Listing of PSRHS Past Meeting Presentations and Field Trips
1/24/02 Organizational Meeting – Halton Printing — Mike Ramsey — Slide Show on Colorado Loop
2/28/02
3/28/02 Lou Labonte’s – Ken Yeo: Nevada County Narrow Gauge RR
4/27/02 Tour of Colfax Depot, etc.
Unless otherwise noted, meetings at First Congregational Church, Auburn
5/23/02 Roger Staab – Video: Last Cab Forward over Donner
6/27/02 Ken Yeo: Towle Brothers Logging Railroad
7/25/02 Phil Sexton: Big Bend Visitor Center Displays
8/22/02 Jim Wood: Golden Spike Recreation (Jupiter & No. 119)
9/26/02 Mike Ramsey: Railfest and Durango & Silverton
10/24/02 Members – Items from Personal Collections
10/27/02 Field Trip — Donner Ski Ranch — Summit Tunnels & Stations
11/21/02 Dinner Meeting – Auburn Denny’s — Brendan Compton: On-Camera Interviews
1/23/03 Roger Staab: Donner Summit – Then and Now
2/27/03 LeeAnn Preece: Operation Lifesaver
3/27/03 Mike Ramsey: Current Operations on Roseville Sub
4/24/03 Jim Wood, Ken Yeo & Dick Whitney: Field Trip – Towle Area
5/22/03 Norm Sayler: Photo Collection – Rte. 40 and Donner Pass
6/26/03 Bill Leonard: Wood Train Models
7/03 Field Trip (no meeting) — Newcastle to Colfax
8/28/03 Jim Wood: Report on Field Trip
9/25/03 Brendan Compton: Roseville to Truckee Video
10/23/03 Mark McLaughlin: Book – Western Train Adventures
11/15/03 NCNG&T Museum Tour/Dinner Meeting — Ken Yeo: Towle Brothers
1/22/04 Projects, Plans and Priorities for 2004
2/26/04 Brendan Compton: UP Flanger Operations Video
3/25/04 Roger Staab: Colfax & Its Railroads, 1865-2004
4/22/04 Dave McClain: Portola RR Museum F7 Restoration
5/22/04 Field Trip: Rocklin Roundhouse & Granite Quarry
6/24/04 Phil Sexton: In Search of Cisco
7/22/04 Mike Lynch: Mountain Quarries Railroad
8/26/04 Shelton Campbell: California Zephyr Cars Excursion
10/2/04 Field Trip: Long Ravine to Secret Town
10/21/04 William Chew: Chinese Workers of the Central Pacific Railroad – Joint Meeting with Colfax Area Historical Society
11/18/04 Doug Ferrier: Logging Railroads between Dutch Flat and The Summit
1/27/05 Brendan Compton: UP Snow Removal Activities Video
2/24/05 Items Shared from Members Personal Collections
3/24/05 Ken Yeo: Railroads of Placer County
4/28/05 Roger Staab: Sierra Fire Trains
5/26/05 David Bieber: Rebuilding the Virginia & Truckee Railroad Right of Way
6/11/05 Field Trip: Texas Hill and Towle Brothers Railroad
7/28/05 Roger Staab: Colfax Passenger Depot Renovation and McCloud Railroad Steam Excursion
8/22/05 Report on Texas Hill/Towle Brothers Field Trip
10/22/05 Field Trip: Gold Run and American Canyon
11/17/05 Dave McClain: Motorcar Excursions
Starting in January 2006 Meeting Location changed to the Multipurpose Senior Center at the Dewitt Complex in Auburn.
1/26/06 Review of Field Trip to Gold Run, Alta, Towle & American
2/23/06 Brendan Compton: Interview with Nancy Longnecker, long- time resident of Blue Canyon
3/23/06 Brendan Compton: Preview Showing – Day of the Spreader
4/27/06 Ken Yeo: Prefab Concrete Snowshed Construction
5/25/06 Norm Saylor: Donner Area Postcards and Brochures
6/24/06 Field Trip to Blue Canyon
7/27/06 Brendan Compton: Video Interview Jim (the Bear) Maho and Donner Snow Removal
8/24/06 Randy Cape: Southern Pacific Mail Trains
9/28/06 Gary Lutz: Experiences as a Southern Pacific Fireman on Mallets and other snow-fighting equipment
10/28/06 Field Trip – California State Railroad Museum with Ken Yeo
11/30/06 Potluck Dinner Meeting – Jim Wood and Roger Staab showed Photos of progress on the Colfax Passenger Depot
1/25/07 Ken Yeo: Preparations for Opening Sacramento Rail Museum
2/22/07 Discussion of Field Trip choices, update on Depot Project
3/22/07 Phil Sexton: Short Life of a Short Line – Boca and Loyalton Logging Railroad
4/26/07 Recognition Ceremony at Renovated Colfax Passenger Depot
5/24/07 Brendan Compton: Rotary Up the Hill – Inside Look at Rotary Snowplows at Work
6/23/07 Field Trip to Donner Summit Area, Norden and Tunnel 6
7/26/07 Roger Staab: Colfax Passenger Depot through the years
8/23/07 Jim Wood: Gunnar Henrioulle’s SP Lounge Car
9/27/07 Discussion of Colfax Caboose restoration project
10/27/07 Field Trip to Penryn Granite Quarry and Railroad Grades
11/29/07 Potluck Dinner Meeting – Peter Hills: Restoration of Santa Fe 3751 Steam Locomotive
1/24/08 Jim Wood: Future Field Trip sites and use of Google Earth –Discussion of Colfax Caboose work and Chamber Rail Car
2/28/08 Jack Duncan: Cape Horn Construction – Facts, Fiction & Legend
3/27/08 Ken Yeo: History of Rail Lines in Placer County
4/24/08 George Lay: History of Clipper Gap and Applegate
5/31/08 Field Trip to Newcastle area
6/26/08 Ken Yeo: Construction of Second Track thru Auburn and Temporary Tracks through Old Town
7/24/08 Brendan Compton: Rotary Snow Plows Training Film he did for UP
8/28/08 Jim Wood: Wildfire at Cape Horn
9/25/08 Jay Hansel: Tourist Railroads in the US
10/11/08 Field trip to Clipper Gap and Applegate
11/20/08 Potluck Dinner Meeting – Collection of Video Films that focus on Donner Route railroad history including last days of NCNG
1/22/09 Peter Hills: British Railway Museums and Historic Railway Preservation Societies
2/26/09 Walt Wilson: 1973 Roseville Railyard Train Explosion
3/26/09 Dave McClain: Investigation of 1973 Roseville Yard Explosion
4/23/09 Photos of Visit of UP 844 to Colfax and the Donner Route
5/23/09 Field Trip to Colfax Yard, Surrounding Area and Caboose
6/26/09 Jim “The Bear” Mahon: Experiences from his railroad career
7/23/09 Videos of Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad
8/27/09 Brendan Compton: New Video of UP844 on the Donner Route
9/24/09 Member Photos of Snowsheds and Tunnels over Donner Summit
10/3/09 Field Trip to Cape Horn Mills and Secret Town Trestle site
11/19/09 Roger Staab: AMTRAK trips to Montana and Seattle with ferry ride from Vancouver BC to Victoria BC
1/28/10 Brendan Compton: Refurbishing SP Spreaders
2/25/10 Gary Symington: Creating Railroad Art
3/25/10 Tom Towner: Photos and Modeling of NCNGRR
4/22/10 Roger Staab: Colfax and Its Railroads
5/27/10 Ken Yeo: Don Olson’s collection of films of four shortline railroads
6/19/10 Field Trip for a tour of the Roseville Yard
6/24/10 Gary Luce: Details of rebuilding the V&T railroad grade from Carson City to Virginia City
7/11/10 Field Trip to Virginia City NV for a tour of the V&T Railroad
8/26/10 Peter Hills: Several Recent RR Motorcar Excursions
9/23/10 Review of Field Trips to Roseville Yard and V&T Railroad
10/16/10 Field trip to Towle and Towle Brothers Logging Railroad
11/18/10 Potluck Dinner Meeting – Video: SP Sacramento Shops Plus photos of field trip to Towle
2/24/11 Brendan Compton: Video “The Spreader Snow Plow – The New Mega-machines of the Sierra
3/24/11 Roger Staab: Two July 1994 excursions on the Feather River Route aboard the UP Streamliner train
4/28/11 Member photos of Rotary Snowplows in action on the hill
5/25/11 Field trip to Siemens Rail Car manufacturing facility in South Sacramento
6/23/11 Dunsmuir Railroad Days photos and Vintage equipment on the move
7/28/11 Peter Hills: Riding Heritage trains in England and Scotland
8/25/11 Tony Hesch: Colfax Caboose update –Peter Hills: Video – Operating a Steam Locomotive (British)
9/22/11 Jim Wood: Operation Lifesaver Program (Safety near RR Tracks)
10/15/11 Field trip to the Newcastle and Penryn area
11/17/11 Potluck Dinner Meeting – Stan Kistler: Fifty Years of Chasing Trains (With a Camera)
1/26/12 Brendan Compton: Video “Rotaries – Avalanche on the Mountain”
2/23/12 Jim Rutherford: History of the Quincy Railroad
3/22/12 Bill George’s film, “The Hidden Wonder of the World, the Transcontinental Railroad from Sacramento to Donner Summit”.
4/26/12 Lonnie Dickson & Dave Bowler: Snow Removal Experiences on Donner
5/24/12 Peter Hills: Santa Fe 3751 Excursion from LA to Grand Canyon
6/9/12 Field trip to Roseville UP Diesel Shops
7/26/12 Slide show and discussion of June field trip to Roseville Shops
8/23/12 Member photos of UP CARES Excursion Colfax to Auburn
9/15/12 Field trip to Coldstream Canyon, Horseshoe Curve, and the sites of Andover and Stanford
9/27/12 Final plans for Colfax Railroad Days and report on field trip to Coldstream and Horseshoe Curve
10/25/12 Recap of Colfax Railroad Days and Visit of UP 844
11/29/12 Potluck Dinner Meeting – Two Vintage films, “Snow on the Run” featuring the 1951-2 Storm, and “This is my Railroad – Early Diesel Era”
1/24/13 Mike Lynch: Mountain Quarries Railroad 100th Anniversary
2/28/13 Paul Beckstrom: Michigan California Lumber Company Railroad
Monthly Meeting location changed to Auburn Airport Terminal Bldg
3/28/13 Mike Roque: Niles Canyon Railway Activities
4/25/13 Chris Graves: Early CPRR Construction and Operation
5/23/13 Roger Staab: Highlights of his new book “Towle Brothers” published by PSRHS about the logging railroad and town of Towle
6/27/13 Mike Haire: Railroad Operations in Montana/Wyoming Powder River Basin; video clips of UP844 over Donner
7/6/13 Field trip to Niles Canyon Railway
7/25/13 Mark Fagley: Details of January Train Derailment in Colfax
8/22/13 Norm Lucas: CSRM’s Docent Program and annual Polar Express Excursions
9/26/13 John Cockrell: Highlights of his book on his railroad experiences
11/14/13 Field trip to Siemens Railcar facility in South Sacramento
11/21/13 Potluck Dinner Meeting – Peter Hills: Rail-riding in England
1/23/14 Phil Smith: New England Railroads
2/27/14 William Wauters: Unearthing a CPRR Locomotive Builders Plate
3/27/14 Frank Vacca: California High Speed Rail Project
4/24/14 Bruce Gregory: DVD and photos of National Railway Museum, York, England
5/22/14 Jeff Asay: Ghost Rails, Ghost Towns – and a Tower with a Ghost
6/26/14 Walt Wilson: Video of UP’s Big Boy Steam Locomotives
7/24/14 Walt Wilson: Cantera Loop Spill
8/28/14
10/23/14 Mike Haire: Photos of recent railfan trips
11/20/14 Chuck Spinks: Civil Engineers over the Sierra
1/22/15 Peter Hills: On Board the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver
2/26/15 Roger Staab: Mexico’s Copper Canyon by Rail, 1980
3/26/15 Mike Haire: Year in Review Railroad video clips on Donner and other areas
4/23/15 Paul Beckstrom: Swayne Lumber Company and its Logging Railroad near Oroville
4/25/15 Field trip to San Francisco’s Muni and Cable Car systems
5/28/15 Brendan Compton: Elvas Tower Operations and Operators
6/25/15
7/23/15 Paul Greenfield: Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) and ATCS Monitor
8/27/15 Roger Staab: Colfax and its Railroads: A Look Back in Time –A tribute to Colfax’s 150th anniversary
10/22/15 William Burg: 1894 Pullman Strike
11/20/15 Bill Fowler: The SP in Chicago
11/21/15 Field trip to the Newcastle area
1/28/16 Jim Wood & Roger Staab: Landslide near Clipper Gap
2/25/16 Dave McClain: Portola Western Pacific RR Museum Locomotive Restoration
3/24/16 Willie Burroughs: Snow Removal over the Sierra
4/28/16 Brian Brown: Rescued – Small Plane Crash in Idaho Mountains
5/26/16 Chuck Spinks: Surveying and Engineering of the CPRR Transcontinental Railroad in California
6/23/16 Roger Staab – A Century and a Half of Passenger Service on the Donner Route
7/28/16 Paul Greenfield – The Milwaukee Road in the Pacific Northwest
8/25/16 Scott Inman – Photos of the Sac Division from Roseville to Sparks – Southern Pacific Railroad History Center planned for Rocklin
9/22/16 Dennis Magures – Rebuilding Sierra Snow Equipment
10/27/16 Phil Smith — Dead Man’s Curve and details from an accident report
11/2/16 Field Trip to Siemens Manufacturing Facility in South Sacramento
11/17/16 Brendan Compton — Newest Video on Rotary Plows
1/26/17 Brendan Compton: Newest DVD Rotaries Part II (resched. from Nov)
2/23/17 Sonja Conklin: Air ambulance service Brendan Compton: Second half of Rotaries Part II
3/23/17 Peter Hills – Riding the Rails on Vancouver Island; Speeder Runs on Mt Rainier Scenic RR and Coos Bay Rail Link
4/27/17 Gary Gurske — experiences as a conductor with the Penn Central and Conrail
5/20/17 Field Trip – Clipper Gap and Tunnel 0
5/25/17 Kevin Knauss — Retracing the route of the California Central Railroad from Folsom to Roseville
6/22/17 Don Anderson – Construction of the Auburn-Foresthill Bridge
7/27/17 Stan Kistler – “Chasing Trains for 50 Years with a Camera”
8/24/17 Mark Davidson – Railroad Land Grants and Gold Rush Real Estate
9/28/17 Bill George Film “Beyond a Miracle, Creating California’s Empire of Agriculture
10/26/17 Roger Staab – Railroad-Related Changes in Colfax through the Years
11/16/17 Peter Hills – Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge from Laws to Keeler
1/25/18 Roger Staab – New Book “Railroads of Placer County”
2/22/18 Roger Staab – Mysteries in PG&E Railroad Photos
3/22/18 Paul Helman – The Science and History of the Steam Locomotive Boiler
4/26/18 Bill Oudegeest – The Rails at Donner Summit
5/24/18 Andrew Brandon – New Book “Railroads of Nevada County”
6/28/18 Roger Staab – PG&E Railroads in the Central Sierra
7/26/18 Carolyn Carter – So You Want A Caboose in your Backyard
8/23/18 Program Cancelled
10/25/18 Brendan Compton – New DVD Rotaries II
11/15/18 Chuck Spinks – Final Months of the Race to Promontory
1/24/19 Scott Inman – SP Daylights, Most Beautiful Train in the World
2/28/19 Francisco Castillo – UP Book Race to Promontory/150th Celebration
3/28/19 Roger Staab – RR Scenes Then and Now along Donner Route
4/25/19 Tom Shook – Siemens Sacramento, Past, Present & Future
5/16/19 Spring Field Trip — Siemens Sacramento
5/23/19 Paul Greenfield – Silver Iris private railcar trip to Denver + UP Big Boy run from Evanston, Wyoming to Ogden, Utah
6/27/19 Keith Pattison – Mapmaking and tips for finding old railroad grades
7/25/19 Eric Walker – California Operation Lifesaver – Program on Rail Safety
8/22/19 BBQ and Social gathering – No formal program
9/21-22/19 Colfax Railroad Days (No meeting in September)
10/19/19 Fall Fieild Trip – Donner Summit Tunnels and Norden
10/24/19 John “Specs” Lanahm –United States Railroad Administration (USRA), 1916 – 1920
11/21/19 Peter Hills – Norway – Trains, Planes, Ships and Snow
1/23/20 Scott Inman – Status Update on SP Archives/History Center/Model Railroad Facility in Rocklin
2/27/20 Bonnie Potter – Women in Railroading
March 2020 Thru January 2021 No Meetings due to Coronavirus Restrictions
2/25/21 Zoom Mtg Paul Helman – Creation & Leadership of a Transportation Empire
March 2021 No Meeting
4/22/21 Zoom Mtg Bill Taylor – Central Pacific/Southern Pacific & California Agriculture
May – Jun 2021 No Meeting
7/22/21 Zoom Mtg Chuck Spinks – History of Railroad Track 1500’s -1900’s
8/26/21 Zoom Mtg Phil Sexton – Honoring The Work of Giants at Donner Pass
Monthly Meeting Location Changed to Auburn Veterans Memorial Hall
9/28/21 Zoom + In Person Jim Wood & Roger Staab – Pritchard Marble Quarry & Bear River Lime Kiln
10/26/21 Zoom + In Person Mike Haire – Photographing Trains over Donner as a Hobby Since the 1990’s
11/23/21 Annual Potluck Dinner Meeting with Railroad Videos
January 2022 – No Meeting
2/22/22 PSRHS at 20: Where We’ve Been and What We Are, presented by current president Chuck Spinks and
founding member Roger Staab
3/22/22 Kevin Knauss – Amos Catlin, Theodore Judah, and the Sacramento Area’s Early Railroads.
4/19/22 PSRHS Field Trip to Siemens Sacramento
4/26/22 Kyle Wyatt – The Central Pacific Story: Building the Western Half of the Pacific Railroad
5/24/22 Paul Helman – Central Pacific Government Debt – Buyers Remorse, the Supreme Court, James Speyer and more. Was It Ever Paid Off?
6/28/22 John Knox – Auburn Dry Diggings and Water – Rivers, Ravines, Ditches, Springs, Wells and Waste
7/26/22 Scott Inman
– Update on Southern Pacific Railroad History Center
– Photos from Carson City Great Western Steam Up
8/23/22 Roger Staab – 1925’s Summit Tunnel #41 & Related Norden Concrete Sheds
Sep. 2022 No Meeting in September – Colfax Railroad Days
10/25/22 Herman Darr Narrates circa 1940 Al Phelps Film Footage of NCNG Operations
11/22/22 Annual PSRHS Potluck Dinner + Railroad-themed Music
1/24/23 Chuck Spinks — The Early Bridges of the Central Pacific Railroad
2/28/23 Clark Colahan – History of Blue Mountain RR in SE Washington
4/25/23 Tim O’Brien – History of NCNG #5 and NCNG RR Museum’s Expansive Progress Over the Years (Postponed from March due to bad weather)
5/23/23 Roger Staab – Photos and History of Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge in Cottage Grove Oregon
6/27/23 Marilyn Sommerdorf – Perishable – The Story of Placer County Fruit Growing and the Southern Pacific Company
7/25/23 Paul Greenfield — Video showing some of his railroad photos from 1976 to the present, including many fallen flag railroads and historic locations
8/22/23 Jim Wood – Past Field Trip to Clipper Gap — Tunnel 0, Trestle Sites, Double Tracking
9/23 No Meeting in September — Colfax RR Days
10/24/23 Two vintage movies of Hal Wilmunder’s narrow gauge railroad ventures from the 1960’s, the Antelope & Western and the Camino Cable and Northern. Narration by Hal’s son Les & grandson Casey. Plus Tim O’Brien photos and video clips of Antelope & Western #1 in action at NCNG RR Museum
11/28/23 Video of Early Amtrak frem Sacramento to Reno & Return on Snowy Christmas 1971