Feather River Rail Society
Portola Railroad Museum ride
July 17/18 2004
Sat July 17 Quincy Calif. Arrive by by 5:30 PM & check into Motel
Lariat Lodge 2370 E. Main St. East end of Quincy / Hwy 70
530 / 283-1000 Rooms blocked off till 7-5-04 / ³Bill² $52 to $64
or Gold Pan Motel 200 Crescent St. West end of Quincy / Hwy 70
530 / 283-3686 ³Bonnie² or ³Patti² $55 to $75 or 1-800-804-6541
or Spanish Creek Motel 233 Crescent St. Across from Gold Pan Motel
530 / 283-1200
6:00 PM Janiceıs Cantina & Steak house 2239 East Main Street
Dinner 530 / 283-0139 (.2 mile west of Larat Lodge) $10 to $20 person
Mexican / Steaks / Seafood / Chicken / Chicken Pot Pie / Salads
Special Seasond Prime Rib Dinner Sm $18 / Med $20 / Lg $24
( Need to reserve ahead if ordering this... Tell Ray Walls
so we can make sure they will have it available for you )
Sun July 18 Portola Train Museum (Feather River Rail Society)
Arrive at Museum 9:30 to 9:45 AM
10:00 AM Locomotives are reserved for 4 hours. $20.00 per person
2:00 PM We will take turns operating these 1,800 + hp engines.
4 people at a time in the cab, Need to schecule times.
A Certificate suitable for framing awarded to each operatior.
2:30 PM Station Cafe 165 Pacific, Portola, Ca. ³Dee² 530 / 832-0720
5:30 AM to 2:00 PM Hours -- Breakfast & lunch only. $4 to $8.
2:30 PM Station Cafe will re-open, special for our group only.
4:00 PM Head for home... Some back thru Quincy, Others out thru Reno.
This is a great ride up the Feather River Canyon, on Hwy 70 into Quincy, beautiful scenic views of the river, and rail line. This section always seems to be under construction. There are several one lane sections controlled by lights, or flagmen. The road is in good condition, enjoy the view.... you may see the Keddie Wye that splits on to two trestles high atop the river perched on steel girders. Yes, just off the side of the hill is a Real Rail Fan lawn chair chained to a tree with 1² logging chain and lock. Yep that chair will be here when he arrives to spend the day watching the trains in comfort. East of Quincy near Spring Garden is the famous Williams Loop. This one mile loop allowes the Western Pacific to maintain a 1% grade from Oroville to Portola. Donıt forget the camera, nice picıs along the way & at Portola.
We will arrive in Quincy Sat, check into our motels, and meet at Janiceıs Cantina & Steak House for Dinner @ 6;00 PM. Uncle Ray will call a brief meeting this nite to go over details. Think of who you would like to share the Cab with when we operate the Locomotives.... (4 per cab). We will make a schedule so you will know what time to be at the Locomotive.. , and also so they can have the information / correct spelling of name to put on the certificate you recieve. $20.00 will be collected at the Portola Museum for each Locomotive operator, have amount ready.
Breakfast on Sunday will be on your own.... at Motel, or some may want to leave early to eat at the Station Cafe in Portola before arriving at the Museum.
We have a chance to visit a full size Rail Museum, and unlike other Museums, we are encouraged to climb up in the cabs of locomotives, sit in the engineerıs seat, operate full size Locomotives for a very reasonable cost, and to browse through the many cabooses and passenger cars that are on display. BE CAREFUL, lots of opportunity to be injured. There is a model train exhibt with several trains in operation, a gift shop with lots of RR items, also a room filled with pictures, and items from the past. There are several rail cars in the Diesel Shop, including the California Zephyr dome-lounge car under renovation, the ³Silver Hostel².
For $5.00 you can purchase a ticket to ride the Caboose Train that runs all day in the yard. You may even have a chance to talk with very nice person,...... Conductor Mr. Don Keller, who will be on the Caboose Train. Notice his ³custom² conductor hat,..... he may tell you itıs secret, and also his experience with the California Zephyr. You canıt miss him, he is dressed in black, white shirt, and bow tie,... he also carries a ³custom² lantern. He may let you see what he carries inside it.
4:00 PM on Sunday we will head for home. Some will go back through Quincy, others will be going down through Reno Nevada, maybe some another way.
We will be going thru Reno, about 50 miles, then on thru Virginia City, stopping to ride the Tractor Train Tour, and hear about Virginia City, $4.00. then on thru Carson and stay in Minden at the Best Western near Hwy 395 & 88. My experience is, itıs hard to find a place in Carson or Minden.... so, advance reservations are best....
Minden Motels Best Western Inn 775 / 782-7766 (We are staying here) 1795 Ironwood Dr. Hwy 395... just before Hwy 88 ($75) Carson Valley Inn 775 / 782-9711 (Motel / Casino / Restaurant / RV Resort) 1627 Hwy 395 N. (If you like to Gamble this is the place)
Hwy 88 / Mormon Emigrant Trail Road / Hwy 50 @ Pollock Pines /
Hwy 50 to West Sacrament & Hwy 80 / Hwy 680 Milpitas & home.
There is an interesting Memorial on Mormon emigrant Trail Road @ Snow Mills Road, about 3 miles before you get to Jenkinson Lake, heading west off Hwy 88.
You can see 5 white crosses up to the left from the hwy, and there is a trail leading up to a marker with a melted Harley engine bolted to a concrete Monument with an engraved story of what happened here on Sep 2 1989. five Harley riders were killed in an accident with a large stakebed truck hauling a load of firewood. Quite interesting, when you view the area you can see how it happened. We plan to stop, and then continue on home.
Lunch at Pollock Pines or Placerville, (there is always a log jam at Placerville with the 3 stoplights on Hwy 50). As we get to Sacramento some could head North, or South on Hwy 99, or I5, or whatever works best. We plan to stop in Dixon off Hwy 80 at the Shell gas, and KFC / A&W combo for some refreshment before the trip back into the crowded Bay Area.
Hope you enjoy this ride,......
Roger Allen
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