Visalia District



The Visalia District was a railway line in California's San Joaquin Valley that ran from Corcoran, California to Calwa, California. The line was originally built by the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad and later acquired by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

Construction and route
Construction began in 1897, with rails laid from Calwa to Visalia. Passenger service began on September 10, 1897. Subsequently, the line was extended from Visalia to Corcoran via Tulare, in 1898. Depots were established along the line every few miles. The route of the line including locations of significance was as follows:

Description of the route
Beginning in Calwa, a wye leads the Visalia District tracks east from the mainline and runs alongside Annadale road for some distance. The line crosses Chestnut Ave and still serves several lineside industries here. The beginning of the abandonment is about 1.20 miles east of the throat of the wye at Calwa. At MP 65.20, a spur led south to the Mattei Winery. Lone Star was the next stop, with a depot and packing house served by the railroad. The line then curved southeast at DeWolf, served a packing house, and entered the town of Del Rey.

The railroad served several large citrus packing houses in Del Rey. Still running southeast, the line passed adjacent to a small airstrip and then the Parlier Cemetery as it again curved east into Parlier. After crossing the Santa Fe Canal, the line ran alongside East Parlier Ave for a short distance, then between 1st and Fresno streets. The Nicholas G Verry Inc winery had a rail connection here, and spurs led to various industries in town.

Leaving Parlier, the line ran east along Parlier Ave where it served another packing shed on the south side. Reaching LacJac, the line again curved southeast as it served an adjacent beverage facility. The line then crossed the Southern Pacific's Exeter Branch just before crossing the Kings River on a large steel bridge, entering the town of Reedley. A wye with the Wahtoke District was located here. In Reedley, the ATSF ran parallel to the SP for some distance. Several large packing houses were served on the southeast side of Reedley.

Leaving Reedley, the line continued to serve packing houses as it skirted the north end of Dinuba and crossed Road 80 / Alta Ave. Entering Sultana, the line crossed CA J40 / Ave 416 at a steep angle as it served several large packing houses. Continuing southeast towards Cutler, more packing houses were served on the northwest side of town, as well as several in the town itself. Running parallel to Railroad Ave in Cutler, a small yard and depot were located here. As the line curved due south to cross over CA-63, a diverging switch led east to a connection with the Porterville-Orosi District at Wyeth.

The rail line ran alongside the east side of CA-63 for several miles until it reached the large facility at Calgro, where the highway diverged southwest. Crossing the Southern Pacific's Exeter Branch at mile post 33.30, the line continued due south into Visalia, crossing the St John's River on a large steel bridge. Entering Visalia, a small yard was present along with several spurs serving an ice house and other lineside industries. Continuing south down Santa Fe street, the rails were embedded in the asphalt, a practice known as Street running. Just south of the yard, the tracks crossed the Southern Pacific / Visalia Electric line to Exeter (also street running), and the depot was located just south of this diamond.

Still running due south, the line ended street running and ran just to the west of Santa Fe Ave as it left the Visalia city limits. Ambler was the next location of significance; an interchange track between the ATSF and the SP/VE. Additional shippers were served by the Santa Fe at Higby and Loma. Just south of Loma, the rails curved southwest towards the city of Tulare. Just after crossing CA-63 / Mooney Blvd, a spur ran north to serve a lumber mill and large winery. The line continued through Tulare, with a depot present near the downtown area. A truck body manufacturer was also served here. Shortly, the line crossed the Southern Pacific's Bakersfield Subdivision, with an interlocking tower present.

Still running southwest, the line continued to the small town of Waukena, before reaching Corcoran and the wye there.

General info
At the peak of passenger service around 1915, as many as 10 trains ran daily. In later years, service was provided by a doodlebug, sometimes pulling a trailer coach. Passenger service was eventually discontinued in 1949.

Later years
The line remained a valuable source of freight revenue for the Santa Fe through the 1970s, with produce being the predominant commodity. Many of the depots along the line were closed in the 1970s, but several remained open as of 1978, such as the depot in Cutler. Cutler was an important junction point on the line, with various lines extending north, south, and southwest. The other active depot on the line in 1978 was at Reedley. The Reedley depot was closed by 1979 and the one at Cutler was closed and demolished a few years later.

5-12-1992 Operation Lifesaver Special
On May 12, 1992, the Santa Fe ran an Operation Lifesaver special from Calwa to Porterville and return, including a portion of the Visalia District. The train ran from Calwa to Cutler and then Visalia, where the motive power ran around the train for the return to Cutler. SJVR GP9 1754, running on the former SP Visalia Branch, met the train in Visalia. Here, the power ran around again for the trip to Porterville, where it was turned on the wye for the return trip to Calwa. EMD GP60M units 116 and 130 led the train, which was made up of a flat car carrying OLS signage and ATSF caboose # 999805.

TVRR ownership
On Dec 22, 1992, the line was sold to the Tulare Valley Railroad. The TVRR purchased the rail, ties, ballast, and land. The segment of the Visalia District between Corcoran and Tulare was not used by the TVRR, and the segment was removed by 1994, along with the SP crossing in Tulare. In addition, the segment between Visalia and Cutler was not used by the TVRR and was removed by December 1994, except for the SP connector track at the Early California Foods plant in south Visalia — approximately from mileposts 23.70 to 24.00.

A truck body manufacturer in Tulare was served by the TVRR until early 1994, when a vehicle transloading facility was built in Exeter. The segment from Loma to Tulare was subsequently abandoned and removed in late 1994.

The TVRR itself became part of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad in 1998.

Corcoran to Tulare
A short (approximately 0.4 mile) segment of the line remains in Corcoran to serve on-line industries. The segment between Corcoran and Tulare was abandoned and removed by 1994.

The right-of-way through Tulare was subsequently converted into a bike path, which was opened in 2004. Named the Santa Fe Trail, it is a 5 mi, lighted trail from Prosperity Avenue (east) to Inyo Avenue (west).

Tulare to Visalia
The rails from Tulare to Loma were removed in 1994. A segment remains in place in Visalia, between "K" Ave (Ambler, now called Billy Goat Junction, also a connection with the SP/VE Visalia Branch) and Avenue 256 (Loma). Loma is the location of the last remaining rail shipper between Calwa and Corcoran, named Western Farm Service as of 2007. As of 2021, Loma is still listed on the SJVR map, although the connector track and protected grade crossing appear to be out of service.

Visalia to Reedley
The segment of line between Visalia and Cutler was not used by the TVRR and was removed by December 1994.

The segment between Cutler, MP 38.5, and Reedley, MP 49.8, as well as the connector track at Cutler to the Porterville-Orosi District (and Orange Cove) was removed in 1998. In Reedley, the right-of-way through town has been converted to a bike path. The former ATSF steel span bridge over the Kings River is still in use by the SJVR.

A short segment just northeast of Reedley at LacJac, approximately 1.2 miles, is still in use by the SJVR to serve a large wine and beverage-making industry.

Reedley to Calwa
The segment from Reedley, MP 51.0, to Calwa, MP 67.0, was removed in 1998.

In Parlier, a portion of the former right-of-way was converted into a park. The park features several rail motifs, including a water tank and simulated railroad track / path, which approximates the original location of the Santa Fe rails.

The last remaining depot is at Lone Star. This is a two-story type 2A depot which stands in its original location. Built in 1913, the depot was closed for business in 1958 and is now privately owned.

The short remaining track at Calwa (1.50 mi) is sometimes used to store ballast and Maintenance of way cars.