[creamcityleo79]

Interesting article from the Bee:

Big dig: A Sacramento urban legend is ready for confirmation, thanks to the proposed arena tax boondoggle. The legend involves whole steam locomotives buried in the old Southern Pacific railyard. Generations of Sacramentans have heard the legend. Now, with taxpayers being asked to pay for a Kings basketball arena atop the toxic rail waste dump, let's dig into the facts. "I have heard this before from several sources, and believe it is probably true," said Jim Henley, manager of the Sacramento History and Science Division. Sutter's Lake once stood between I Street and the rail shops. The city and railroad filled the lake more than 80 years ago. The depot was built at the lower end. "Old equipment, including locomotives, were dumped into the lake along with railcar loads of soil," Jim said. Construction crews reported driving piles through buried locomotives while building Interstate 5. "There have been very old boilers dug up, but not entire locomotives, as far as I know," said Paul Hammond of the California State Railroad Museum. Kyle Wyatt, history curator at the Railroad Museum, said, "We don't know for certain" if whole locomotives are buried in the yards. But photos suggest a small engine is buried at the proposed arena site, Kyle added. Rail buffs can only dream about the goodies that could be excavated. Taxpayers will get stuck with the bill, you can bet. …