Judah, a well-known railroad engineer back east, came to California in 1854 to become the chief engineer of the Sacramento Valley Railroad, according to a 2004 Sierra Sun “Echoes from the Past” column by Gordon Richards.

Judah also spent several years in Washington D.C. lobbying for the transcontinental railroad, Richards wrote.

In 1860, Judah began his exploration of Donner Summit, then laid the exact route the rail currently follows.

His selection was picked over four other Sierra crossing routes.

Judah died on Nov. 2, 1863 before all the surveys were completed, from typhoid fever contracted during the crossing of the Isthmus of Panama on his way to New York, Richards wrote.

— Sun staff report