The Mesa Grand Western Railroad reminds me of the Swanton Pacific Railroad near Santa Cruz, California. The Mesa Grand Western Railroad is a 9 inch gauge railroad that winds its way into the hills of Valyermo, CA. There are numerous bridges, cuts and even a loop. I like how long the railroad is. The mainline runs about 5800 feet for a full round trip distance of 2.1 miles. The Swanton Pacific Railroad's mainline is about the same distance. The railroad was built in the 1960s by the late Harry Pulaski and continues to operate today under its second passionate owner Bill Semerau. Bill acquired the railroad in the 1980s and has made some great additions to the railroad. I have no idea how I would get to visit this railroad, but I sure would love to.
Check out some photos on SmugMug. I think these photos were taken during a wedding. How exciting and unusual!
This railroad uses trestles based off of Bridge Masters' design. It uses micro-engineering code 250 aluminum rail hand-spiked to redwood ties. It is called the Bee Line Lumber Company because Key System's Line B used to go in the backyard of my old house, which is a few blocks away from my current one.
Check out the Bay Area Garden Railway Society, my garden railway club.
Below is a map of the route. The highest point on the route is at Havens, named after the Sacramento Northern's stop in Shepherd Canyon. The line progresses down the steep hill of my backyard at grades between 3 and 5% to Poplar Junction (named after a stop on the Key System), where the railroad has a connection to the Southern Pacific, which transports its logs around the world. The railroad does not currently match the map. There is no double track near the middle of the railroad and there is no rail laid past the Yerba Buena Spur.
The railroad is battery powered and I have three Hartford Products Ely Thomas Log cars, a WayCar and a WSLCo 24ft Flatcar.
