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SACRAMENTO NORTHERN ONLINE

Part of the WPRM/FRRS Family of Web Sites

originally created by Garth Groff

ROSTER OF SURVIVING
SACRAMENTO NORTHERN
LOCOMOTIVES AND CARS

Updated and corrected November 26, 2011

DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES

SN 145: GE 44-ton, built 1946; to Chrome Crankshaft (dealer) 1971; sold to Northwest Oklahoma RR in 1974 as their No. 2 (other sources say No. 7); resold to Westmac, Inc.; and later Cargill. It was sold to Shepard Grain Co., West Liberty, Ohio, in October 1998. Sold with the elevator to Champaign Landmark, Inc. in October 2003. Sold for scrap in 2008. See our feature REQUIEM FOR SACRAMENTO NORTHERN 145 for further details about this locomotive.

SN 146: GE 44-ton, built 1946; to Chrome Crankshaft (dealer) 1971; sold to Northwest Oklahoma RR in 1973 as their No. 1; preserved at the Western Railway Museum near Suisun City.

SN 401: EMC model SW-1, built 1939; ex-WP 501; to SN in 1965; preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola (as WP 501).

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SN 402 was rescued from the Stockton deadline
in 1983 and preserved at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.
Garth G. Groff photo.

SN 402: EMC model SW-1, built 1939; ex-WP 502; to SN in 1965; preserved at California State Railroad Museum. This unit was restored to orange and silver paint with SN lettering in June 1999. This locomotive sees occasional use on the museum's Sacramento Southern, shuttling revenue cars between the UP interchange and a wood products plant south of the museum.

SN 405: Alco model S-1, built 1942; ex-WP 504; to SN 1967; to Quincy RR, Quincy, California, in 1973 as their #4; donated and moved to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum around 2005.

SN 607: EMC model NW-2, built 1939; ex-UP 1000, ex-ST&E 1000, ex-WP 607; to SN in 1973; to Deer Creek Scenic RY/Heeber Creeper RR; now preserved and operated at Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City, Nevada. <

P SN 712: EMD GP-7, built 1953; ex-WP 712; to SN in 1971; preserved the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.


ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES

SN 602: Holman box motor, built 1912; ex-OA&E 102; converted to unmotorized bunk car MW83 in 1948; preserved at the Western Railway Museum since 1963.

SN 652: GE steeple cab, built 1928; ex-NE 1052; stripped for parts by SN; preserved with cosmetic restoration at the Western Railway Museum.

SN 653: GE steeple cab, built 1928; ex-NE 1053; retired 1965; preserved, but out of service at the Orange Empire Railway Museum.

SN 654: GE steeple cab, built 1930; retired 1965; preserved in operating condition at the Western Railway Museum. For more information about these locomotives, see our feature GENERAL ELECTRIC STEEPLE CABS ON THE SACRAMENTO NORTHERN.


ELECTRIC PASSENGER CARS

SN 27: For years this former streetcar sat unnoticed in Paradise, with a larger structure built around it. Friends of Light Rail rescued the body in 1999 and moved it to Sacramento for possible restoration and operation. FoLR also owns the bodies of three PG&E Sacramento City Lines streetcars which are in storage. For more information about SN 27, see our feature SUBURBAN SERVICE TO ELVERTA AND SWANSTON.
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Birney 62 was restored to her 1920s paint scheme and sees frequent use at the Western Railway Museum.
Robert Zeman photo.

SN 62: American Car Co. Birney Safety Car, built 1920; preserved and operated at the Western Railway Museum.

SN 66: American Car Co. Birney Safety Car, built 1920; dismantled 1947; body in use as a dwelling in Chico. The car is located on East 23rd Street, near the intersection with Fair Street.

1005-10.jpg
Holman-built 1005 is one of the treasures of the Western Railway Museum. When 1005
arrived at the museum in the early 1960s, she still carried an extra trolley pole.
Garth G. Groff photo.

SN 1005: Holman Car Co. composite interurban combine, built 1912; to Key System as 495 in 1942; to Bay Area Electric Railroad Association in 1951; preserved and restored at the Western Railway Museum. For more information about this car, see our feature STORY OF COMBINE 1005, LAST OF HER CLASS.

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Hall Scott coach 1019 served its last active days in maintenance-of-way service.
She was later preserved at the Western Railway Museum.
Garth G. Groff photo.

SN 1019: Hall Scott Motor Car Co. steel interurban trailer coach, built 1913 for the OA&E; motorized 1915; renumbered MW301 in 1941 and used for general maintenance duties and switching; demotorized and converted to kitchen and dining car in 1947; preserved in unrestored condition at the Western Railway Museum. <

SN 1020: Hall Scott Motor Car Co. steel interurban trailer coach, built 1913 for the OA&E; motorized 1915; renumbered MW302 in 1941 and used for tunnel inspection and general maintenance duties; demotorized and converted to bunk car in 1955; donated to the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association 1962; restored and operated at the Western Railway Museum as a non-powered trailer with OA&E lettering. For more information about this car, see our feature THE TALE OF HALL SCOTT MOTOR 1020.

Bidwell: Originally Niles coach 202 built in 1906; rebuilt after wreck using original frame and trucks to a parlor car by Mulberry Shops in 1914; body sold 1941 for use as a dwelling near Wheatland; rescued in 1978 and preserved at the Western Railway Museum. For more information on this car, see our feature SACRAMENTO NORTHERN PARLOR CARS.


FREIGHT CARS, CABOOSES AND MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT

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The inner workings of the SN portable substation are rarely seen
except by Western Railway Museum personnel. The main
piece of the "innards" is this GE rotary convertor.
Robert Zeman photo.

SN 1: Portable substation; mounted in a boxcar-type body, built at Mulberry shops in 1919 using ex-NE flatcar 1207. This unit once served as the Del Paso substation until a permanent installation was built. Before coming to the WRM, it powered the short section of overhead at the WP shops in Sacramento used for repair and testing of the last active electric locomotives. Currently used to power electric trains at Western Railway Museum. The WRM also owns the building from the permanent SN Del Paso substation, however the equipment inside is from the old BART test track at Concord. The electrical equipment from the Del Paso substation was sold to the Orange Emprie Railway Museum. It is now housed in their restored gas station, and serves as the back-up power source for their electrified track.

SN MW 32: 36-foot truss-rod flatcar; built 1911 by Holman as Oakland & Antioch 2002; equipped with a tool shed, bins and crane, 1927; preserved at the California State Railroad Museum; partly restored as a plain flatcar during Railfair 99 as a demonstration project; restoration and lettering were later finished and the car has been on display at the museum.

SN MW 01412: 40-foot truss-rod flatcar; rebuilt 1927 from Fitzhugh Luther & Co. flatcar; still in maintenance service until 1971; preserved and used with a movie train on the Fillmore & Western Railway in Southern California.

SN MW 01449: 40-foot truss-rod flatcar with sideboards; rebuilt 1927 from Fitzhugh Luther & Co. flatcar; in maintenance service until retired in 1970; preserved unrestored at California State Railroad Museum; not on display.

SN 1400 series flatcars: Kyle Williams Wyatt has confirmed the survival of two SN flatcars near Felton on the Santa Cruz & Big Trees Railway. The cars are in a former quarry at Olympia. No lettering could be found, however they appear to be two former NE 1100-series Fitzhugh-Luther & Co. cars built in 1907, and later rebuilt in the 1920s into the SNRR 1400 class. The two cars were owned by Spreckles Sugar after SN service.

 SN 1623: Cupola caboose, built 1910 by Haskell & Barker as WP 20045 (?), renumbered WP 769 prior to 1921; sold to SN in 1948; retired 1956; repainted as WP 754 (in orange-and-silver paint) and donated to Travel Town in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. Still on display, though in poor condition.

SN 1631: Single-sheathed cupola caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15057 in 1942 by WP as 630; in use as a vacation home near Placerville, Calif. This is the car that was for sale on E-Bay during the spring of 2001, and it may have been moved. For more information about SN cabooses, see our feature AN OVERVIEW OF SN CABOOSES.

SN 1632: Single-sheathed cupola caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15451 in 1938 by WP as 608; restored in 2011 at the Western Railway Museum.

SN 1634: Single-sheathed cupola caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15211 in 1938 by WP as 620; formerly at the Victoria Station Restaurant in Portland, Oregon; now in Hillsboro, Oregon, under restoration by a private rainfan.

SN 1635: Single-sheathed cupola caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15867 in 1938 by WP as 627; currently derelict at Waterloo, near Stockton.

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SN caboose 1636 has resurfaced in Virginia City, Nevada. Her current owner
has fully restored the car's exterior. It will be part of a caboose motel.
Mark Zachary photo.

SN 1636: Single-sheathed cupola caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15672 in 1942 by WP as 637; restored in Virginia City, Nevada, near the original V&T station in the company of several other cabooses.

1638.jpg
Former SN caboose 1638 was nearly destroyed by fire, but found a new lease on life
as an open passenger car for the Silverbend Tree Farm near Clarksburg.
Ryan Barber photo.

SN 1638: Single-sheathed cupola caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15245 in 1938 by WP as 621. Body damaged by fire and rebuilt as an open passenger car. Currently at Silverbend Tree Farm near Clarksburg.

SN 1639: Single-sheathed cupola caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15045 in 1938 by WP as 618; now a gift shop in Moss Landing.

SN 1641: Single-sheathed bay-window caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15527 in 1945 by WP as 698; at Napa Wine Train in Napa.

SN 1642: Single-sheathed bay-window caboose, rebuilt from boxcar 15922 in 1943 by WP as 648; preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.

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Steel-end boxcar 2302 is exhibited on the Niles Canyon Railway near Sunol.
The car was transfered from the WP to the SN in 1948.
Robert Zeman photo.

SN MW 02302: 40-foot wood-sheathed, steel-end boxcar, Mt. Vernon Car Co., 1918, ex-WP 318487; preserved by the Pacific Locomotive Association at Sunol on the Niles Canyon Railway. The car had skylights added by a previous owner. This is one of the five cars that were formerly part of a commerical development in Alameda (see below). For more information about SN's wooden boxcars, see our feature SACRAMENTO NORTHERN'S STEEL-UNDERFRAME BOXCARS.

SN MW 02310: 40-foot wood-sheathed, steel-end boxcar, Mt. Vernon Car Co., 1917, ex-WP 316099; in use as a shed along Oak Hill Road near Diamond Springs. Located on private property.

SN MW 02314: 40-foot wood-sheathed, steel-end boxcar, Mt. Vernon Car Co., circa 1918, ex-WP 317083; preserved at the Western Railway Museum.

SN 2326: 40-foot wood-sheathed, steel-end boxcar, Mt. Vernon Car Co., circa 1918, ex-WP 317204; used with a movie train on the Fillmore & Western Railway.

SN 2335: 40-foot wood-sheathed boxcar, Mt. Vernon Car Co., 1919, ex-SNRR 2140; used as a commerical shop in Yountville.

 SN 2349: 40-foot wood-sheathed, steel-end boxcar, Mt. Vernon Car Co., 1919, ex SNRR 2150. Formerly for sale on the McCloud Railway, this car was preserved 2008 at the Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture in Weed.

SN 2350: 40-foot wood-sheathed boxcar, Mt. Vernon Car Co., 1919, ex-SNRR 2136; preserved at California State Railroad Museum; currently awaiting restoration and not on display.

SN 5005: 47-foot covered hopper, AC&F PS-2 clone, 1959; preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum. For more infoprmation about this class of cars, see our feature MODERN FREIGHT CARS OF THE SN.


LOST SHEEP

In addition to the above list, there are several cars whose current status is unknown. Any help with these will be included in the next update.

Three former Northern Electric boxcars survived as farm sheds along Hicks Road near Chico. From their dimensions they appeared to be from series 2000-2049, the original Fitzhugh Luther cars of 1907. These cars cars were destroyed prior to 2008 for a new housing tract.

During the late 1970s there were five ex-SN wooden boxcars in Alameda as part of a moribund commercial development known as "The Factory". These were MW 92, 2302, 2313, 2324 and 2326. The area has been redeveloped and the cars are said to have been moved to other locations or destroyed. Car 2302 is now preserved at by the Pacific Locomotive Association at Sunol, and 2326 is used on the Fillmore & Western movie train, but the others are unaccounted for.

SN cupola caboose 1611 used to be on the property of the late Hal Wilmunder's long-gone Camino Cable & Northern at Camino. Mr. Wilmunder believed the next owner used it as a vacation cabin, but was unsure of the current location.

The hulk of former 44-ton GE SN 141, which was rusting away on the Claremont-Concord Railroad at Clarement, New Hampshire, was scrapped in 1997.

Caboose 1644 was sold to Virginia & Truckee Railroad, Virginia City, Nevada, as their #51. It was completely destroyed in 2003 by a fire caused by a welding spark while under repair.


Information cited in the above list was mainly gleaned from Ira Swett's Cars of Sacramento Northern, Joseph Strapac's Western Pacific's Diesel Years, and various issues of the Feather River Rail Society's Trainsheet. Full citations for these works are included in the annotated bibliography. Additional help was provided by Ryan Barber, Tom Beutel, Rick Borgwardt, Frank Brehm, Bob Campbell, Norman Holmes, Tom Irion, Roger Kirkpatrick, Don Marenzi, Clark Nary, Brian Norden, Bill Shippen, Bruce Shoemaker, Terry Schmidt, Scott Trostel, Eugene Vicknair, Kyle Williams Wyatt, Allen Wood and Bob Zeman. Thanks guys.


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