I first heard about this close to forty years ago and there is no way I can vouch for the accuracy or truth of the story. Some of you are probably familiar with the towns of Downieville and Sierra City up on the Northern end of Highway 49, once known as the Golden Chain Highway as it traversed most of California's gold country. Two gentlemen that I knew back then, Chester Butz and Vince Dubuque, had lived up their most of their lives, having both been born before WWI.

One time, Vince told a story,in the presence of Chester, of having found a large amount of railroad equipment which appeared to be logging locomotives, cars, and rail(as best as I could tell) in an area West by Northwest of an area known as Gold Valley. I do know there had been a lot of mining activity in there until gold mining was stopped during WWII, although one mine operated as late as the 1980's.

Gold Valley located on the North side of the Sierra Buttes and is drained by the Downie River which joins the North Fork of the Yuba at Downieville. Near the valley is a place usually called the A-Tree---something else if you bury a jeep in the mud up there. Supposedly, within a "short ways", as Vince put it was this cache of equipment.

Now both Vince and Chester tended to follow the Lucius Beebe (as well as Clyde Arbuckle) doctrine of not spoiling a good story with the truth. When I was still able, I took my jeep in close to the A Tree and did some hikimg around. I didn't find a thing except to question how the hell they would have ever gotten it in there.

So, if any of you are interested in chasing a wild goose or three, have at it. Just make sure you take a good 4x4 of some kind, rope, chain, saws, and whatever as well as a firearm or three. I have asked some people very familiar with logging but not a spark of knowledge of any railroading in thst area.

This is just a story, with no basis in fact, but all those old guys are gone so who knows.

dj