Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad

Nevada County Narrow Gauge RR #5, at Colfax, California. This engine still exists and is at the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Nevada City, California (Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley Collection).

Route in 1895 from Nevada City to Grass Valley

Route from Grass Valley to Colfax in 1902

Route from Grass Valley to Colfax in 1938

The need for rail service in the semi-mountainous and wooded area of Grass Valley and Nevada City was precipitated by mining operations subsequent to the California Gold Rush. In addition, timber operators wanted to make their land accessible to the Southern Pacific Company in Colfax. On January 24, 1874, Charles Marsh, who was a prominent citizen of Nevada City (he was a civil engineer and a founder of the Central Pacific Railroad) and 19 others organized a "Committee of Twenty" to build a narrow-gauge railroad from Nevada City and Grass Valley to connect with the transcontinental railroad at Colfax. Marsh also served as chairman of the executive committee of the Nevada & Grass Valley Railroad Association, and with his surveying/engineering background undoubtedly had a significant role in the planning of the railroad. He was also one of the initial investors, purchasing $10,000 worth of stock (a 5% stake).[4][5][6]

On March 20, the California legislature and Governor Newton Booth approved the right to build and operate a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge from Colfax, through Grass Valley, to Nevada City.[7] On June 20, an Act of Congress granted the railroad right of way through public lands.[8]

J. H. Bates estimated that construction and equipment would total $411,132. Only one bid came in and it was for $500,000, signed by M. F. Beatty; he received a lump sum of $500,000. Construction began January 1875.[9] Turton & Knox were subcontracted for earthwork. John Flint Kidder was the chief engineer. Within two months, 600 men were employed in the railroad's construction.[10]

Construction included two bridges, two tunnels,[11] and five trestles. After leaving the Colfax depot, the road headed north, parallel with the Central Pacific Railroad, then crossed Bear River, and into Nevada County. One of the first stations was at the town of You Bet, which serviced the Goodwin Drift Gravel Mine.[12] The road proceeded into Chicago Park, a fruit and grape growers colony,[13] and then continued into Grass Valley. All cars and locomotives had Westinghouse railway brakes, and cars used for passenger service had Miller platform couplers. As the first contractor, Beatty, was unable to complete the project, a second, J. K. Bynre,[14] was brought in; construction was completed in the spring of 1876. The inaugural train, from Colfax to Grass Valley, ran on April 11 and by May 20, the first train reached Nevada City.[15]

N.C.N.G.R.R. №

The company's first President was John C. Coleman, president of the North Star Mine. Kidder, the builder, decided to settle down in Grass Valley, becoming the General Superintendent,[16] and in 1884, became the second president. Upon his death in 1901, Kidder's widow, Sarah, took over, becoming the first female railroad president in the world.[17]

In September 1907, a 3.56 mi (5.73 km) "cut-off", at a cost of $132,285 (~$2.87 million in 2021) was built,[18] bettering the grade.[19] The following year, construction was completed on the Bear River Bridge. By 1912, the NCNGRR was running three mixed trains daily, each way, between Nevada City and Colfax, while a fourth mixed train ran daily, each way, between Grass Valley and Colfax. Sarah Kidder sold her interests in 1913 and retired to San Francisco.

In 1926, Earl Taylor and his associates purchased the railroad for $1. With the outbreak of World War II, they sold it in 1942 for $251,000 (~$3.33 million in 2021) to Dulian Steel Products Company and the last train to run over the line was on May 29.[10]

Each combination coach had a small iron safe in the baggage compartment.[20] Though $200,000,000 in gold was hauled out of Nevada County by the NCNGRR during its operation, there was never an attempted robbery.[11]

• 
  Bridge over Bear River during construction, 1908
• 
  Engine No. 2 crossing the new steel bridge in December 1908
• 
  Circus train derailed in 1893, but lions and bears remained in cars

• Length:
  • Placer County: The main line was 5.62 mi (9.04 km) long, and had 1.73 mi (2.78 km) in spurs and sidings
  • Nevada County: The main line was 16.79 mi (27.02 km) long, and had 2.39 mi (3.85 km) in spurs and sidings.[15]
• Maximum grade: 116 ft per mile (22 m pro km), 1:45.7 or 2.2%
• Minimum radius of curvature: 302.9 ft (92.3 m).[21]
• Weight: 35 pounds per yard (17.4 kg/m)
• Degrees of curvature: 7944
• Length of tangents: 53,908 ft (16,431 m)
• Ascents from Colfax: 1,159 ft (353 m)
• Descents from Colfax: 1,042 ft (318 m)
• Initial rates:[22]
  • Passenger services: $0.10/mile
  • Freight services: $0.20/ton/mile
• Running time:[21]
  • Absolute: 1 hour, 40 minutes
  • Mixed trains: Two hours
• Average stops: Four

There were several notable passengers, including presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt, singer Emma Nevada, and Britain's Prince Albert.[11]

In the centennial year after the railroad began operations, E Clampus Vitus erected a historical marker in Colfax at 39°6.011′N 120°57.159′W near the old NCNGRR depot, the southern end of the line.[17] The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad & Transportation Museum was created in recent years near the northern end of the line in Nevada City.