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Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs

February 1, 2024 12 Comments

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

Above Truckee, visitors can walk the Donner train tunnels created over 155 years ago by Chinese laborers. With the rubble, they fitted together to create a 150-foot-tall retaining wall. Petroglyphs are at the base of the tunnels and wall.

Transcontinental Railroad

In the race to complete the Transcontinental Railroad, the Central Pacific Railroad built a line from Sacramento, California, east 690 miles. They had 300 miles less to complete than the Union Pacific but had to cross the formidable Sierra.

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

The grade had to be 2.5% or less, circumvent lakes, and cross the granite range. It was decided tunnels would cut through the mountains. Thousands of men worked 24 hours a day to complete the tunnels.

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA
Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

The crews cut an average of a foot of the new tunnel daily, using hand drilling, black powder, and nitroglycerin. The Silver Rush in the Comstock drew most men so the railroads needed help finding workers. Miners’ unions prohibited the Chinese from working underground, so they worked as laborers, woodcutters, laundrymen, and servants. The railroad recruited California Chinese gold miners and later recruited them directly from China. It was dangerous work, and an estimated 500 to 1,000 Chinese lost their lives.

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

Competent railroad engineers said it couldn’t be done but the Chinese weren’t railroad workers and didn’t know it couldn’t be done.

Smithsonia Magazine
Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

The Transcontinental Railroad built Summit Tunnel, or Tunnel Number 6, between 1867 and 1868. It is 1,659 feet long. The first train to enter the tunnel was on June 18, 1868. The highest-elevation tunnels in the world were a key component of completing the Transcontinental Railroad. Once complete, the railroad allowed passengers to cross the country in 6 days instead of the previous 118 days.

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA
Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

China Wall

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

As railroad workers blasted and dug the Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, they moved rubble to ravines along the tunnels.

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

Workers fitted together rocks to create a 150-foot-tall retaining wall. The wall was constructed with dry fill and no mortar. Chinese workers constructed two walls. The monument from Truckee Donner Historical Society is a “lasting monument to the Asian “Master Builders” who left an indelible mark on the history of California and the West.

Petroglyphs

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

Native Americans also left their mark on Lake Tahoe. More than 200 petroglyphs cover the granite rock above Truckee. The petroglyphs were pecked into the surface of granite slabs using a hammerstone. They were made 1,500 to 4,000 years ago by the Martis Culture, possibly ancestors to the Washoe.
Most Truckee petroglyphs are geometric, but a few human and animal forms and animal prints are present. Archeologists believe the shapes have a great meaning to the Martis Culture.

Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA
Truckee Donner Pass Summit Tunnels, China Wall & Petrogplyhs California CA

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References


References

  • Atlas Obscura: Donner Pass Summit Tunnels
  • Donner Summit Historical Society: The Summit Petroglyphs
  • Smithsonian Magazine: The quest to protect California’s Transcontinental Railroad tunnels
  • Truckee-Donner Historical Society: Truckee Railward Millsite History
  • Truckee-Donner Historical Society: The Remarkable China Wall
  • Union Pacific: Truckee, California
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Comments

  1. Lynn Johnson says

    March 12, 2024 at 5:23 pm

    Debi and I hiked these in 2022, very cool to see in person, worth the trip for anyone one the fence. Thank you again Tami for sharing your adventures!

    Reply
    • Tami says

      March 12, 2024 at 5:34 pm

      Glad you enjoyed the article. I might try and run up to photograph them in the winter.

      Reply
  2. John Wrobel says

    March 12, 2024 at 7:20 pm

    Tami,
    Thank you, I had no idea these existed. Will have to make a point to visit one day

    Reply
    • Tami says

      March 13, 2024 at 6:58 am

      It makes a fun day. You can park at the petroglyphs below and hike up as I did. Later I heard you can park above and walk right out to them. That way is through a ski resort and I think you have to pay to park.

      Reply
  3. George says

    March 12, 2024 at 8:43 pm

    I recall passing these many times Crossing from Sparks to Sacramento along I-80, as well as the original two-lane Highway, driving a truck cross country. In winter time, they are positively creepy inside with the ice and the water dripping.
    Thank you for the history lesson. When you consider they were made more than 150 years ago, it is a staggering achievement even on a global scale of things.

    Reply
    • Tami says

      March 13, 2024 at 6:57 am

      I heard they are interesting in the winter, I’m hoping to head up before the snow melts.
      Even today they would be a big accomplishment. It is crazy they were built by hand.

      Reply
  4. Bob H says

    March 12, 2024 at 8:44 pm

    Thank you once again for a remarkable history lesson!

    Reply
    • Tami says

      March 13, 2024 at 6:55 am

      Glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  5. DAVID WHITE says

    March 13, 2024 at 1:14 pm

    Another great bit of history! It’s an amazing feat of engineering by today’s standards and through some of the hardest granite in the world. Thank you for not showing the “street art” defacing many of the tunnels, and for keeping our history alive

    Reply
    • Tami says

      March 13, 2024 at 5:33 pm

      I can’t imagine what it would take to accomplish the tunnels today.

      Reply
  6. Richard Mcgrew says

    August 26, 2024 at 11:44 pm

    I didn’t know about the China wall or the Donner Pass petroglphs. Interesting history. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Tami says

      August 27, 2024 at 6:29 am

      Glad you learned something new. They are fun and easy to get to in the summer.

      Reply

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Tami Force NVTami

Hi, I’m Tami, and I have been exploring ghost towns, mining camps, and back roads for 30 years. If you love seeing and learning about some of the more unusual ghost towns and locations in Nevada and beyond, you came to the right place! My goal is to photograph, document, and share this amazing history.  Come join me along with my dog, family, and friends on our explorations!

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