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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD

Western Pacific Railroad History ~

The Western Pacific was incorporated in 1903 to build from Salt Lake City, Utah and a connection with the Denver and Rio Grande Railway to Oakland, California.  It was part of the Gould family of railroads that stretched from Utah to the Atlantic Coast with only a few small

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Portola Railroad Days 2011 Publication

Public Information Sheet on the Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society (WPRRHS) for Portola Railroad Days 2011 publication – By FRRS Board Member Wayne I. Monger
The Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society (WPRRHS) is the archives and library subsidiary division of the 501(c)(3) educational non-profit Feather River Rail Society (FRRS). Founded by Western Pacific Railroad engineer and

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The History of Portola ~ By Rebecca Rhode

The History of Portola
Written by Rebecca Rhode
for an 11th Grade History project,
Portola High School, 2003
The town of Portola, California, sits along both sides of the middle fork of the Feather River, in Plumas County, on the upper eastern part of northern California. Portola lies off the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The local landscape

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PORTOLA RAILROAD DAYS NAMES GRAND MARSHALL

Ronald Christensen selected as “Grand Marshall” for 29th Annual Portola Railroad Days Golden Spike Parade                                                                                

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Railroad Days Honor Gandy Dancers

29TH ANNUAL PORTOLA RAILROAD DAYS AND
THE FEATHER RIVER EXPRESS TO HONOR THE GANDY DANCER
Portola, Calif. (March 29, 2011) The theme for the 29th Annual Portola Railroad Days Festival,  August 18-21, 2011  is “Gandy Dancer-Pride of the West ”. The hard working Gandy Dancers built the Western Pacific  through the Feather River

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Meet the Artist - Patrick Michael Karnahan

Patrick Michael Karnahan Exhibition ~ Feather Community Arts Center – Portola, CA   ~ August 20th -  7:00pm
The work of Patrick Michael Karnahan, an accomplished artist, songwriter and musician, will join local artists during a special Railroad Days art show and raffle at the Feather Community Arts Center in Portola, Saturday, August 20, during Portola Railroad

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Gandy Dancers ~ Bio for Railroad Days Program

Gandy Dancers
Bio for Railroad Days Program

“Gandy dancers” was a nickname for railroad section gangs in the days before modern mechanized track upkeep. The men were called dancers for their synchronized movements when repairing track under the direction of a lead workman known as the “caller” or “call man.” The name “gandy” supposedly arose

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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FEATHER RIVER RAIL SOCIETY

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FEATHER RIVER RAIL SOCIETY
When the 80 year corporate life of the Western Pacific Railroad began ending with the merger into the larger Union Pacific Railroad, a group of WP employees and historians came together to form the Feather River Rail Society.  Their goal was to preserve some

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First Scheduled Western Pacific Passenger Train

THE FIRST SCHEDULED WESTERN PACIFIC PASSENGER TRAIN
IN THE FEATHER RIVER CANYON
August 22, 2010, marks the 100th Anniversary of the first through passenger train operated over the Western Pacific Railway, which made a stop at Portola on August 21, 1910 for the night.  On Sunday, August 22nd , 1910 the first scheduled through passenger train departed

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Train Ride

Our Ride on the Rails ~ By Bill Pettengill
Have you ever had a fragrance of a perfume or the smell of biscuits baking in the oven, or see or hear something that took you back to another time or place, that stirred up perhaps fond memories of a time gone bye?.  Maybe it reminded you

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