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Very rarely seen in Chico, Baldwin VO-1000 number 407 is shown at Mulberry in 1972.

Here is a rarity among broadsides, especially from San Francisco Sacramento Shortline. Enjoy. ~Bill Shippen

Happy Saturday! Progress continues slowly, but here is a shot from the workbench this morning. Is anyone else doing any modeling? Michael Starkey

Friends, Attached is the last of my scavenging expedition. The photo from the Electric Railway Journal shows NE combine 100 in as-built condition, complete with PE-style pneumatic trolley bases and St. Louis trucks (later replaced with Baldwin MCB). This photo has been widely reproduced, and appeared in both Swett's and Demoro's books. NE 100 was a 1906 Niles product. She was wrecked at Harter in 1935, and sat derelict at Chico until scrapped in 1941. Yours Aye, Garth Groff ?

Good friends, Tonight I am posting a photo of Ramon. This photo is on page 308 of Demoro's SACRAMENTO NORTHERN where he states this is circa 1920. Actually, the version attached is from Railway Locomotive and Engineering (1916). As a bonus, I also found a photo of Ramon's engine. I am told that the Smithsonian has one of her pistons in their collection. Yours Aye, Garth Groff ?

Friends, This morning I am offering two more photos from the Electric Railway Journal circa 1909, both showing the 3rd rail. The first shows right-of-way at an unnamed location. From the scenery, I suggest this is near Marysville or Chico, rather than closer to Sacramento. But who knows? Note the neatly trimmed ballast and excellent trackwork. Quite a contrast to much of the SN in diesel days. The second is a panorama of the bright and shiny Mulberry Shops and yard in Chico. All that 3rd rail is a switchman's nightmare. Although there were several fatalities among the public over the years, I have never read of an NE/SN employee getting electrocuted. No wonder government authorities went after the SNRY (and the CCT) following WWII, leading to most of the North End being dieselized. Yours Aye, Garth Groff ?

Friends, Today's photo shows the Northern Electric's East Nicolaus substation. This concrete building was completed in 1908. In the photo there are no lines connected to the insulator banks, plus there is what looks like construction debris all over the place. This was probably taken sometime in 1908, though it was published in the Electric Railway Journal in 1909. Also note the unloading dock between the track and the building. Originally this substation had two 400 KW 600 volt Westinghouse generators, each driven by 3-phase 2200 volt induction motors. Control panels were by General Electric. In the distance you can see two cottages built in the Northern Electric style, possibly for the employees who monitored the equipment. All north end substations were converted to automatic operation by 1929. Yours Aye, Garth Groff ?

Friends, Today I have two photos of unidentified Northern Electric depots from the Electric Railway Journal. The first is a typical open waiting shed. The design is similar to the shed at Bilman (though it definitely NOT Bilman). Unfortunately, the signboard on the eave cannot be read. The brick foundation and lower walls were also done in river rock for at least one shelter, and others like Fremont on the Woodland Branch were done in wood and shingles. In short, the Northern Electric "standard" design was anything but standard. The second station is an oddity. It is of substantial size, indicating an agent might have been assigned, but the passenger-operated semaphore indicates a flag stop. No location was given with the photo. Any thoughts? Yours Aye, Garth Groff ?

Friends, Today's offering is a shot of motor 1000 (could just as easily be 1001) and a pile driver photographed near Marysville in 1907. At least that is what Demoro said on page 26 of his book. My image came from the Electric Railway Journal, and has no information. In addition, I offer what is essentially the NE builder's photo of 1000, probably taken at Chico in 1906. An original of this photo was leant to me for copying by Mrs. Bert Pingree in 1980. Both Bert and his dad were long-term NE/SN employees, and the dad is somewhere among these fellows. The bodies for NE motors 1000 and 1001 were built at the Diamond Match plant, and electrical gear was applied by the NE shops. If these motors look similar to PE 1599 and 1600, it is no accident. NE General Manager A.D. Schindler was a former PE man, and possibly brought the plans north with him, along with his passion for PE's famous pneumatic trolley poles (which didn't last long on the NE). NE 1000 was retired in 1923. Its body was sold to the Petaluma & Santa Rosa, which restored it to service. NE 1001 was wrecked in 1909, and not repaired. Its electrical gear was used to motorize combine 130. Yours Aye, Garth Groff ?

Friends, Attached is a photo of the Woodland depot I've never seen before, from Street Railway Review and taken around 1912. If so, the depot was brand new, as that was the year it was built. Originally the Woodland Branch was the Sacramento & Woodland Railway, a Northern Electric subsidiary. In the early days, trains did not terminate in Sacramento, but continued on to Woodland, which was considered the end of the mainline. This ended in 1914, and from then on the branch was just that, a branch, with its own timetable, and mainline trains ended their runs in Sacramento. The branch was supposed to have continued to tidewater as the Vallejo & Northern, but only the V&N's middle section that would become the SN Fairfield-Suisun Branch was built. The V&N was a casualty of the NE's bankruptcy. My second picture is how the station looked in the mid-1960s. By then only the baggage/express section remained. It was torn down a few years later, only to be replaced by a replica of the whole building which is in use for commercial space. The photo is by my late father, Glenn Groff. Yours Aye, Garth Groff ?

Good friends, Attached is a drawing I found online yesterday showing how the track was arranged at the Tower Bridge in Sacramento. This appears to be a proposal, so some details may be missing, but it is a pretty good guide to the Front Street Crossing and the River Lines terminal building. I do think the width of the streets is rather exaggerated. The building on the right edge is the Crane plumbing warehouse, now the Old Town parking garage. I also found a photo of the River Lines building online. The URL is https://csl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?vid=01CSL_INST:CSL&docid=alma990014544330205115&context=L&virtualBrowse=true . There are several interesting Sacramento industrial buildings linked here, and the photos are worth exploring for details. In addition, I offer two photos from my negative collection. The first is a Will Whittaker view of SN 606 on a 1939 excursion at the same location. The second is an undated Ken Jenkins view of 651 in front of the River Lines warehouse. Sorry for the focus. Some of Ken's photos were taken with a cheap camera that had an astigmatic lens. More goodies to follow soon. Yours Aye, Garth Groff ?

Hello. Construction view of ? NE O&A? Several flats, a stock car, etc. Comments?

Folks: Here is 2307 being rebuilt at MULBERRY. Garth I'm sure can fill in the details. There is a flat motor in the background along with what looks to be some kind of MoW car. ~Bill Shippen

Robert Larkin photographed 441 at Marysville in 1947. Note 2316 has just been patched with the WP logo on the door still intact.

Here's a Savage view on Oct12, 1939 as 654 in basic dip black bangs across the SP on the Woodland line with boxcar 2138 and a Texaco tank car.

Marysville.