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 APRIL 28, 2026, 7PM
PSRHS Historian Roger Staab will present “Then You Saw It – Now You Don’t” – Vanished Donner Route RR Buildings & Scenes. Many railroad buildings and other features that are visible in old photos no longer exist, or have been replaced by more modern versions. This program highlights several “vanished” buildings or former sightings along the Donner Route, along with a brief discussion of their past roles and demise. The focus will be on the “then”, with comments offered about what came later (the “now”).
Read the Current Newsletter for related information on our monthly program and other items of interest.
NEWS ITEMS
PSRHS June 4 Spring Field Trip – Sacramento Shops
The PSRHS spring field trip scheduled for June 4 will provide an exclusive inside look at the Sacramento Shops buildings and equipment owned by the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM). This tour, scheduled for 10am-1pm on June 4, promises to be a memorable experience for those who have not visited the Sacramento Shops and seen the equipment stored there, most of which has not been displayed in the main museum exhibit.
Due to a maximum of 35 attendees imposed by CSRM, the Sacramento Shops tour will be limited to current PSRHS members only. See page 2 of our April Newsletter for details on how you can sign up if you are a current PSRHS member and wish to attend.
Big Boy Videos Of 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 April 11 Update***
Visit to Colfax and Truckee Cancelled due to Weather
We knew it was going to be wet and chilly in Colfax for Big Boy’s visit April 12 on its return trip to Wyoming. What we hadn’t anticipated was the impact of predicted snowfall over Donner summit. Hence the decision by UP on April 11 to depart Roseville April 12 via the Feather River Canyon instead of Donner and cancel the stops (and visits) at Colfax and Truckee on April 12.
You can read UP’s official statement regarding the change in plans at
https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/schedule
Big Boy was still on display in Roseville April 11 from 9am-3pm, and departed Roseville Sunday morning heading north to Oroville and Feather River Canyon rather than following the Donner route.
See our Big Boy Page for further details and updates regarding the tour itinerary, and photos of a new commemorative locomotive, UP1776 – America250 that will accompany 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.