West Side Lumber Company railway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
West Side Lumber Company railway

The engine shed in 1979.
Overview
Headquarters	Tuolumne
Locale	California
Dates of operation	1898–1962
Successor	Westside & Cherry Valley Railroad
Technical
Track gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Length	70 miles (110 km)

The West Side Lumber Company railway was a special kind of train line. It was the very last of the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge logging railroads to operate in the western United States. These trains were used to carry logs from forests to sawmills.

History of the West Side Railway

The railway's route in 1948

A part of the railway line in 2003

West Side Flume & Lumber Company Begins

The West Side Flume & Lumber Company started in May 1898. Their goal was to cut down trees on 55,000 acres (22,000 ha) of land. This land was located near a town called Carter, which is now known as Tuolumne. To move the logs, they built a 10-mile (16 km) long train track. This track was a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, meaning it was narrower than standard train tracks. It went into the forests east of the town.

Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley Railroad

In 1900, the lumber company changed the name of their railway. They called it the Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley Railroad. They hoped to attract tourists to ride their trains. Even though the railway never actually reached Hetch Hetchy or Yosemite valley, they still wanted to be a "common carrier." This means they were open to carrying goods and people for anyone who paid, not just their own company's logs.

Westside and Cherry Valley Railroad

West Side and Cherry Valley Railroad No. 7

In the late 1970s, a man named Glen Bell started a new train line. He was the person who founded the Taco Bell restaurant chain! This new line was a tourist railroad in Tuolumne. It used the lower part of the old West Side Lumber Company track. It also used some of the original steam locomotives from the West Side Lumber Company railway.

This tourist spot also offered boat rides on the old mill pond. You could even park your RV there. However, it closed in the early 1980s. Not enough visitors came to keep it running.

Locomotives of the Railway

Locomotives are the engines that pull the trains. The West Side Lumber Company railway used different types of locomotives over the years.

Narrow Gauge Locomotives

These are the engines that ran on the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow tracks.

Name	Number	Builder	Type	Date Built	Notes	Image
Fido		H.K. Porter	0-4-0ST		Later sold to another company.
Star		H.K. Porter	0-4-0ST		Came from the Ferries and Cliff House Railroad in San Francisco.
	1	Heisler	Two Truck	1899	Sold to Swayne Lumber Company; taken apart in 1940.
	2	Heisler	Two Truck	1899	Placed in West Side Memorial Park in Tuolumne, California, in 1960.
	3	Heisler	Two Truck	1899	Changed to a wider track in 1947. Changed back to 3 ft (914 mm) around 1962. Now runs at the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad as No. 2.
	4	Heisler	Two Truck	1901	Taken apart in 1950.
	5	Lima	Two Truck Shay	1902	Taken apart in 1950.
	6	Lima	Two Truck Shay	1903	Taken apart in 1942.
	7	Lima	Three Truck Shay	1911	Came from the Butte and Plumas Railway. Now runs at the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad.
	8	Lima	Three Truck Shay	1922	Now on display at the Moffat Road RR museum in Granby, Colorado.
	9	Lima	Three Truck Shay	1923	Can be operated at the Midwest Central Railroad in Iowa. It will be rebuilt to run on the Georgetown Loop Railroad.
	10	Lima	Three Truck Shay	1928	Now runs on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. It's said to be the largest narrow-gauge Shay ever built!
	12	Lima	Three Truck Shay	1927	Came from the Swayne Lumber Company railway. Now at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado.
	14	Lima	Three Truck Shay	1916	Came from the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company. Now at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado.
	15	Lima	Three Truck Shay	1913	Came from the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company. Can be operated at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad.

Standard Gauge Locomotives

These engines ran on wider, standard tracks.

You can find old items and photos from the West Side Lumber Company railway at the Tuolumne City Memorial Museum in Tuolumne, California. The museum also organizes trips each year to see the old logging camps in the woods.