San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad Records, 1882 - 1888

Collection context

Summary

Title:
San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad records
Dates:
1882 - 1888
Abstract:
The San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad records consist of cash books which provide information on earnings and expenses incurred in the construction and operation of the line on a daily basis, as well as a treasurer's bank book listing deposits made and checks written. The collection also contains annual financial reports for the company for four years up to the time of its acquisition by the Northern Railway.
Extent:
.333 Linear Feet 1 letter full box
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad Records, MS 151, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad records consist of cash books which provide information on earnings and expenses incurred in the construction and operation of the line on a daily basis, as well as a treasurer's bank book listing deposits made and checks written. The collection also contains annual financial reports for the company for four years up to the time of its acquisition by the Northern Railway.

Biographical / historical:

The San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad was incorporated in March 1882. It was part of a scheme to provide farmers and ranchers in the northern San Joaquin Valley and in the central Sierra Nevada foothills with a means of transporting their produce to river steamers and on to the Bay Area, develop timber resources of the region, and encourage tourists to visit the Calaveras Big Trees.

The three-foot gauge line ran initially from Bracks Landing in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta east through Lodi to Wallace. By the spring of 1885 it had been extended to Valley Spring. Three years later the Northern Railway, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific, acquired the line, and from that time it was operated by the Southern Pacific. In 1897 the portion of the SJ&SN from Bracks Landing to the town of Woodbridge near Lodi was abandoned. The remainder of the track was converted to standard gauge in 1904. The development of limestone and shale deposits occasioned an extension of the line east from Valley Spring to the Calaveras Cement Company plant at Kentucky House in 1925 and 1926.

Acquisition information:
Southern Pacific Railroad, New York Collection
Processing information:

Formerly part of MS 10

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by material type and then date order within material type.

Physical location:
Statewide Museum Collection Center
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Library Archives staff
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-01-06 22:34:32 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library Staff.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad Records, MS 151, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Location of this collection:
111 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 323-8073