Large Scale Central

YMSPRR visit

My wife Linda and I have been visiting relatives in CA (Modesto area) this week, and yesterday went to the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine RR above Mariposa.

https://ymsprr.com/

They have 2 shays, and here’s #15 bringing a string of coaches back to the station.

A look at her business side:

Most of their stock comes from the Westside LC, but the right of way is all original to this logging railroad. Here’s a shot of a prototype for those Bachmann “ore cars.”

They have two functional (and at least 1 non) Ford rail cars.

A nice donkey:

Really smoky from the Sequoia fires 2 hours south, but is was a wonderful experience nonetheless. This shot is during the ride, and you can see the smoke’s effect.

Four years ago, a fire swept all around the site, and it really shows. But fortunate winds and huge fire fighting efforts saved the operation.

Here’s my favorite shot, taken from the end car as we departed the turn-around loop. I used Photoshop to correct for the smoke.

888:>Cliffy

Love it, we were there about 3-4 years ago. My son in law and I were watching them make up the days train, after a bit he turned to me and said watching all the gears levers rods whatnot is still amazes me they made this that many years ago and how complex and intricate it had to be , yet it is still running. Today a refrigerator is a dead pile of junk after 20 years!” He is a body shop manager !

Jerry B was telling me about this yesterday, so I was hopin to see some pix.

(Him and a friend stopped by on their way home from a GR tour in Lancaster)

meaning to git thur but haven’t yit. Nice photos. Thanks.

meaning to git thur but haven’t yit. Nice photos. Thanks.

Great pics!

Great pictures Cliff.

The West Side Lumber’s #15, my favorite locomotive. I used it as the prototype when I built my 3 truck.

Awesome! I would love to see that in person.

Ray Dunakin said:

Awesome! I would love to see that in person.

Ray, I think you would. And you’d have a shorter hike to it than I, haha!

When you go, maybe you’ll also research the associated Yosemite Lumber Co RR, which had those amazing inclines…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4_mJuS9WWc

And there’s the whole fluming story, with lumber flumes going all the way to Madera, and elsewhere.

And the whole Hetch Hetchy story nearby, which is kinda sad because of its purpose in building the dam that turned a wonderful valley into a lake, yet still involved a cool railroad for that short period. And then there’s the “Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne” above that lake. Neither of which I’ve seen, but hope to in some later year.

Fun stuff, and a big part of me wishes I still lived the region!

Cliff

Thank you for sharing, Cliff…

Fred Mills

I’m doing a test reply with the new web site…

Another test reply. Has to be 20 characters long.

Final test reply for now.