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Foothill Rails--Misc.--Feather River Ry
Feather River Railway
(Feather River Pine Mills/Hutchinson Lumber)


Topo map showing the mainline and the main logging line.

Built in 1922 under the name Hutchinson Lumber Co, originally this logging line ran from the woods at Mooretown, later called Feather Falls, to a connection on the Western Pacific at Bidwell (now underwater). The Western Pacific hauled the logs from this point to the mill in Oroville, a distance of about seven miles. The company became Feather River Pine Mills in 1927 and soon thereafter a fire burned down the Oroville plant. Several years later in 1938 a new mill was built at Feather Falls. At this time the railroad became the common carrier, Feather River Railway with the logging lines from the mill eastward into the timber still being carried under the name of Feather River Pine Mills. Georgia Pacific eventually bought the entire operation. 1966 saw the end of the trains, mainly due to the building of the Oroville dam.

Hutchison Mill Site, Oroville


Panaramic view of the old mill site.

Aerial view and topo map of the Hutchinson Mill site in Oroville. Most if not all the remains on site are from later operations.

The Mainline

1. 2. 3. 4.
1.-4. This series of USGS lidar and Google satellite views follow the main line as it climbs from Lake Oroville eastward towards Feather Falls,CA.

5. 6.
5.-6. West and east views at Onyett,CA. A water tank once stood here in image 6. The location is marked as 1 and 2 on the above
lidar and satellite views, images 3 and 4.

7. 8.
7.-8. These two USGS lidar and Google satellite images cover the mainline from Onyett to Feather Falls,CA.
Unfortunately the lidar had been blurred over Native American holdings.

9. 10.
9.-10. This is the current crossing of the mainline and Lumpkin Road. The original grade crossing was about 100 yards north.
An asterisk marks the spot on the satellite view. These two images are marked as 3 and 4 on the above lidar and satellite images.

Feather Falls

1. 2. 3. 4.
1. USGS lidar image marked with photo locations for the images below.
2. Post 2020 North Complex Fire Google satellite image marked with photo locations for the images below.
3. Pre fire satellite view of the Feather Falls mill site.
4. Topozone topo map of the Feather Falls mill site.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
1.-2. West and east views of the right of way at the entrance to the drying yards.
3.-4. Post 2020 North Complex Fire images of the drying yard. This view was previously impossible due to forest growth.
5.-6. Pre and post fire images of the log pond.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
7.-8. West and east views of the mainline near just north of the log pond.
9. The mainline crossing of Mill Road. Note the indentations from the ties. From here, this is the main logging line.
10.-11. Pre-fire images just below Mill Road of the main logging line.

12.
12. This westward view of the entire mill site as viewed from Mill Road was impossible before the 2020 fire. Log pond is center of image.

The Logging Main

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
1.-4. The logging mainline and Mill Road parallel on their way from the mill site to Rogerville, including a grade crossing as seen in images 3 and 4.
5. The view back 'west' towards the mill from near Rogerville. Somewhere in this image, the Swain Hill branch split from the main.
6. At this spot, the spur to the engine house diverges and the main rounds the tree and enters Rogerville siding.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
7. This is Rogerville siding site looking railroad east. The engine house stood on the hill above the siding.
8. The engine house site is marked with a box showing approximately where it was in this photo.
9.-11. These three images show the locomotive servicing pits that were located in the engine house.

12. 13.
12.-13. Here we see the grade crossing of Mill Road between Rogerville and Lumpkin sidings.

14. 15. 16. 17.
18.
14.-17. USGS Lidar and Google satellite views follow the logging main from the mill to Lumpkin siding.
They are marked with the locations of the previous images.
18. Topozone topo map showing the logging mainline including the sidings of Rogerville and Lumpkin.

The Swain Hill Branch

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The Swain Hill branch leaves the main near Rogerville and heads back west before turning northward near the intersection of Lumpkin Road and
La Porte Road. Just north of the road junction, the line joins La Porte Road heading towards Swain Hill.

7. 8.
7.-8. USGS lidar and Google satellite views marked with the locations of the above images.

Memories

My brother and I lived in Feather Falls for a couple of years when we were young fellas. Our dad was the saw filer in the mill. We lived in two houses on Madrone Circle from early 1965 to late 1966
when the mill closed. We moved back to Grass Valley where we lived before living in Woodleaf for 4 years before living in Feather Falls. We could hear the FF mill shift change whistle in Woodleaf, coming from across
the canyon long before we lived Feather Falls.

Living in Feather Falls back then for young boys was like living in heaven. We had free roam all through the village and surrounding forest. The mill ran 24 hours/day, at least five days/week, belching
smoke from the three big stacks. The sun was often blotted out behind the clouds of smoke wafting over the village, casting a reddish tint on the ground. Our cars were constantly covered with fallen ash, a constant
complaint from our mothers who’s wash hanging the line was also fouled with the ash.

And of course, we were fascinated with the trains. We’d hear the blast of the horn early in the morning as it left town. Then later in the day, we’d ride our stingray bikes out to the place where the train
climbed into view below the mill yard after hearing the toot of the horn or whistle if the Shays were being used as it crossed Lumpkin Road down the hill on it’s return from Bidwell Bar. We’d then race along side as
the locomotive moved cars around to prepare for the next departure with boxcars loaded with kiln-dried lumber. (There was a crew of men who hand loaded the lumber piece by piece into the cars. We could watch them from the
main road between the school and the area where the store, post office and gas station were).

Ski Burdick was our scout master and train brakeman. He rode on the front corner step on the locomotive while switching cars and occasionally allowed one of us to ride along with him, something would NEVER be allowed today!
We’d wait until the engine finished it’s work and disappeared around the corner the way it came, until it reappeared from around the back of the mill to back into the shed for the night.

There was an old disused oil tank railroad car out at the west edge of the mill grounds along the tracks that we’d climb down through the hatch. One of our little friends, who stared smoking at about 8 years old,
kept his cigarettes and matches inside the tank. It’s a wonder we didn’t blow ourselves to smithereens!

~ Tony Ciaffoni


Locomotive Roster
Number Type Builder Bldr.# Built History & Notes Dispositon
Feather River Railway
#1 Shay 3tr Lima #3169 1921 ex Feather River Pine Mills #1,
nee Hutchinson Lmbr #1
on display Oroville,CA
#2 Shay 3tr Lima #3177 1922 ex Feather River Pine Mills #2,
nee Hutchinson Lmbr #2
to display at Oroville Dam,CA,
to Railtown 1897 as Sierra #2
#3 Shay 3tr Lima #3221 1923 ex Feather River Pine Mills #3,
nee Hutchinson Lmbr #3
to Georgia Pacific #3,
to PSRMA,Campo,CA,
to Cass Scenic #11
#4 0-6-0T Porter #3951 1907 ex Feather River Pine Mills #4,
ex Hutchinson Lmbr #4,
nee Mammoth Copper Mining #4
scrapped 1957
#5 Shay 3tr Willamette #9 1923 ex Feather River Pine Mills #5,
nee Hutchinson Lmbr #5
scrapped 1957
#8 50Ton GE #30791 1951 ex CD Johnson Lmbr #8 to Georgia Pacific #8,
to Yaquina Pacific RHS
#91 Shay 3tr Lima #3322 1928 ex Georgia Pacific #91,
ex Rayonier #91,
ex Polson Logging #91,
nee Hofius Steel & Equip #6
for parts only,
scrapped
#101 S-3 ALCo #78140 1950 ex Oregon Pacific & Eastern #101,
ex Georgia Pacific #101,
nee Hammond Lmbr #101
to Fordyce & Princeton #1,
to Fordyce & Princeton #662,
to Cadiz #10,
to Dardanelle & Russelville #19
#102 SW900 EMD #25504 1959 ex Hammond Lmbr #102 to Oregon Pacific & Eastern #102,
to Ashley Drew & Northern #102,
to ADN #907,
to Gloster Southern #907,
to ADN #907,
to Georgia Pacific #907,
to Domtar #907
#A 8ton DLC Plymouth #3476 1930 ex Unemployed Exchange Assn,
nee Garfield & Co
to Oregon Pacific & Eastern #9,
to OPE #14 1/2,
scrapped
?? 0-4-0T Porter #3654 1907 ex Feather River Pine Mills,
ex Hutchinson Lmbr,
nee Mammoth Copper Mining #2
to Modesto & Empire Traction #4,
to Atlas-Olympia Gravel #4,
to Henry J Kaiser Gravel #104


Also see my Oroville page.

    
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