Foothill Rails--Mi-Cal Lumber Maps and Photos

Michigan-California Lumber
Maps

El Dorado National Forest Map
15 Min series 1950 Saddle Mtn. Topographic Map
Camino Street Map
Pino Grande Sanborn Map

I also recommend the following 7.5 min series topographic maps:
Devil Peak, Pollock Pines, Slate Mountain and Tunnel Hill

Photos

#1:2 10-2-47 John Barnhill Collection	#1:2 as Swayne Lmbr #1 Oroville,CA 1931 Marc Reusser Collection	#2 Display--Camino,CA 7-27-96 John Barnhill
#2 on display Turtle Bay Museum Redding,CA John Goldie	#2 at Railfair '81 Sacrmento,CA John Barnhill Collection	#4:1--Pino Grande,CA Marc Reusser Collection
#4:1--S. Cable,CA John Barnhill Collection	#4:2--Camp 15,CA--1941 image by Franas Guido Yesteryear Depot Collection	#5--Pino Grande,CA--1943 Marc Reusser Collection
#5 John Barnhill Collection	#6 on display, Camino,CA 5-18-44, EC Fowler/Gerald West Collection	#6--El Dorado Co. Museum Placerville,CA 9-01 John Barnhill
#6--El Dorado Co. Museum Placerville,CA 9-01 John Barnhill	#6:3 as Madera Sugarpine #6 Merced Falls,CA Marc Reusser Collection	#8:2--Camp 10,CA--1942 Marc Reusser Collection
#10 10-37 John Barnhill Collection	#10--Pino Grande,CA--1941 Marc Reusser Collection	#11--Camino,CA 10-37 John Barnhill Collection
#11 on display, Medford,OR 8-18-07 John Barnhill	#11 on display, Medford,OR 8-18-07 John Barnhill	Plaque for #11, Medford,OR 8-18-07 John Barnhill
On Display Camino,Ca John Barnhill Collection	Old Pino Rd/ Mi-Cal ROW at Slab Creek Rd John Barnhill	Cut on Slab Creek Rd near Old Pino Rd John Barnhill
North Cable John Barnhill Collection	North Cable from S.Cable 9-01 John Barnhill	Roadbed to Camino viewed from S.Cable 9-01 John Barnhill
Martin Hansen Collection	Martin Hansen Collection	Martin Hansen Collection
Pino Grande George Parker	letter to editor Sonny Wells	No Trespassing sign John Barnhill Collection
#6 on display Camino,CA John Barnhill Collection	#11 on display Camino,CA John Barnhill Collection	Two Mich-Cal tank cars Camino,CA John Barnhill Collection
Display sign Turtle Bay Museum Redding,CA 11-08 Sonny Wells

Remains At Slab Creek Resevoir
(photos by Doug Jensen)

Last week some friends and I went kayaking on Slab Creek Reservoir. I looked up the area for some geocaches and realized this is where the cable for the Michigan-California crossed the South Fork of the American River. One of my first RR books I have is Polkinghorn's Pino Grande - Logging Railroads of the Michigan Lumber Co. and I recalled a few details including the fact that there had been two cables built over the years and that the second one burned "mysteriously" in 1949.

So one of the geocaches is located at the base of what was a 3000' flume - considered the longest of it's day in 1893. What's left is a very large trench that climbs up the entire mountain (see photo).

We paddled up the lake a bit and one of my partners discovered the old cables laying on the south side of the lake. Then looking up from there he also found the old cable carriage laying in shambles on the side of the mountain just above lake level. Pretty cool stuff and no where is it in Polkinghorn's book so I took photos and marked the coordinates.
Doug Jensen

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