Arcata and Mad River Railroad
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| Arcata & Mad River Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Reporting marks | AMR |
| Locale | Northern California's Redwood Empire from Arcata - Korbel |
| Dates of operation | December 15, 1854 – 1985 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge), originally 3 ft 9.5 in (1156 mm) |
| Headquarters | Arcata, California |
The Arcata and Mad River Railroad, (AAR reporting marks AMR), was affectionately known as the "Annie and Mary". AMR's predecessor, the Union Wharf and Plank Walk Company was incorporated on December 15, 1854, to provide access over the mud flats near the town of Union (later Arcata) to ocean going shipping for a distance of 2.7 miles (4.3 km). The track was built on wooden rails overlaid with strap iron. It was a horse-powered railroad from the town to the end of a wharf in Humboldt Bay.
On June 14, 1875, the Arcata Transportation Company was incorporated and took over the line and converted to steam.
On July 29, 1881, the Arcata & Mad River Railroad was incorporated. By 1882 the wooden rails were replaced with 35-pound iron rails. In the 1890s the railroad's principal commodities were lumber, shingles, and potatoes.
The first president of the AMR in 1881 was listed as Francis Korbel. Korbel was also the name of the terminus of the AMR. Passenger service was offered on the AMR but ended on June 6, 1931.
The railroad was eventually extended 7.5 miles (12.1 km) from Arcata to the Northern Redwood Company mill at Korbel. The Northern Redwood Company was owned by the Charles Nelson Steamship Company. It was over 10 years after the arrival of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP) in Arcata in 1914 that the steamship company allowed an interchange between the AMR and the NWP at Korblex. During the lumber boom of the 1950s, the Annie and Mary served fifteen shippers on its 7½-mile railroad. The average daily car loadings were enough to place the road among the highest paying railroad properties per mile in the United States. At the time of its closure, AMR ran 4 General Electric 44-tonner diesel-electric locomotives and one Whitcomb 80DE-7b 80 ton diesel-electric locomotive. The Arcata and Mad River Railroad is generally considered the first railroad in California.
On May 24, 1985, the AMR was abandoned. In September 1988 the Eureka Southern Railroad purchased the AMR from Simpson Timber Company for $300,000. The AMR had been closed for the two year period (1986-1988) prior to its purchase by the Eureka Southern. Service was resumed in 1994 by the North Coast Railroad.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Robertson, Donald B. (1998). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History - Volume IV - California. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, 72-73. ISBN 0-87004-385-4.
- Lewis, Edward A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing, 354. ISBN 0-89024-290-9.
