Steam & Excursion > With A Friendly Waive From The Cupola This Railroad Said Goodbye!

Of all the bushy-tailed shortlines that once operated steam in the West, the one that we all feel left us too soon and that we wish we could bring back was that of the Yosemite Valley Railroad.  This single photo embodies all we loved and miss about this railroad that carried Kings and Presidents.

The life and times of the Yosemite Valley RR was intense but relatively short lived.  Rails were first laid in 1905 on this 80 mile long standard gauge line that ran from Merced, California to the entrance of Yosemite National Park at El Portal.  While passengers were initially a main part of the lines revenues there was also signifigant freight that sustained the line including the seemingly endless log trains from the Yosemite Lumber Company.

Unfortunately, in 1942 the log trains stopped and by then the passenger traffic had slowed with the advent of the new all year highway leading to the park along the opposite banks of the Merced River.  Even so, railfans could not believe the news when the fable YV announced in 1945 it's intent to abandon.

Word came to just a small handful of railfans that the last revenue run on the YV would take place in late August of 1945.  With WW-2 just ending in Europe and still raging in the Pacific, many railfans were still in the service and could not attend the last run.  For that reason, any photos of the run are quite scarce.

Fortunately, on August 24, 1945 when YV #23 and her caboose #19 pulled out of Merced and headed to Merced Falls to retrieve the last revenue freight the famous line would ever see, John Kille was on hand with a couple of his friends to record the action.

As the little train reached Bellevue on it's eastbound run, the fireman spotted Kille trackside and poured on the oil for his photo.  At the same time the conductor in the cupola of caboose #19 leaned out of the window to give a friendly but bittersweet waive to the lone photographer who was capturing on film the end of this little railroad that had once carried Kings and Presidents to the wonders of the Yosemite Valley.

With just a waive goodbye the train was soon gone from sight and no more would follow her back to Merced after that day.  The YV had just passed literally into history before our eyes.

Martin



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/16 05:46 by LoggerHogger.

---

As good as the image is, the story behind it is even better - a first-class effort.
Bob

That would be in the Top 10 you've posted there Mr. Martin.

Out

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That would be in the Top 10 you've posted there
> Mr. Martin.
>
> Out

Mr. Martin?

Martin

Sir.

Out

Great photo!

Great photo and narrative.

In the 1990s, the memory of the Yosemite Valley Railroad was revived in a very unexpected way through the movie "The Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day."  I was amazed to see this film in a local arts cinema movie house.

CLAP,CLAP,CLAP...Thank You Martin

Years ago, on one of my visits back to the US, I aquired a copy of Hank Johnson's "Short Line to Paradise: The Story of the Yosemite Valley Railroad". A very nice little book.

Peter Varlien
Heimdal,

Thank you for the post ...

Once again Martin you have both stopped time and forced those of us alive in the 21st Century to ponder what has been lost from back in the day ...
Thank you for all of the phenomenal images posted over the years ... IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Happy Holidays to You!

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

 

Al Rose took a shot at the same time and location, which he used for many years as a part of his letterhead.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/18 10:58 by ARP.

Jack Burgess also wrote a very nice illustrated history of the Yosemite Valley. If you can find it, you might pay a bit more than the original 65 dollar cover price.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

pvarlien Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Years ago, on one of my visits back to the US, I
> aquired a copy of Hank Johnson's "Short Line to
> Paradise: The Story of the Yosemite Valley
> Railroad". A very nice little book.