Yreka Western Railroad

The Yreka Western Railroad is a 7.75 mile shortline railroad that operates out of Yreka, California to Montague, CA.

The railroad traces its history to the Yreka Railroad that was incorporated on May 28, 1888 and opened for service in January 1889 due to the Southern Pacific railroad bypassing Yreka while finding a route into Oregon. On August 24, 1933 the Yreka Western Railroad was incorporated to acquire the Yreka Railroad.

The Yreka Western interchanges with the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad (CORP) at Montague, though freight traffic is no longer handled on the line. Prior to the CORP, the YW interchanged with the Southern Pacific Railroad at the same location. However, recent negotiations have been made and the Yreka Western will partner with a Texas railroad to begin hauling traffic over the Siskiyou Line.

In recent years the YW was owned by Kyle Railways and provided freight service and offered passenger train exursions. The freight traffic is primarily wood chips and forest products. Today the line is a tourist railroad and is owned and operated by the Rocky Mountain Railroad & Mining Museum of Denver, Colorado.

In 1986 the YW started operating a stream passenger train excursion known as the "Blue Goose" between Yreka and Montague. The "Blue Goose" continues to operate to this day. The railroad offers scenic views of Mount Shasta and the Siskiyou Mountains. The trip takes about one hour in either direction, with a 60 to 90-minute layover in Montague depending on the number of passengers. While passengers explore and eat in Montague, the crew takes the train down to Church Hill switch to perform a runaround move so the locomotive will pull the train back to Yreka.

The most famous locomotive on the line is 2-8-2 Baldwin 90 ton logging mikado #19. #19 is nicknamed "Pancho" to due to her time spent in Mexico in the 1920's and possible squabble with the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. 19 has starred in many movies, the 2 most famous being "Emperor of the North" and "Stand By Me." She was built in 1915 by Baldwin for the Caddow River Lumber Company in Arkansas. she served 3 short years there until being sent to Mexico where we believe she was converted to oil. In 1924 she was purchased by the McCloud River Railroad. She served many years there hauling log trains until being sold to the Yreka Western Railroad in 1953.

Other locomotives include SW8 #21, and ALCO MRS-1 #244. #21 (Former Southern Pacific #1115) is usually used in freight service, but is occasionally put into excursion service when the 19 needs repairs. The #21 is unique because it has dynamic brakes, not usually found on switching locomotives.

ee also

*List of heritage railroads in the United States

External links

* [http://www.yrekawesternrr.com/ Yreka Western Railroad - official site]