| Clio Trestle | |
The Clio Trestle on the Western Pacific Railroad Feather River Route |
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| City | Keddie |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Railway(s) | BNSF, UP |
| Type | Trestle |
The Clio Trestle, a historic Feather River Route railroad trestle, is a favorite railfan spot located in the Sierra Nevada near Clio, in Plumas County, California. The Clio Trestle is 172 feet (52 m) high and 1,005 feet (306 m) long.
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The Western Pacific Railroad (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad) built the Feather River Route tracks along the Feather River across the Sierra Nevada in 1909 to complete a San Francisco Bay Area - Salt Lake City, Utah route, competing with the Southern Pacific Railroad Sierra route over Donner Pass.
The lower 5,000 feet (1,500 m) elevation Feather River Route was chosen by the Western Pacific, instead of the higher 7,000 feet (2,100 m) elevation Donner Pass Route by Southern Pacific, to cross the Sierra Nevada crest. The Feather River Route's high-point Chilcoot Tunnel at Beckwourth Pass is at 5,221 feet (1,591 m) elevation, and most of the route follows a subtle grade along the Feather River.
The Clio Trestle is part of the Plumas County and Western Pacific Railroad Museum's "7 Wonders of the Western Pacific Railroad World" exhibit and tour. History and railfan access is described in two travel guides, the.[1][2] The trestle is reached by road, either: north on Clio State Hwy 40A 1.5 miles from Hwy 89 at Clio; or south on Clio State Hwy 40 3.7 miles from Hwy 70.