The Butte County Railroad was a

class II railroad Railroad classes are the system by which freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With a ...

that ran from a connection with the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 United Sta ...

to the

Diamond Match Company The Diamond Match Company is a brand of matches and toothpicks, and formerly other wood products and plastic cutlery, that has its roots in a business started in 1853 by Edward Tatnall in Wilmington, Delaware. Ownership passed to William H. ...

lumber mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimens ...

at Stirling City. The railroad operated from 1903–1915 and then became the Southern Pacific's Stirling City Branch. From 1915 until abandonment in the 1970s the line was operated as the Southern Pacific's Stirling City Branch. The Chico and Northern Railroad was a

non-operating subsidiary In the United States, a paper railroad is a company in the railroad business that exists "on paper only": as a legal entity which does not own any track, locomotives, or rolling stock. In the early days of railroad construction, paper railroads ...

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

of the

that was created to acquire a 32.31 mile line from Chico – Stirling City from the Butte County Railroad. Upon acquiring the line, Chico & Northern immediately leased the line back to the Butte County Railroad. The Chico & Northern was dissolved into Southern Pacific in 1912 and never operated any of the line.

History

The Butte County Railroad was granted a franchise on November 11, 1902 and incorporated on February 24, 1903 or March 2, 1903. Construction of the line commenced in April 1903 and seven months later, on November 1, 1903, service commenced between

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

(1 mile south of Chico) and Magalia. The line was built using 75# rails and with grades as steep as 3.75%. The Chico & Northern was incorporated on November 11, 1903. Within a month of reaching Magalia, on November 27, 1903, the line was sold to the

via SP's

the Chico and Northern Railroad. SP's Chico and Northern Railroad immediately

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

d the line back to the Butte County Railroad for operation. A year after commencing construction the line was operating all the way to Stirling City and completed on April 15, 1904. The Chico & Northern Railroad was finally dissolved into SP on February 29, 1912. The line was then conveyed to SP's sister company, the

Central Pacific Railway The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...

. In 1914 the line was conveyed from CP back to the SP. The Butte County Railroad's lease with SP expired on November 30, 1915. The Butte County Railroad was dissolved two months later on January 21, 1916 at which point the line became the Stirling City Branch and was operated by the

Route

Skyway Road from Chico to Stirling City loosely follows the route of the entire railroad line. *

(1 or south of Chico) * Butte Creek *

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

Optimo Optimo Espacio ('Optimum Space') was a weekly Sunday-night club based in Glasgow, Scotland at the Sub Club on Jamaica Street, as well as a collective moniker for the night's resident DJ duo. Having run every week since it was founded in 1997, on ...

* Magalia (SP MP 203.2) * Doon * Stirling City

Motive Power

The Butte County Railroad used four steam locomotives to run on the line #

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

Consolidation Type (Builder No. 20192) built in March 1902 and was later SP #2503 #

4-4-0 4-4-0, in the Whyte notation, denotes a steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels. First built in the ...

American Type (Builder No. 9711) built in December 1888 that was later SP #1304 #

American Type built in 1887 #

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

Consolidation Type (Builder No. 29704) that was built new for the Butte County Railroad in April 1904 and later became SP #2502.

Abandonment and the line today

The last regular service by the

over the line was in 1974 and the tracks were removed in 1979. The grade is still visible between Magalia and Stirling City where it crosses Skyway Road. The grade through

is now th
Paradise Memorial Trailway
According to Union Pacific Track Charts, the ICC authorized abandonment of of the branch from Milepost 189.0 (east of Chico) to Milepost 215.46 (end of the line at Stirling City) on December 3, 1977. The ICC again authorized abandonment of 3 more miles of track at Chico between Mileposts 185.69 and 189.0. Today, what remains of the branch is now known as the Stirling City Industrial Lead and runs from the junction with the mainline at Chico (MP 185.0) and ends at 185.69, running next to the Diamond Match Company. ICC Fin Docket Number AB-12 (Sub 76) The Paradise depot, (Butte County Railroad, later Southern Pacific), remains at its original location, and is now operated, maintained, and staffed by th
Gold Nugget Museum
The up-bound side of the Skyway from Chico, (right around Bruce Rd.), sits on the old right of way, until where the bike trail picks up at Neal Rd. in Paradise. The current bike trail to the top of Paradise is also on the old right of way, and can be seen crossing the respective streets in town where tracks sat. The grade is still visible between Magalia and Stirling City in several places, including where it crosses the Skyway near the Magalia Reservoir. The bike trail runs past the Magalia Southern Pacific Depot (an SP Common Standard No. 22 desig

which remained at its original location (6818 Depot Lane) and intermittently housed a series of restaurants (the Lovin' Oven Bagel Cafe, then later The Depot Restaurant and Café.) until the building was destroyed in the

Camp Fire A campfire is a fire at a campsite. Campfire or Camp Fire may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Campfire'' (James Blundell album) (2017) * ''Campfire'' (Kasey Chambers album) (2018) * ''Campfire'' (Rend Collective album) (2012) * "Camp ...

on November 8, 2018.

References

* * * * *
"Life and Times of Chico, a City of Fortune," by Debra Moon

History

Route

Motive Power

Abandonment and the line today

References

Further reading