QUINCY’S QUICKIE CREEK CROSSING

by Regis Cordic

Just down the road from the Western Pacific’s famous Keddie Wye in North­ern California lies a bustling little lumber hauler known as the Quincy Railroad, named after the town it calls home. In the final days of steam, it attracted some notoriety because of its rather appealing stable of tank locomotives. They are gone now, of course.

Among the details of such a short line is a little spur to an important load­ing area, the progress of which was im­peded by the casual ramblings of one of the many mountain streams there­abouts. The management responded with the diminutive span you see here. Its stark simplicity attracted me, so I shot these few photos as reminders for myself. Maybe you will find them useful.

It is an excellent device for adding a little variety to a branch or siding with­out undertaking a major project. Over the years, many model magazine ar­ticles have promoted the idea of a bridge or culvert to counter the similarity of spurs. Add this one to your ‘Quickie File.”

Time did not allow for exact measure­ments, but the pictures should be ade­quate for capturing the essence, if not the exact details. A few odds and ends from your scrap lumber box, some bolt heads, light rail—and your branch is open for business come hell or high water.

Support at other end of Quincy RR bridge is more formidable. Concrete wall protects earth from erosion by water on the outside of the turn in the stream. This end of the span rests on a 12x12 anchored to the top of the wall.

No guard rails or other extraneous details differentiate the bridge track from the remainder of the spur. Except for the shape of the ties, it could be flex-track glued to the main beam of the structure. 2x12 timbers hold embankment in place as bridge rests on poured concrete base.

Any guesses on why the length of rail extends into the stream diagonally from the center of the bridge? It could be to break up and divert ice to either side of the center support. This bent is constructed in the standard manner resting on a concrete slab in the water.  

This article was originally published in the January, 1979 issue of the NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) Bulletin. Copyright © 1979, Rege Cordic and the NMRA. Article(s) courtesy of (and reprinted with permission from) the A. C. Kalmbach Memorial Library, National Model Railroad Association. Click here to visit the NMRA.