Port Railroads
Encyclopedia
Port Railroads, Inc. was a 105.7 miles (170.1 km) shortline railroad owned by Kyle Railways. PRI was formed on March 13, 1994 to take over two Southern Pacific Railroad
lines. One of SP's lines was the West Side Line (47.8 miles) between Fresno
northwest to Oxalis, California
and a branch running from Ingle to Burrell (25.2 miles). The other line was the SP Buttonwillow Branch (32.7 miles) from Bakersfield (Kern Junction) to Buttonwillow, California
.
PRI was related to the San Joaquin Valley Railroad
. Both PRI and the SJVR were subsidiaries of Kyle Railways. Because PRI and the SJVR were related, the SJVR provided the motive power
for PRI. On April 26, 1996, Kyle Railways merged PRI into the SJVR.
PRI handled about 8,000 cars per year (1996 estimate).
naturally occurring asphalt
tar pitshttp://www.sjgs.com/tarpits_hist.html.
According to an article by Don Browen, "the Port Railroad took over the 33 miles (53.1 km) former Southern Pacific Buttonwillow Branch from Kern Junction to Buttonwillow and 47.6 miles (76.6 km) of S.P.'s former Westside Branch from Fresno to Oxalis. Additionally S.P.'s former 24.6 Riverdale Branch from Ingle on the Westside Branch to Burrell was included in the transaction. This is a long term lease and not a purchase by Kyle Railways. What is the significance of the name Port Railroad? Kyle owned the name Port Railroad which it used for its railroad in San Francisco. When this railroad ceased operations, Kyle had an extra name which it decided would be used for its latest California acquisition. 3 more locomotives, 2037, 2041, and 2042, were obtained for the increased workload."http://www.donsdarkroom.com/sjvr_article.htm
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
lines. One of SP's lines was the West Side Line (47.8 miles) between Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
northwest to Oxalis, California
Oxalis, California
Oxalis is an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California. It is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad northwest of Firebaugh, at an elevation of 138 feet ....
and a branch running from Ingle to Burrell (25.2 miles). The other line was the SP Buttonwillow Branch (32.7 miles) from Bakersfield (Kern Junction) to Buttonwillow, California
Buttonwillow, California
Buttonwillow is a census-designated place in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California, United States. Buttonwilliow is located west of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 269 feet . The population was 1,508 at the 2010 census, up from 1,266 at the 2000 census...
.
PRI was related to the San Joaquin Valley Railroad
San Joaquin Valley Railroad
The San Joaquin Valley Railroad is one of several short line railroad companies and is part of the Sunset Division of RailAmerica. It operates about of track primarily on several lines in California's Central Valley/San Joaquin Valley outside of Fresno, California and Bakersfield, California...
. Both PRI and the SJVR were subsidiaries of Kyle Railways. Because PRI and the SJVR were related, the SJVR provided the motive power
Motive power
In thermodynamics, motive power is an agency, as water or steam, used to impart motion. Generally, motive power is defined as a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover. The term may also define something, as a locomotive or a...
for PRI. On April 26, 1996, Kyle Railways merged PRI into the SJVR.
PRI handled about 8,000 cars per year (1996 estimate).
History
The Southern Pacific constructed the West Side Line that ran from Tracy down the west side of the San Joaquin Valley to Fresno between 1888-1891. The Buttonwillow Branch was constructed by the Southern Pacific after 1910. The Buttonwillow Branch has about 15 miles (24.1 km) of track abandoned in the late 1950s east from Buttonwillow to Olighttp://www.placenames.com/us/p246869/ with stations listed as Lokernhttp://www.cnlm.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=104, Asphaltohttp://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=10491 and McKittrick. Asphalto was the location of a historic Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1. McKittrick is famous for the McKittrick Tar PitsMcKittrick Tar Pits
The McKittrick Tar Pits are a series of natural asphalt lakes situated in the western part of Kern County in southern California. The pits are the most extensive asphalt lakes in the state...
naturally occurring asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
tar pitshttp://www.sjgs.com/tarpits_hist.html.
According to an article by Don Browen, "the Port Railroad took over the 33 miles (53.1 km) former Southern Pacific Buttonwillow Branch from Kern Junction to Buttonwillow and 47.6 miles (76.6 km) of S.P.'s former Westside Branch from Fresno to Oxalis. Additionally S.P.'s former 24.6 Riverdale Branch from Ingle on the Westside Branch to Burrell was included in the transaction. This is a long term lease and not a purchase by Kyle Railways. What is the significance of the name Port Railroad? Kyle owned the name Port Railroad which it used for its railroad in San Francisco. When this railroad ceased operations, Kyle had an extra name which it decided would be used for its latest California acquisition. 3 more locomotives, 2037, 2041, and 2042, were obtained for the increased workload."http://www.donsdarkroom.com/sjvr_article.htm