THE SIERRA WESTERN
& SANTA FE RR
SAMBONE
- This industrial area located off
of Highway 99 two miles north of Chico consists of warehouses
and factory buildings along both sides of the mainline. 5 stub-ended
spur tracks and 1 double ended siding serve 7 industries. A ½
mile long spur (a portion of the abandoned branchline to the foothills
east of Chico) serves the Blue Diamond almond (prounounced "amand"
by the locals) plant in north Chico and originates at the south
end of Sambone
- The largest industry here is the
Del Norte canning plant on the west side of the main. It is served
by a trailing point switch on the southbound main at the north
edge of Sambone. The spur splits into two tracks which serve
loading docks at two different parts of the plant. The older
brick buildings across the tracks on the east side of the mainline
date back to 1915, and the larger, newer concrete buildings on
the west side were built in 1959. A series of overhead conveyors,
pipes and walkways span the mainline and connect the two facilities
- Two crossovers are located in the
Sambone switching area. A trailing point crossover is located
at the south end, and a facing point crossover is located at the
north end. These crossovers are most often used by the local
crews while switching Sambone and the Blue Diamond spur track,
and by the dispatcher to route mainline trains around the local
instead of interrupting their switching duties
- The Sacramento Northern's branch
to north Chico crosses the Santa Fe's double track mainline here
at grade. This branch is infrequently used. An interlocking
tower, abandoned in 1949, still stands on the west side of the
mainline. It was used by the Sacramento Northern crews as a rest
stop until 1964. It is now boarded up
