For over 150 years the Donner Route over the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern California has echoed the struggle of hard-working locomotives of the Central Pacific, Southern Pacific and most recently the Union Pacific Railroad. In November, 2009 double-stack container traffic was re-routed from the Feather River Canyon adding to the volume of trains.

“The Hill” as it came to be know by railroaders posed one of the greatest challenges in railroad construction.  The length, grade, altitude, and famous granite structure was conquered by wilderness hardened men and women with a purpose greater than themselves.

Today that spirit lives on in the employee dedicated to keep “The Hill” open.  To keep commerce flowing. And to keep passengers moving through one of the most picturesque and at times treacherous one hundred miles of Americana.

A rich history exists of the building and maintenance of the Donner Route, along with the businesses along the way that were supported by the railroad and in turn supported the railroad.

Index of Local RR History. Click subject to see:

Historic Railroad Articles/Maps/Images
CPRR/SP Donner Route Timeline
Concrete Snowsheds Installed on the mountain in 1925
Donner Route Accidents and Other Incidents
Archive Photos & Passing Scene – Monthly Newsletters
Notes on RR Historic & Current Ops — Appearing in PSRHS Newsletter Issues
Historic Time Table
Map of “The Hill”
Stations & Historic Locations
PSRHS PSRHS Donner Crossings Articles
Links to History