Harrington Water Tower, Colusa County, CA 2005
These concrete pillars, situated next to railroad track between the towns of Arbuckle
(Colusa County) and Dunnigan (Yolo County), are all that remain of a water tower that
once serviced a steam engine running the branch line from this point north to Hamilton
City. "Harrington" was a designated Southern Pacific Railroad site. Here a line branched
east and then north to Colusa, Princeton and eventually Hamilton City, a distance of
approximately 50 miles. Constructed about 1910 (soon after the completion of a sugar
refinery in Hamilton City), the line carried passengers for a brief period but it was used
primarily for freight, mainly sugar beets, and was therefore known as the "Beet Line." In
those days a steam engine carried sufficient water for a journey of approximately 100 miles
and water towers along railroads consequently appeared at about 100-mile intervals. The
station at Harrington was constructed so that the engine could be filled to make the trip to
Hamilton City and back. Regular service on the "Beet Line" ended sometime during WWII
or shortly thereafter.
norman e. riley photography
O I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
These concrete pillars, situated next to railroad track between the towns of Arbuckle
(Colusa County) and Dunnigan (Yolo County), are all that remain of a water tower that
once serviced a steam engine running the branch line from this point north to Hamilton
City. "Harrington" was a designated Southern Pacific Railroad site. Here a line branched
east and then north to Colusa, Princeton and eventually Hamilton City, a distance of
approximately 50 miles. Constructed about 1910 (soon after the completion of a sugar
refinery in Hamilton City), the line carried passengers for a brief period but it was used
primarily for freight, mainly sugar beets, and was therefore known as the "Beet Line." In
those days a steam engine carried sufficient water for a journey of approximately 100 miles
and water towers along railroads consequently appeared at about 100-mile intervals. The
station at Harrington was constructed so that the engine could be filled to make the trip to
Hamilton City and back. Regular service on the "Beet Line" ended sometime during WWII
or shortly thereafter.
norman e. riley photography
O I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
