The text below is from a larger document written by Leonard "Duke" Davis, considered by many the foremost authority on the history of Roseville. Davis was a founding member of the Roseville Historical Society and instrumental in documenting Roseville history through the many books he authored. He partnered with the historical society on several projects about the history of Roseville.
This is a link to the larger document:
Bob Chaparro
Moderator
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In January 1908 contracts were let for the newly organized Pacific Fruit Express Company¡¯s refrigerator plants at Roseville, Colton and Las Vegas. The Roseville plant alone was to have an estimated storage capacity of some 11,000 tons of ice and a daily ice-making potential of 200 tons.
Work began in March, 1908 under the direction of Mr. Hyatt. By February 1909, the almost completed $250,000 ice-making and fruit cooling plant was in operation with an ice-making capacity of 300 tons per day, and a storage capacity of 17,000 tons. Officials of the Southern Pacific Company inspected the new facilities and shortly thereafter (March) announced that henceforth all fruit cars would be iced at Roseville rather than at Sacramento.
Work on a large pre-cooling building commenced in April, 1909, along with excavations for a number of PFE car shops plus the installation of additional miles of track necessary for the expanded operations. It was announced that all the PFE shops would be moved from Sacramento as soon as the shops and 15,000 feet of repair tracks were completed.
By July, 1909, stock yards had been completed and put into operation on the west side of the main line. For a distance of over a mile between Vernon Street and the main track, land was being leveled for six more lines of track. The first test of the new plant ran in October 1909.
Meanwhile, removal of the Rocklin roundhouse, force and machinery to Roseville was completed on Saturday, April 25, 1908, and Rocklin¡¯s position as a railroad center came to an end. Amidst the transfer of the freight crews from Rocklin to Roseville, not one man lost his run. With the removal of the railroad facilities from Rocklin completed, much of that town¡¯s population and many of its buildings moved to Roseville. The big move took more than two years (1906-1908) to complete. According to the Roseville Register of Oct. 28, 1909, some 43 residences had been moved to Roseville from Rocklin.
In the space of two years Roseville had developed into a bustling railroad center. Two of the largest round houses in the state had been constructed there, along with 45 miles of sidetracks to handle increased business. By January 1909, an additional 40 miles of tracks were added to the yard, which in addition to the round houses and machine shops also included a store, warehouse and office buildings, a hospital and railroad men¡¯s clubhouse. The year 1909 also saw the arrival of the first two articulated Mallet compounds (Numbers 4000 and 4001).
By 1923, however, California¡¯s agriculture began to expand dramatically. New specialty crops from the Imperial and Coachella valleys were particularly in demand in Eastern markets. California was being looked upon as a prime supplier of the nation¡¯s food. On the local scene, this agricultural boom was manifested by Southern Pacific¡¯s announcement of a massive enlargement program at the local yards.
In April of 1924, work commenced on a $750,000 Pacific Fruit Express (P.F.E.) building program. Construction included a new $600,000 plant (Plant No. 2) with a daily ice making capacity of between 200-400 tons and a $150,000 remodeling and expansion program for existing facilities. The following month (May), Southern Pacific purchased 200 acres of land between Roseville and Antelope for relocation of PFE shops and construction of 77 miles of new tracks to be used by both Southern Pacific and PFE.
Work on the PFE enlargement program started in May, 1926 with grading and laying of 15 miles of side track between Roseville and Antelope. A short time later, work started on the $1.5 million car shops. Cement for the new PFE shops was poured on Oct. 21, 1926, and, by June, 1927, the new facilities were in operation. Roseville was now acknowledged throughout the land as the site of the world¡¯s largest artificial ice plant.
Between 1941 and 1945, the number of refrigerator loadings nationwide rose 34.5 percent. The work force at the local Pacific Fruit Express was pointed to with pride by PFE Vice President K.V. Plummer: ¡°Despite fewer cars, fewer skilled workers, longer hours, scarce parts and newly integrated labor resources, they were able to keep up with demand and boost the car line¡¯s potential beyond its pre-war capacity.¡±
Roseville¡¯s PFE Ice Plant, the world¡¯s largest artificial ice-making plant, underwent revolutionary changes during this period [1950-1960]. The plant mechanized in 1953 to incorporate features that doubled the speed of operations. Mobile one-man icing machines, designed especially for PFE to ice refrigerator cars, could each handle five tons per minute. Other PFE facilities placed in operation included new light repair facilities and a mechanical refrigeration and maintenance center.
New self-contained refrigerator cars also began to make their appearance in increasing numbers at the local yards during the 1950s. Introduction of ¡°Piggy Back¡± operations during this period had an important effect on the local ice plant. Large refrigerated truck trailers could now be loaded in the fields and orchards, then driven to the railroad where they would be loaded on flat cars for shipment to distant markets.
Piggy Back operations coupled with introduction of self-contained refrigerator cars led to a steadily decreasing need for ice from the local PFE Ice Plant. By decade¡¯s end, Roseville had become one of the most modern computerized railroad operations in the entire nation. This change, however, was not all good for local railroad employees.
While the economy was booming and job opportunities increased in many local business sectors, the railroad ¨C long the dominant force in Roseville¡¯s economy ¨C experienced a period of decline before rising to new heights in the late 1990s. The general public first became aware of local rail operations¡¯ ongoing decline back in 1972 when passenger traffic was discontinued and the venerable old depot was demolished.
Further shock set in the following year when the PFE Ice Plant closed and was torn down. Over the next ten years, intense competition with the trucking industry and mergers of several smaller railroads further threatened Southern Pacific¡¯s viability.
In 1983, Southern Pacific embarked on an economic move to merge with the Santa Fe Railway. Some operations merged and a holding company for the two railroads was created, pending approval by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC delayed its decision until 1986, only to then reject the merger claiming it would create a monopoly. The holding company was ordered to sell one of the railroads. During those three years of limbo, when the ICC deliberated, Southern Pacific did little to modernize its equipment and operations.
At the same time, operating costs were spiraling, profits were decreasing, and employee morale was sagging. Railroading became a less attractive career as financially strapped Southern Pacific implemented belt tightening measures. The local work force declined from about 6,000 during Roseville¡¯s peak railroading years in the 1940s and 1950s to about 1,300 in the 1980s.
For years it had been almost tradition for many high school youth to work summer vacations at either Southern Pacific or PFE and, upon graduation, begin full-time railroad careers as their fathers and grandfathers had done before them. Now, with the future of local railroad operations in doubt and increased job opportunities offered by new industries locating in Roseville, many turned away from the railroad.
Bob Chaparro
Michael Lumert