Feather River Railway

For the former Western Pacific Railroad line, see Feather River Route.
Feather River Railway
Overview
HeadquartersFeather Falls, California
LocaleButte County, California
Dates of operation1922–1966
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Western section of 1948 route with connection to Western Pacific line
Eastern portion of route in 1948


The Feather River Railway was built in 1922 for the Hutchinson Lumber Company to bring logs from Feather Falls, California, to a connection with the Western Pacific Railroad (WP) at Bidwell, California. The WP would then transport the logs to the Hutchinson sawmill in Oroville, California. The sawmill burned in 1927; and the railway was unused through the Great Depression until reorganized as a common carrier in 1938 to serve a new sawmill built at Feather Falls. Georgia-Pacific purchased the sawmill and railway in 1955. The railway ceased operation after portions of the grade were flooded by Oroville Dam during the Christmas flood of 1964.[1]

  1. ^ Barnhill Web Design. "Feather River Railway". TrainWeb. Retrieved 9 December 2017.