 | |
 Hauling logs over Bass Lake Dam in 1926. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Sierra National Forest |
| Dates of operation | 1923–1933 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | Minarets and Western Railway, 43.45 mi (69.93 km) Sugar Pine Lumber Company Railroad, 10.82 mi (17.41 km)[1] |
The Sugar Pine Lumber Company was an early 20th century logging operation and railroad in the Sierra Nevada. Unable to secure water rights to build a log flume, the company operated the “crookedest railroad ever built."[2] They later developed the Minarets-type locomotive, the largest and most powerful saddle tank locomotive ever made.[3]: 39 The company was also a pioneer in the electrification of logging where newly plentiful hydroelectric power replaced the widespread use of steam engines.
The company founded two towns. They built Central Camp, a permanent logging camp with lavish amenities, and Pinedale, site of the company lumber mill. They operated two railroads: the Sugar Pine Railroad, which connected Central Camp to the switching yard in Bass Lake, and the Minarets and Western Railway, a client carrier that transported whole logs from the Sierra Nevada to the company lumber mill.
Today, the Sugar Pine Lumber Company is remembered as one of the most spectacular boom-and-bust stories of the early logging industry. After an initial investment of $8 million in 1923 the company was setting new records for the state's annual lumber cut.[1][3]: 56 But it quickly exhausted its timber holdings and went bankrupt in 1933. Burdened by debt and excessive capital and operating expenses, it never turned a profit.[2]
- ^ a b "Sugar Pine to Start Operations June 10". Madera Mercury. May 13, 1923. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
- ^ a b "Lumber Company Built a Railroad Instead of a Flume". Madera Tribune. Madera, California. June 11, 1968. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- ^ a b Johnston, Hank (2011). Rails to the Minarets: The Story of the Sugar Pine Lumber Company (Fourth Edition (Revised) ed.). Fish Camp, California: Stauffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9846848-0-9.