Railroads of Placer County

Though small in geographic size, Placer County is large in its rich history of railroading in California. These vintage-photograph postcards showcase the 14 different railroads that did or still do exist in some association with Placer County. There were narrow-gauge and standard-gauge, long transcontinental, and short point-to-point railroads. Some railroads were fully contained within the county, and others just touched the county. Some railroads were short-lived operations, while others operated for decades. One railroad still functions today, undiminished after 150 years in service.