Operations
In recent years the YW was owned by Kyle Railways and provided freight service and offered passenger train excursions. The freight traffic is primarily wood chips and forest products. Today the line is a tourist railroad and is owned and operated by the Rocky Mountain Railroad & Mining Museum of Denver, Colorado.
In 1986 the YW started operating a steam passenger train excursion known as the "Blue Goose" between Yreka and Montague. The "Blue Goose" continues to operate to this day. The railroad offers scenic views of Mount Shasta and the Siskiyou Mountains. The trip takes about one hour in either direction, with a 60 to 90-minute layover in Montague depending on the number of passengers. While passengers explore and eat in Montague, the crew takes the train to perform a runaround move so the locomotive will pull the train back to Yreka.
The most famous locomotive on the line is 2-8-2 Baldwin 90 ton logging mikado #19. #19 is nicknamed "Pancho" to due to its time spent in Mexico in the 1920s and possible squabble with the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. #19 has starred in many movies, the two most famous being "Emperor of the North" and "Stand By Me". She was built in 1915 by Baldwin for the Caddow River Lumber Company in Arkansas. She served there until being sent to Mexico in 1920 where she is believed to have been converted to oil. In 1924 she was purchased by the McCloud River Railroad. She served many years there hauling log trains until being sold to the Yreka Western Railroad in 1953.
Other locomotives include SW8 #21, SD9 #439, and ALCO MRS-1 #244. #21 (Former Southern Pacific #1115) is usually used in freight service, but is occasionally put into excursion service when the 19 needs repairs. The #21 is unique because it has dynamic brakes, not usually found on switching locomotives.
Read more about this topic: Yreka Western Railroad
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