Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad

The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad (YMSPRR) is a historic 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway with two operating steam locomotives located near Fish Camp, California, in the Sierra National Forest near the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park.^[1] Rudy Stauffer founded the YMSPRR in 1961, constructing a tourist line along the historic route of the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company.

Service began with the purchase of three-truck Shay locomotive No. 10 from the West Side Lumber Company railway of Tuolumne, California. Built in 1928, No. 10 is reputedly the largest narrow gauge Shay locomotive—and one of the last constructed. In 1986, the YMSPRR purchased Shay No. 15—also a former West Side Lumber Company locomotive—from the West Side & Cherry Valley Railroad tourist line in Tuolumne.

The steam locomotives operate daily during the summer months, while the railroad's "Jenny" railcars, capable of carrying about a dozen passengers, typically handle operations during the off-season. Passengers can ride in either open-air or enclosed passenger cars.^[2]

The railroad operates a 4 miles (6.4 km) round-trip excursion along the original Madera Sugar Pine logging grade through the Sierra National Forest. In addition to the standard daytime ride, the railroad offers evening dinner trains and seasonal entertainment at the Lewis Creek Amphitheater. The Thornberry Museum, housed in a relocated 19th-century log cabin, and a narrow-gauge snowplow are among the attractions at the depot.

The current railroad follows a portion of grade originally carved into the mountain by the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company in the early 20th century. The company originated in 1874, when it was organized as the California Lumber Company to log the area surrounding Oakhurst, California.^[3] The Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company once had a large sawmill at Sugar Pine, California, just south of the current YMSPRR.^[3] The railroad had seven locomotives, over 100 log cars, and 140 miles (230 km) of track in the surrounding mountains.^[3]: 12 In addition to the railroad, the Company also transported lumber in a flume that stretched 54 miles (87 km) from Sugar Pine to Madera, California.^[3]: 87 This was the most efficient way to move rough-cut lumber out of the mountains for finishing and shipment at lower elevations. The Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company practiced clearcutting, which removed nearly every tree in the timber stands surrounding the current railroad. The thick forest surrounding the railroad today belies this history, although large stumps from the original old-growth timber dot the forest floor along the tracks.

Due to the onset of the Great Depression and a lack of trees, the operation closed in 1931. The graded right-of-way through the forest remained, however, enabling the Stauffer family to reconstruct a portion of the line in 1961. The current railroad utilizes locomotives, converted log disconnect cars, and other railroad equipment purchased from the West Side Lumber Company after it ceased railroad operations in 1961.^[4]

After his retirement in 1981, Rudy Stauffer was succeeded by his son, Max, as the railroad's owner and operator. Max Stauffer died on March 10, 2017.^[5][6]

The railroad opened to the public in 1966, initially operating with Shay No. 10 and a small collection of converted log cars. The line proved popular with tourists visiting Yosemite, and the Stauffers gradually expanded the operation, adding evening excursion trains and the Lewis Creek Amphitheater for seasonal entertainment. The Thornberry Museum, a relocated 19th-century log cabin, was established at the depot to house exhibits on Sierra Nevada logging history.

In late August 2017, the Railroad Fire, which started near the railroad, destroyed West Side Lumber Company equipment stored on a side track.^[7]

The railroad operates a 4 miles (6.4 km) round-trip excursion from its depot at 56001 State Route 41 in Fish Camp, at an elevation of approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The line runs southward along the original Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company logging grade through second-growth ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest in the Sierra National Forest.^[8]

The sole intermediate stop is at Lewis Creek Canyon, where a loop allows the locomotive to reverse direction. The stop includes a picnic area and the Lewis Creek Amphitheater, an open-air venue used for seasonal evening performances.^[9] The return trip climbs a 4.5% grade back to the depot, a gradient well within the capabilities of the railroad's geared Shay locomotives.^[10]

The standard daytime excursion (the "Logger Steam Train") takes approximately one hour. Evening excursions, including the Moonlight Special dinner train and the Jazz Train, last approximately three hours and include a meal and live entertainment at the amphitheater.^[11] Large stumps from the original old-growth timber, cut during the lumber company's operations between 1899 and 1931, are visible along the tracks.

The current tourist line preserves roughly two miles of what was once the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company's 140 miles (230 km) network of logging railroads across the central Sierra Nevada.

The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad features a collection of historic locomotives, including two operational steam locomotives:

• The Thornberry Museum, housed in a relocated 140-year-old log cabin, offers visitors a glimpse into life on the Sierra slopes over a century ago.
• The Sugar Pine Trading Company, providing a selection of literature and sources related to the YMSPRR, railroads, and the history of Yosemite Valley.
• The Lewis Creek Amphitheater at the turnaround point in Lewis Creek Canyon, used for seasonal evening performances.
• Picnic and event grounds at the eastern terminus of the line.
• Gold panning.
• A rare narrow gauge snowplow, the West Side Lumber Company's plow No. 2.

• List of heritage railroads in the United States
• Yosemite National Park

• Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad Website
• 30-min video: Huell Howser rides the railroad on a 2007 episode of California's Gold.