Tobin Bridges

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Tobin Bridges in February 2022 Tobin Bridges, Plumas County, in February 2022-0058.jpg
Tobin Bridges in February 2022

The Tobin Bridges [1] are two bridges for highway and railroad crossings of the North Fork Feather River that nearly cross at the west side of the river. The railroad bridge also crosses over Highway 70.

Contents

The railroad Tobin Bridge is located on the Union Pacific Railroad's (originally Western Pacific Railroad's) Feather River Route through the Sierra Nevada in northeastern California, connecting the Sacramento Valley to Salt Lake City via the Feather River valley. The bridge is part of WP's eastward climb to its summit at Beckwourth Pass while maintaining the railroad's overall 1.0 percent (compensated) grade, the least steep of any mountain grade on a transcontinental railroad.

Railfanning

The Tobin Bridges are an extended part of Plumas County's "7 Wonders of the Railroad World" and access is described in its travel guide. [2] [3]

See also

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Plumas County is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the county is East Quincy. The county was named for the Spanish Río de las Plumas, which flows through it. The county itself is also the namesake of a native moth species, Hadena plumasata.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincy, California</span> Census-designated place in California, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feather River</span> River in California, United States

The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about 73 miles (117 km) long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over 210 miles (340 km). The main stem Feather River begins in Lake Oroville, where its four long tributary forks join—the South Fork, Middle Fork, North Fork, and West Branch Feather Rivers. These and other tributaries drain part of the northern Sierra Nevada, and the extreme southern Cascades, as well as a small portion of the Sacramento Valley. The total drainage basin is about 6,200 square miles (16,000 km2), with approximately 3,604 square miles (9,330 km2) above Lake Oroville.

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State Route 70 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting SR 99 north of Sacramento with U.S. Route 395 near Beckwourth Pass via the Feather River Canyon. Through the Feather River Canyon, from SR 149 to US 395, SR 70 is the Feather River Scenic Byway, a Forest Service Byway that parallels the ex-Western Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route.

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The Williams Loop is a rail spiral on the Union Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route through the Sierra Nevada mountains in northeastern California, connecting the Sacramento Valley to Salt Lake City via the Feather River canyons. Located about five miles east of East Quincy, the loop is used to gain elevation on the eastward climb to its summit at Beckwourth Pass while maintaining the railroad's overall 1.0 percent (compensated) grade, the least steep of any grade on a transcontinental railroad. Built in 1914 by the Western Pacific Railroad, the loop and the nearby Spring Garden Tunnel help surmount the divide between the East Branch North Fork Feather River and the Middle Fork Feather River.

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U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a United States Numbered Highway, stretching from Hesperia, California to the Canadian border in Laurier, Washington. The California portion of US 395 is a 557-mile (896 km) route which traverses from Interstate 15 (I-15) in Hesperia, north to the Oregon state line in Modoc County near Goose Lake. The route clips into Nevada, serving the cities Carson City and Reno, before returning to California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Branch North Fork Feather River</span> River in California, United States

The East Branch North Fork Feather River is a left tributary of the North Fork Feather River in the northern Sierra Nevada, Plumas County, California. Primarily within the Plumas National Forest, its course extends from Paxton to Belden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clio Trestle</span> Bridge in Clio, California

The Clio Trestle is a railroad trestle on the historic Feather River Route of the Union Pacific Railroad. It is located in the Sierra Nevada near Clio in Plumas County, California. The trestle is 172 feet (52 m) high and 1,005 feet (306 m) long.

The Spring Garden Tunnel is a railway tunnel located at Spring Garden, California. At 7,344 ft long, it is the longest of 34 tunnels on the Feather River Route and crosses under the drainage divide between the East Branch North Fork Feather River and the Middle Fork Feather River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulga Bridges</span>

The Pulga Bridges are two nearby bridges for highway and railroad crossings of the North Fork Feather River. The steel arch highway bridge, carrying State Route 70, crosses over the railroad bridge.

The North Fork Bridge is a railroad bridge over the North Fork Feather River in the Feather River Canyon, located in Plumas County, California at the approximate coordinates of 39°42'60" N, 121°28'14" W.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper North Fork Feather River Project</span>

The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

References

  1. Tobin Bridges... (postcard), WPmuseum.railfan.net, retrieved 2010-11-28
  2. "Tour 7 - Wonders of the Railroad World" (PDF). Plumas County Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  3. "7 Wonders of the Railroad World" (PDF). Plumas County Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-08-26.

39°56′12″N121°18′57″W / 39.9366°N 121.3159°W / 39.9366; -121.3159