History
The Butte County Railroad was granted a franchise on November 11, 1902 and incorporated on February 24, 1903 or March 2, 1903. Construction of the line commenced in April 1903 and seven months later, on November 1, 1903, service commenced between Barber (1 mile south of Chico) and Magalia. The line was built using 75# rails and with grades as steep as 3.75%.
The Chico & Northern was incorporated on November 11, 1903. Within a month of reaching Magalia, on November 27, 1903, the line was sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad via SP's non-operating subsidiary holding company the Chico and Northern Railroad. SP's Chico and Northern Railroad immediately leased the line back to the Butte County Railroad for operation. A year after commencing construction the line was operating all the way to Stirling City and completed on April 15, 1904.
The Chico & Northern Railroad was finally dissolved into SP on February 29, 1912. The line was then conveyed to SP's sister company, the Central Pacific Railway. In 1914 the line was conveyed from CP back to the SP. The Butte County Railroad's lease with SP expired on November 30, 1915. The Butte County Railroad was dissolved two months later on January 21, 1916 at which point the line became the Stirling City Branch and was operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad.
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“Most events recorded in history are more remarkable than important, like eclipses of the sun and moon, by which all are attracted, but whose effects no one takes the trouble to calculate.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)