Bowman crossing and a newly found alignment of the Lincoln Highway.

The photo above, taken in the 1900s, shows the Bowman Crossing of the Southern Pacific Railroad. If you look closely, there is a person on a horse and another standing nearby. What caught my attention was the way the road makes a bend towards the photographer. If we head the other way, we will pass Machado’s Orchard on our way to Auburn once we cross the tracks. It was this photo that caused us to stop and check out this famous crossing again. We wanted to make sure our official Lincoln Highway map had the routes across the tracks marked correctly. We’ve checked out this area before but were unable to spot the old road. Recently someone has cleared out the area making it more open and visible.

The map at right will show the general area and some of the features discussed. We can see the two rail lines, the Lincoln Highway's blue line, and the crossing pictured in the historic photograph. East is to the right, west to the left. Notice how the crossing in the historic photo is actually west of our Lincoln Highway map shows the crossing. Click map for a larger view.

The same spot as the historic photo, but today. You can see our truck at the left.

In the photo below, we have moved east and can now see the road's impression at right. It appears that once you crossed the first rail line, you would take a hard right and head east. You can see Monica in the background on the road. Our truck is on the other side of the tracks at the crossing.

While the impression we were following could be the road, it would be nice to find some more evidence that this was indeed the transcontinental highway's route. We found the evidence because of the recent clearing of trees and shrubs in this area. We found a state “C” monument facing east and another just a few yards away. These markers were placed along state routes from 1914 to the 1930s. Finding these markers is a great affirmation you are on the right track.

Here we see Monica by the “C” monument. The taller metal sign has the letters R/W on it, which means “right of way.” Placer County has put these metal markers at the site of these older stone monuments. This makes finding the old monuments much easier in this county than others who don’t mark these. We found another marker just a few yards from this one, giving us the road's general route. See the map below for more detail.

Covey Rd., which we originally had our route marked on, is actually a road that crosses over Highway 80. We do not believe the Lincoln Highway route crossed where we had originally marked it. Below we have marked where we believe the route actually crossed the first tracks and then made its way towards crossing the second set of tracks. There a long-gone bridge crossed the second set of rail tracks.

Click map for a larger view.

To summarize, the Lincoln Highway crossed the first set of tracks at a different place than we had earlier thought. After crossing the first set of tracks, the road makes an immediate right, following alongside the rail line, just before where the present Bowman Road is, a sharp left, then another left to head towards crossing the long-gone bridge over the second set of tracks.

These changes to the route are sent to the Lincoln Highway Associations’ cartographer. If they agree with our findings, we will change the official map to show the newly found route.

Horse team carrying sand for the construction of the Mountain Quarries Railroad

The Mountain Quarries Bridge and railroad were built in 1912 to bring limestone from the quarry to nearby Auburn. The construction that took place when animals worked alongside early 20th Century machines documented with this photo.

This photo looks like a mixed "pack train" of horses and mules. They are hauling sand for making concrete with teamster Charles Ray (on the lead horse). I counted 14 horses/mules, three men, and a dog, which can be seen in the close-up below.

A horse-mule pack train near Auburn and the Mountain Quarries Bridge, 1910. Photo from: Placer County Museums.

This spot looks familiar as we have hiked the Mountain Quarries Trail before. The concrete foundations seen in the photo are for a railroad trestle crossing, but not the Mountain Quarries Bridge. There are 17 places along the old railbed where they built trestles over canyons and sides of hills. We will try and take a photo of this spot next time we hike the trail.

Map of the area. Click to see a closer view.

Alta and the Lincoln Highway

This photograph was taken in 1916 and showed the K.V.A. Ball Team in Alta, California. While we are not sure what the initials stand for, we are confident of the location. In the background, you can see a railroad crossing, which at this date would be the Southern Pacific Railroad. The building at right is the Alta Store, which still operates to this day.

Today’s Alta Bonny Nook Road was in 1916 the Lincoln Highway, which would have brought most transcontinental drivers right through the town. What’s fun about the above photo is a Lincoln Highway logo painted on a gas pump of some type. The Lincoln Highway Logo painted on telephone poles, bridges, and any other prominent spot was to help drivers navigate the country, and it would have been a central location in town. It was interesting to note no autos in the photo, but horses and buggies were still popular in the early 20th Century.

Map of location. Click photo for larger view.

Verdi, Nevada to the California line on the northern route of the Lincoln Highway, Part 2

In our last post about Verdi, we explored the east side of town with its dirt Lincoln Highway and old metal bridge. That post can be found here. Now let’s head back into town, following the old road as we head towards the California border.

The photo above shows Verdi and a bridge in the distance. This photo was taken by the Central Pacific Railroad around 1868, and shows a wagon heading up the road on the far right. I wonder if this bridge is the earlier version of the Crystal Peak Toll Bridge.

Click the photo for a larger view. Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

As we approach the town, the Lincoln Highway makes a sharp right to cross the railroad tracks. There is a Nevada Historical monument by the tracks that mentions the “Great Train Robbery” that occurred here on November 4-5, 1870, by five desperadoes. The train was the Central Pacific Overland Express. $41,600 in gold coin was taken, and after a two-state search, they were all caught, tried, and convicted. More info here. 

Verdi History Center.

Sign mounted on Verdi History Center.

Once across the tracks, leave the first generation Lincoln Highway and turn left on 2nd Street, the second-generation highway. Just a couple of houses down on the left is the Verdi History Center. We have yet to come by when it’s open, but on the front of the building is a Lincoln Highway sign and a George A Wyman way-point sign.

George Wyman was a true pioneer, being the first person to cross the country on a motorized vehicle in 1903, fully ten years before the LincolnHighway. He rode and walked his motorcycle from San Francisco to New York, mostly following the railroad tracks. You can read more about this fascinating man and his epic journey here.

If you continue west on the 2nd generation Lincoln Highway, and just before the bridge, pull off and into Crystal Peak Park. There we can see the famous last crossing of the Truckee River. Above, we can see the Trails West “T” marker describing this place. There were 26th previous times that the emigrants would have to get wet crossing the river. It was quite tiring, and to reach the last crossing was something to get excited about.

We love these quiet places that, at one time, witnessed humanity on the move. Looking at the actual crossing below, we can well imagine the wagons, oxen, and people heading into the river from this side and exiting on the other.

The famous 27th emigrant crossing at the Truckee River, Verdi,Nevada, looking west.

Click photo for a larger version.

Leaving the park, we head back towards Verdi on the 2nd generation Lincoln until we reach the first generation road and turn left onto Bridge Street. In a bit, we reach the site of the Crystal Peak bridge built-in 1928. Before this bridge, this was known as “O’Neil’s crossing.”

You can read the plaque at the bridge in the photo on at right. Click for a larger view.

Crystal Peak Bridge crossing the Truckee River.

Crystal Peak cemetery, Verdi, Nevada.

Crossing the bridge, we head past the Crystal Peak Cemetery seen above. This area was a town by the name of Crystal Peak, and here are buried some of the former residents of that long-gone place. Now we are off into California, where we stop at the Von Schmidt obelisk.

Von Schmidt Obelisk, Verdi, Nevada.

This place is fantastic! The obelisk in the protective cage was one of four monuments set in place between 1872-73 to determine the state boundary line. There are descriptive signs in this small park that will explain the importance of this spot. One such plaque is shown below.

Descriptive plaque at the Von Schmidt obelisk park.

We have come to the end of today’s adventure. Monica and I are standing in Nevada, with the road still to be driven behind us. As the sign mentions, this part of the road will become quite rough and should only be traversed during the dry season. After this spot, we will climb up Henness Pass Road towards Dog Valley, the very same valley the Donner Party camped, and countless other emigrants.

The Lincoln Highway really is your road to adventure!

Monica and I at the border between California and Nevada on the old Lincoln Highway.

Map showing location of features discussed. Click map for larger view.

Aerial view Auburn at the turn of the century

We are looking west above Auburn, California, at the turn of the 20th Century. While automobiles existed, they were not common at this time, and the main mode of transportation was the horse and wagon. The canyon we see at right is known as Auburn Ravine and today is buried under Interstate 80. With that in mind, we can see the original location of the Auburn Volunteer Fire Department building, with stripes, on the far right. That building was saved and now sits at its new location.

At far left we can see the old post office building and the small gazebo building that held a drinking fountain. At the top of the hill, sit’s the white Snowden House.

In the above Google Earth photo, we can see the modern-day view of the same location. The stripped firehouse building now sits in the new location. Interstate 80 dominates the right side of the view. The Snowden House still stands at the top of the hill. The railroad trestle crossing the interstate was built by Southern Pacific in 1909 and therefore does not show up in the earlier photo.

The Summit Station and Hotel, Donner Summit

Looking at the photo above you would be forgiven for not knowing that this is likely one of the most historic spots in California railroad history. I’m standing at the site of the Central Pacific Railroad “roundhouse” at Summit Station, Donner Summit. It’s the only evidence of what was a beehive of activity along the transcontinental railroad. In the background, we can see the entrance for tunnel 6, the longest of the tunnels the railroad built. The concrete I’m looking at makes a large circle. This was the foundation for the roundhouse.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection

With this 1870 photo, we can see the 67’ turntable roundhouse in the photo center. The Summit Hotel is the large white building on the left. The wooden snow tunnel coming towards us it the west portal to Tunnel Six.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection

The above 1884 diagram is quite helpful in identifying the objects in the photo.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

The above 1920s photo and the one following were taken from the same spot. The first photo shows the Summit Hotel at left, with a ramp to the railroad snow sheds at right. Travelers would wait at the hotel until the train arrived and then proceeded across the ramp to the snow shed and the waiting train. It looks like some folks are digging in the street, maybe looking for gold? Some more people wait at the hotel and behind the truck.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection

The fantastic photo above shows why people were waiting for the train outside. Notice the snow shed at right, which appears to be on fire with a great amount of smoke billowing out of the vents near the roof. The shed is not on fire; the train has arrived! Everyone would wait until the last minute to work their way through the smoke to the waiting train.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

Here we see the other side of the loading ramp at the Summit Hotel. This photo was taken around 1900, so we are still in the horse and buggy era with a couple of riders with their horses on the road. With a covered area leading to it, at right, is what appears to be a three-story “outhouse.”

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection

This 1927 photo shows the transition from “horse and buggy” days to the automobile era. We are looking the same direction as the photo with the horse riders, but now we see a car driving on the Lincoln Highway, with Lincoln Highway sign visible just to the car's right. The road turned right, just before the building as the ramp to the trains is still standing.

According to the Donner Summit Museum, this is likely one of the last photos of the Summit Hotel as it burned down in 1925. Why is this photo dated 1927? I’ll let you know when I find out.

Map showing key features.

Dutch Flat Wagon Road at Castle Creek, Soda Springs.

The wagons in the above photo are headed east on the old Dutch Flat/Donner Summit Wagon Road. The road was built by the Central Pacific Railroad to bring men and equipment to the construction sites along the rail bed. The railroad was completed in 1869, so these wagons are likely headed up to the summit construction with supplies from Dutch Flat.

Once the railroad was built, traffic slowed on these old roads until the transcontinental Lincoln Highway for automobiles was completed in 1913. The Lincoln Highway often utilized the Dutch Flat Wagon Road through Placer and Nevada Counties, and this is one example. The bridge crossing at Castle Creek is still there, through the bridge is made from concrete, and only carries the curious adventure who utilizes the roads less traveled.

Location at Castle Creek, Soda Springs.

Highway 40 bridge construction, Colfax, 1938

This 1938 photo shows the construction for Highway 40 overpass that crosses the Union Pacific Railroad line, just north of downtown Colfax. In 1963 the State renamed this section Route 174, which took traffic away from the downtown run the Lincoln Highway had made and allowed traffic to skirt the downtown area and proceed more quickly to Grass Valley and beyond.

Map of area.

The above map shows the Lincoln Highway route, in purple, and the site of the Highway 40 bridge. The Quonset huts were a motel made from a series of surplus Quonset huts leftover from WWII. Here is a link to an article about the motel.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler collection.

Auburn railroad crossing gets a new addition

The bridge is newer, but there has been a railroad over-crossing at El Dorado Road and Highway 49/193 in Auburn since 1905! Monica and I spent part of Tuesday painting the Lincoln Highway "L" on both ends of the span. The California Chapter of The Lincoln Highway Association (CLHA) uses signs and these stencils to mark the path of the old road, just as it would have been done from 1914 to 1928.

Monica stands in front of the recently completed “L” at the east side of the under-pass.

The CLHA has recently painted other railroads over-crossings, including the 1910 Newcastle tunnel on Old State Highway, two crossings in Applegate, one each at Heather Glen, Weimar, Secret Town, and the South Yuba Bridge at Cisco Grove, and finally one at Donner Summit. The Stenciled "L's" goes along with our Historic Lincoln Highway signs you will notice along the old road. Be sure to check them out when you drive by.

The same over-crossing, looking west. The Wagon is headed up Lincoln Way.

Middle support facing east.

The following picture shows the same underpass but looking north from the west side.

“DANGER SLOWDOWN TOOT. TOOT.”

Where is the driver?

How can you find and follow the Lincoln Highway? Besides the signs and stencils the Lincoln Highway Association publishes a Google interactive map showing the route accross the country. Just keep zooming in until your at the area your interested in. Map can be found here.

Summit of the Sierra

A great 1915 photo from the William M McCarthy collection at the California State Archives. Titled, “Summit of the Sierras," it shows two sets of railroad tracks, which indicates this is not Donner Summit, as all the tracks there were covered. Is this the Yuba Pass area?

The fun in these old photographs is often in zooming in to see the detail. They are hard to see otherwise, but once we look more closely we can see a couple of buildings set up against the snow sheds. Must have been for workers on the railroad to enter and leave without actually going outside into the snow. Just to the left of the buildings, I have marked what appears to be an automobile subway under the tracks and snow sheds. This subway is just like the one at Donner Summit, so perhaps this will help us to identify this location. Zoomable photo here.

“McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 266,” California State Archives Exhibits, accessed September 29, 2019, http://exhibits.sos.ca.gov/items/show/9290.