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A "slow, jerky and expensive" drive on Jose Basin Road

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A drive along Jose Basin Road above the San Joaquin River Canyon of Fresno County is what one might call a "slow, jerky and expensive" affair.  Jose Basin Road is approximately 9.6 miles in length and is overlaid atop the grade of the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad.

This San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad was in use between 1912-1933 during the early construction of the Big Creek Hydroelectric project. Said fifty-five-mile line originated in El Prado and snaked through the Sierra Nevada of Fresno County to the site of Big Creek Powerhouse #1. The San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad was famous for having 1,073 curves, 43 trestles and grades as high as 5.3%. The line was often to referred to jokingly as "Slow, Jerky and Expensive."

Following the shuttering of the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad much of the grade east of Auberry was repurposed as public roadways.  Jose Basin Road was widened by the late 1940s was widened to be mostly wide enough to carry two-way traffic.  




Part 1; the history of Jose Basin Road and the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad

Jose Basin Road lines the southern rim of the San Joaquin River Canyon along a grade which was part of the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad.  This railroad line was a major component of construction on the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project.  

The surveys that would eventually lead to the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project ("Big Creek Project") first took place in the 1880s.  By the early 1900s the concept was taken up by the Pacific Light and Power Company (PL&P) as a possible source of electricity to power the city of Los Angeles.  PL&P had additional surveys conducted along Big Creek and San Joaquin River between 1902 to 1905.  Construction of the Big Creek Project would require a new railroad and a new road to haul in materials.  Said railroad would come to be known as the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad (SJ&E).

The SJ&E was a standard gauge line which broke ground on February 5, 1912.  The line would open to freight traffic several months later on July 10th.  The line was intended to haul materials for the construction of the first phase of the Big Creek Project.  

The SJ&E branched off from the Southern Pacific Railroad at El Prado (near modern Friant) and ascended 55 miles eastward into the Sierra Nevada to the site of Big Creek Powerhouse #1.  The line had 1,073 curves, 43 trestles and grades as high 5.3%.  This line was often referred to joking as "Slow, Jerky and Expensive."

The full scope of the SJ&E can be seen on 1914 Britton & Rey Map of Fresno County.





Numerous Sidings and Stations were established along the SJ&E which can be seen on the above map.  From El Prado the sidings and stations on the SJ&E were as follows:

-  McKenzie
-  Wellbarn Station (currently Marshall Station)
-  Lodge Station
-  Auberry
-  Indian Mission Station (currently Big Sandy Rancheria)
-  Hutchens Station
-  Lerona
-  Shaver Crossing (near Camp Sierra)
-  Cascada Station (current Big Creek community)

The First Phase of the Big Creek Project ended in 1914 amid World War I when the tunnel to the future site of Powerhouse #3 was being constructed.  During 1917 the PL&P and SJ&E were merged into Southern California Edison (SoCal Edison).  The SJ&E would remain active during Phase Two of the Big Creek Project which took place between 1921 through 1929.  

The SJ&E during Phase Two of the Big Creek Project can be seen in great detail on 1922 USGS Maps of Fresno County.



During the onset of the Great Depression work on the Big Creek Project stopped which signaled the end of Phase Two.  The SJ&E during the line operating life only recuperated 22% of construction costs.  The Huntington Lake Road which had also been constructed to reach the site of the namesake reservoir would later become part of Legislative Route Number 76 and early California state Route 168.  SoCal Edison filed abandonment paperwork for the SJ&E on August 15, 1933 according to Abandonedrails.com.

Following the closure of the SJ&E most of the railroad grade east of Auberry would be repurposed into public roads.  A 9.6-mile component of railroad grade east of Auberry Road was taken over by Fresno County as Jose Basin Road.  An additional 13 miles from the eastern terminus of Jose Basin Road at Mathews Mills to Huntington Lake Road near Camp Sierra was taken over by Sierra National Forest as Old Railroad Grade Road.  Old Railroad Grade Road remains unpaved in modern times and is designated as Sierra National Forest Route 8. 

Jose Basin Road appears on the 1947 United States Geological Survey map of Mariposa.  Fresno County would widen the existing railroad trestle at Bald Mill Creek to two-lanes width in 1947.  The trestle at Jose Creek would be use until 1983 when it was replaced with a modern highway bridge.  




Part 2; a drive on Jose Basin Road

Eastbound Jose Basin Road begins at Auberry Road near the lands of Big Sandy Rancheria.  Traffic heading to Mono Wind Casino is directed to turn east onto Auberry Road.  


Jose Basin Road passes through Big Sandy Rancheria and intersects Auberry Mission Road.  This rancheria is home to approximately 120 members of the Western Mono Tribe.  Big Sandy Rancheria was commissioned in 1909 when the Bureau of Indian Affairs purchased the 280 acres of land the reservation is located on.  


Jose Basin Road departs Big Sandy Rancheria and crosses the Bald Mill Creek Bridge.  The rail trestle elements of the span are easily observed by viewing the substructure.  













Jose Basin Road continues east through the site of Lorena siding.  The siding is no longer present and has been replaced by private residences.  









Jose Basin Road continues east along the San Joaquin River Canyon and intersects Italian Bar Road.  














Jose Basin Road east of Italian Bar Road continues along the San Joaquin River Canyon and begins to cut away approaching the Jose Creek Bridge.  The foundations of the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad trestle are easily observed from the modern Jose Creek Bridge. 


















Jose Basin Road terminates at Old Railroad Grade Road.  The terminus is no longer signed but the transition between the two roads is clear when asphalt gives way to dirt.  Old Railroad Grade Road continues eastward towards Huntington Lake Road.  





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