Almanor Railroad

The Almanor Railroad (reporting mark AL) was a Class III short-line railroad operating in Northern California, USA. It was owned by Collins Pine Company, a division of The Collins Companies and annually hauled approximately 300 carloads of timber and lumber products generated at the mill. The railroad was named after Lake Almanor, which the railroad ran over (by causeway) and adjacent to.

Almanor Railroad
Almanor Railroad running east-west on the meadows between Chester, CA, and Lake Almanor
Overview
HeadquartersChester, California
Reporting markAL
LocaleSierra Nevada from Clear Creek Jct - Chester, CA
Dates of operation1941–2009
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Western section of route in 1956

The 13-mile (21 km) railroad ran west from a connection with the BNSF Railway (former Western Pacific) at Clear Creek Junction to Chester, California.

The Almanor Railroad was incorporated on September 15, 1941, and purchased the line from the Grande Ronde Lumber Company; and was discontinued in late 2009.

The railroad line was built before 1931 by the Red River Lumber Company which had a private electric logging railroad with a trestle over the Feather River and ran from Westwood (about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Clear Creek Junction) to Chester. The portion of the Red River Lumber line between Westwood and Chester was the BNSF mainline from Keddie to Bieber. The BNSF also has trackage rights over the Almanor Railroad.

The Almanor Railroad had one 70-ton GE locomotive built in 1955.

References
  • Fickewirth, Alvin A. (1992). California railroads: an encyclopedia of cable car, common carrier, horsecar, industrial, interurban, logging, monorail, motor road, shortlines, streetcar, switching and terminal railroads in California (1851-1992). San Marino, CA: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-87095-106-8.
  • Robertson, Donald B. (1998). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History - Volume IV - California. Caldwell, ID: The Caxton Printers. ISBN 0-87004-385-4.
  • Stindt, Fred A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide (5th ed.). Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-290-9.
  • Walker, Mike (1997). Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - California and Nevada (Post Merger ed.). Faversham, Kent, United Kingdom: Steam Powered Publishing. ISBN 1-874745-08-0.

Further reading
  • Campf, Joan; Erceg, Joseph (2005). The Collins story (1st ed.). Portland, Or.: Collins Companies. ISBN 9780976677703.

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