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Number 15
(mislabeled on the postcard as #12) In McCloud* |
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Pine Across the
Mountain: A Logging Railroad Lives |
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The railroad
expanded into the area east of McCloud.
Two kinds of expansions were made, temporary logging spurs
(sometimes miles longs) and permanent railroad. Rail crews became
quiet adept at pulling up rail when one area was logged, only to lay
down a new spur in another area, Ties were not moved. Logging spurs
were operated by the McCloud River Lumber Company, the owner of the
tracts of Land, of the railroad and even the town of McCloud.
The first major expansion of the railroad was actually northward
into the Ash Creek area where there was a mill. And for a
couple of years this provided a lot of lumber business for the
railroad. but in 1903 the mill burned down and that track was
abandoned. Along the way some well used logging spurs became part of
the permanent railroad and operations switched from the lumber
company crews, who operated all the trains over the logging spurs,
to the railroad company who operated the main line. As of 1919 no
railroad company trains operated over the logging spurs.
Efforts were made to reach
Bartle next. The Bartle Brothers had a ranch in the area and the
area was named for them. With work stoppages required by deep winter
snows, Bartle was reached in 1905. In 1906
the original records of the railroad were lost in a fire following
the San Francisco (where they were stored) Earthquake. 1907 saw the
terminus change from the town of Upton to the town of Sisson (later
named Mt Shasta City )
Having reached Bartle the
railroad itself remained pretty stable with it's main line
intact and the logging spurs reaching out from it in an never
ending procession, much like the wriggling snake on Medusa's Head.
In 1917 the Lumber company
decided to divest itself of the railroad and gave it's stocks into
the hands of it's shareholder, thus removing any apparent conflict
of interest that may arisen.
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Return
To History Page
* Images taken from
Post Cards, Viewing Objects and Original Products
** Images Courtesy
Of The McCloud Heritage Junction Museum Please see interchange page for
more info on this.
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Click On Images To
Expand
Half of a Stereo
Scope View Of The McCloud Long Pond*
Number 15**
A typical Mess Tent
in a Logging Camp Circa 1910*
Mill #1 and Pond Circa
1910**
McCloud Lumber Company Stock
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Amount Of Railroad Completed |
