The Placer-Sierra Railroad Heritage Society (PSRHS) was formed to preserve and protect the history of the Donner Pass Route portion of the Nation’s First Transcontinental Railroad. Please join us in our efforts and enjoy the website. You can view our PAST AND PRESENT MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS HERE.
MONTHLY MEETINGS & Events
PSRHS holds monthly meetings with presentations on topics of regional railroad and other topics. Our meetings are open to all who are interested in local railroad history and operations. Meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday, 7PM at Auburn Veterans Memorial Hall, 100 East St. Directions to the meeting location can be found under the HAPPENINGS tab. Watch this space for details on future meeting programs.
NEXT PSRHS MEETING WILL BE JUNE 23, 2026, 7PM
June Program: Andrew Saunders will present a brief history of the Lincoln Highway leading up to the 1913 Lincoln Highway formation. His program will focus on the Northern 1913 Route from Reno through Truckee to Colfax, Auburn, Roseville and Sacramento, along with brief mention of the Southern 1913 Route from Reno to Carson City, Lake Tahoe, Placerville, Folsom and Sacramento, and the continuation from Sacramento to San Francisco via Stockton, Livermore and the Jack London Ferry. He will also discuss some of the 1928 changes along the Sacramento – Sierra Historic Lincoln Highway Corridor.
Andrew’s recent work has helped to revive and preserve the early 20th‑century heritage of the Lincoln Highway in Citrus Heights, Orangevale, Fair Oaks, and Roseville, documenting and interpreting the region’s Lincoln Highway history and calling attention to its remaining roadside landmarks. His heritage projects include the installation of historically accurate Lincoln Highway signage across Sacramento and Placer County. His passion is in the coordination of dedication ceremonies that reconnect residents with the region’s transportation past.
Read the Current Newsletter for related information on our monthly program and other items of interest.
NEWS ITEMS
PSRHS June 4 Spring Field Trip Summary- Sacramento Shops
On June 4, about 30 members of our Society were privileged to attend an enjoyable and informative tour of the Sacramento Railroad Museum’s shops which house the museum’s surplus collection of railroad equipment and memorabilia. The tour was organized and led by our Society member, Paul Helman, a long-time museum docent of the CSRM Foundation. Paul is very knowledgeable about the CSRM collection. He shared insights and details about the vast railroad collection that is not on display to the public in the museum building.
The railroad equipment in the shops not only includes steam and diesel locomotives, but various passenger and freight cars as well as assortments of railroad equipment such as signals, maintenance of way, and antique machining tools from the Central Pacific Railroad era. The photos in this newsletter show views of the transfer table outside the shops buildings that supports movement of equipment in and out of the shops. A full collection of photos of the tour will be shared at a future Society monthly membership meeting.
Big Boy Videos – West Coast Leg
View select videos of Big Boy in Feather River Canyon on the west coast leg of the 2026 cross-country tour. Also available are videos of the UP Steam Shops and Big Boy’s slightly smaller articulated cousin SP’s Cab-Forward. You can access these videos on our Big Boy & Other Articulateds — Select Videos page.
Big Boy Tour
See our Big Boy Page for details and updates regarding the Big Boy cross-country tour itinerary, and photos of the new commemorative locomotive, UP1776 – America250 that is accompanying Big Boy, along with UP1616 honoring President Abraham Lincoln.
You can view archived photos and video of Big Boy’s 2024 run through Colfax. A link on that page to UP’s web site will take you to further information on the cross-country tour, and other items of interest to rail fans.
TIME TO RENEW: If you have already renewed your PSRHS membership for 2026, we thank you for your continued support of our efforts to preserve the railroad history of the Donner Pass Route. If you have not renewed your membership for 2026, you can follow the link below to our membership page for information on renewing on line or by mail.
If you are not currently a member, please consider joining our organization. Some of our field trips are open to members only. Membership dues help fund our insurance, publication costs, and acquisition of historic maps, photos and documents that help tell our local railroading story. We are gradually adding on-line access to more of these documents on this web site.
Powerpoint or PDF’s of Some Recent Programs can be accessed on our Past Programs Slideshows page under the Happenings Tab.
Cleanup Actions Following the Dec. 13, 2025 Freight Train Derailment at Colfax.
Colfax at 160 – Railroad Changes and Incidents That Redefined the Region
Tahoe Water Wars — How Southern Pacific & Lake Tahoe Railway Saved Lake Tahoe
COLFAX RAILCAM
The Colfax webcam installed by PSRHS and Southwest Railcams continues to provide great views of railroad action as trains pass the Colfax yard and passenger depot. You can view the live feed or review the previous 12 hours of recorded footage.
To access the Colfax webcam follow this link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zRCgdkn_e8M
The Colfax webcam can also be accessed on our website under the Webcams tab.
Our formerly live Applegate Webcam is no longer in service and has been removed. However, you can still access still images captured in the past on the Applegate webcam. Look under the Webcams tab.
FEATURED ON OUR WEBSITE
NCNG History Through Then & Now Photos
View Tim O’Brien’s Facebook post of Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad History as seen through Then & Now photos from Nevada City to Colfax.
SP Sidings+Tunnels+Grades – Rocklin To Crystal Lake – circa1960s
This set of maps from Jim Mahon’s collection details major sidings, tunnels and ruling grade on both eastbound and westbound tracks between Rocklin and Crystal Lake. The maps were extracted, perhaps by Jim, from a more complete set for the entire route. The estimated date for the maps is late 1960’s deduced from handwritten revision notes and listing of Roadmasters F.J. Pucci for Colfax district and J.C. Mahon for Truckee district.
A link to this and other railroad maps, historic documents and articles can be found on our Maps/Documents/RR History Articles Page under the LOCAL RR HISTORY tab.
Listed below are other historic maps & documents currently available on our web site. More items will be added to this page so check back frequently.
Snowshed Chart – 1949 SPT Co. Snowshed Chart (revised 1976)
1912 Wreck of SP 4208 Passenger Cab-Forward Near Applegate. A serious accident happened near Applegate in 1912 when a brand new SP passenger cab-forward derailed on its maiden run in 1912 and came close to wrecking the Overland Limited and its passengers. This summary document presents details of the accident as described in a local newspaper, along with results of several investigations that finally zeroed in on the cause, eventually resulting in design changes for an early class of cab-forward locomotives.
The Central Pacific’s Summit Tunnel. Comprehensive article by Chuck Spinks on surveying and construction of the Summit Tunnels.
The Pacific Railroad Unopen – Robert L. Harris CE — A great first-hand account by a civil engineer of railroad construction work over the Sierra above Cisco.
1869 Journal of Lt John Currier — describes conditions on new Union Pacific rails from Omaha to the Promontory ceremony, then on to Sacramento on Central Pacific.
Right of Way and Track Maps for SP’s Lake Tahoe Branch from the PSRHS Collection
Historic Timetable of Place Names
Have you ever wondered where old place names were located along the Donner route – stations, sidings, etc.? Then check out the PSRHS Historic Timetable of Place Names. This timetable created by PSRHS members lists most of the place names that once existed along the route, their locations identified by mileposts relative to present-day place names, and previous names once assigned to the same location. Place names in blue are hyperlinks that will take you to a page with more information about that location.
The PSRHS Historic Map of the Donner Route also locates many of these place names along the route.
FIELD TRIPS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES
We offer one or two field trips and other activities during the year for members and guests. Details on upcoming activities or items of interest are announced on this home page. Selected events also appear in NEXT EVENTS under the HAPPENINGS tab. A complete list of past field trips and meeting presentation topics can also be found under the HAPPENINGS tab.
ARTICLES OF HISTORIC INTEREST
PSRHS philosophy is to share our information and documents with the public. Numerous historical notes, articles and photos are available for viewing and free download under the LOCAL RR HISTORY and the PUBLICATIONS tabs. Feel free to browse these pages and enjoy the content. If you choose to reproduce any of the items viewed on our web site please credit our PSRHS web address as the source.
Readers can also access articles of railroad interest featured in our monthly newsletters by following the link to the NOTES ON RR HISTORIC AND CURRENT OPS page under the LOCAL RR HISTORY tab.
RESTORATION PROJECTS
PSRHS members have been instrumental in two major restoration projects, the Colfax Passenger Depot and the Colfax Wood-sided Caboose. Details on these projects can be found under the HISTORIC RESTORATION PROJECTS link under the HAPPENINGS tab.
CONTACT US
General information about the society and a list of current board members can be found under the CONTACT US tab.