...
- Milepost 0 - KurandKurand, CaliforniaKurand is a former settlement in Glenn County, California. It was located on the Southern Pacific Railroad east-southeast of Fruto, at an elevation of 194 feet . It still appeared on maps as of 1944....
- Milepost 5.9 - Halconera - Milepost 8.5
- MillsholmMillsholm, CaliforniaMillsholm is a former settlement in Glenn County, California. It was located on the Southern Pacific Railroad east-southeast of Fruto, at an elevation of 312 feet . Millsholm still appeared on maps as of 1944. Millsholm was on the West Side and Mendocino Railroad.Millsholm was named for Egdar...
- Milepost 9.7 (named after Edgar Mills, a Fruto property owner; and "holm" - German for hills; this location was in the foothillsFoothillsFoothills 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:...
) - Athena - Milepost 13.7
- FrutoFruto, CaliforniaFruto is an unincorporated community in Glenn County, California. It is located west-northwest of Willows, at an elevation of 610 feet . It is located along State Route 162.A post office operated at Fruto from 1888 to 1953....
- Milepost 17.1