McCloud Railway
No. 25 hauling a freight train in 2008. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | McCloud, California |
| Reporting mark | MCR/MR |
| Locale | Mount Shasta, California |
| Dates of operation | 1897–2010 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Length | 95.5 miles (153.7 km) |
The McCloud Railway (reporting mark MCR), also previously known as the McCloud River Railroad, was a class III railroad operated around Mount Shasta, California, it was incorporated on January 21, 1897 and began operations on August 1, 1897.
The MCR provided both freight service as well as passenger excursion trains like the Shasta Sunset Dinner Train.
Freight traffic consisted of outbound lumber and forest products as well as diatomaceous earth. Approximately 3,000 carloads of freight (1996 estimate) were handled annually.
The MCR interchanged with the Union Pacific (formerly Southern Pacific) at Mount Shasta, California, and the BNSF (formerly the Burlington Northern, née Great Northern Railway) at Lookout, California.
On June 27, 2005, the railroad applied with the Surface Transportation Board to abandon all MCR track beyond 3.3 miles (5.3 km) east of McCloud.
During the railroad's last stand during 2009 and 2010, their only source of revenue was due to the Shasta Sunset Dinner Train. However, due to the Great Recession, the railroad shut down in January 2010, selling off the last steam locomotive, McCloud River Railroad #25, and also sold off all but two of their diesel locomotives. The railroad stayed shut down but not abandoned through the rest of the 2010s.