Logging Archives - Southern Pacific Railroad History Center

Rails, Sage Brush and Pine by Mallory Hope Ferrell (W-14)

Chip Savoye — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 20:21:29 +0000

Fascinating history of the construction, operation and ultimate demise of California’s Sumpter Valley Railway, a narrow gauge railroad that served the logging industry as well as the lumber companies and gold mines of the area. Provides an excellent discussion of the array of second hand locomotives, including the Mallets, Climaxes and Heislers, used by the Sumpter Valley, the Oregon Lumber Co., the Stoddard Lumber Co., Baker White Pine Lumber Co., Cavanaugh Lumber Co., C. W. Nibley Lumber Co. and the W. H. Eccles Lumber Co. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos as well as schematic diagrams of the equipment. With locomotive rosters and maps. 128 pages with index.

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Mallets on the Mendocino Coast Ted Wurm (W-14)

Chip Savoye — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 23:04:42 +0000

First edition (Trans-Anglo Books) of this classic book describing the Caspar Lumber Co.’s railroad in fascinating detail. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos of the locomotives in action as well as the ships. On the rough and rocky Redwood Coast of California lies the tiny settlement of Caspar, 125 nautical miles north of San Francisco and about five miles south of Fort Bragg. Operating from 1861 until 1955, the Caspar Lumber Company’s mill at Caspar was supplied with timber for 75 of those years by the company’s own private railroad. Originally known as the Jughandle Railroad (which ran on wooden rails), the standard-gauge line twice changed its name during its existence-first to the Caspar & Hare Creek Railroad and later to the South Fork & Eastern Railroad-and operated a fascinating array of motive power over the lightest of rail, crossing streams on tall timber trestles, to bring in virgin redwood logs from the forest. The Caspar Lumber Company also operated a fleet of coastal schooners, both sail and steam, to carry lumber from the “doghole” landing at Caspar to San Francisco and elsewhere. This facet of the operation makes for a fascinating story in itself. The railroad and the mill are now memories, but author Ted Wurm brings them back to life in this volume. With schematic diagrams of the locomotives and trestles that should delight any modeler. With foldout map of the railroad and bibliography. 136 pages with index.

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When Steam was King – French Signed by Author W-16

Chip Savoye — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:08:42 +0000

When Steam was King is a 250 pg, hardbound book, illustrated with outstanding, never before published photos on Steam railroads of Central California; Pickering Lumber Co., West Side Lumber Co, and Sierra Railroad. Also included are rare shots of Empire City Railroad. There are numerous maps, times lines and steam locomotive rosters. Remainer of the book covers railroad parks and steam tourist lines.

Very Good Condition

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Railroads in the Woods – Labber and Goe W-16

Chip Savoye — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 01:27:40 +0000

Detailed history of how the narrow gauge logging railroads were designed and built up impossible inclines into impenetrable forests to haul out the timber. Packed with black and white photos of the bridges and trestles, the geared locomotives (Heisler, Shay, Willamette, Baldwin, and Climax), and the dauntless men. 258 pages with index.

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Lake Tahoe’s Railroads – Drew W16

Chip Savoye — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:31:33 +0000

Lake Tahoe is the majestic mountain lake that spans the boundary line of California and Nevada. The lake’s clarity and scenic beauty are legendary. In the 1870s, the Nevada Comstock Lode created an insatiable appetite for Lake Tahoe’s virgin pine forests. The timbers would shore up underground mining and build communities approaching 40,000 inhabitants. Railroads on three shores delivered the logs lakeside, where they were towed by steam-powered tugs to sawmills, to lumber flumes, and again by rail to their final destinations. As the mines and giant lake pines subsided, railroads pushed farther north after 1898 into new timber stands in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River basins.

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