The Yosemite Lumber Company was an early 20th century

Sugar Pine ''Pinus lambertiana'' (commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine) is the tallest and most massive pine tree, and has the longest cones of any conifer. The species name ''lambertiana'' was given by the Scottish botanist David Douglas, ...

and

White Pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

logging operation in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. The company built the steepest logging

incline Incline, inclined, inclining, or inclination may refer to: *Grade (slope), the tilt, steepness, or angle from horizontal of a topographic feature (hillside, meadow, etc.) or constructed element (road, railway, field, etc.) *Slope, the tilt, steepn ...

ever, a route that tied the high-country timber tracts in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

to the low-lying

Yosemite Valley Railroad The Yosemite Valley Railroad (YVRR) was a short-line railroad operating from 1907 to 1945 in the state of California, mostly following the Merced River from Merced to Yosemite National Park, carrying a mixture of passenger and freight traffic. ...

running alongside the

Merced River The Merced River (), in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin Valley. It is most well known for its swift and st ...

. From there, the logs went by rail to the company’s sawmill at Merced Falls, about fifty-four miles west of El Portal. Two special acts of Congress allowed the company to harvest timber in Yosemite National Park under the guidance that only "dead and decaying" timber be cut. An immense production allowance of two hundred million board feet suggested this was a loosely interpreted restriction. The company averaged a yearly cut of fifty-five million board feet during its thirty years in business. During that time, Yosemite Sugar Pine ran five shay locomotives across a hundred miles of track. 1n 1937, the federal government forced the sale of 7,200 acres of the company’s finest sugar pine tracts, annexing them for protection inside the boundaries of Yosemite National Park. With its remaining timber holdings insufficient the company folded in 1942.

Logging Inclines

The Steepest Logging Incline Ever Built

Yosemite Lumber Company El Portal Incline

With dizzying 78 percent grade near the top, the original southside logging incline is the steepest logging incline ever built. Built in 1912, the incline ran in length, running from El Portal below to the top of Hennes Ridge, feet above. The first half of the incline was more gradual, running between a 45 and 52 percent grade. The incline jumped to a 78 percent grade for the last feet. This stretch was double tracked. This allowed loaded log cars to be counterbalanced by an empty car as they were lowered into the valley.

Merced Falls Sawmill

The

pulled log trains along the Merced River to Yosemite Lumber Company’s sawmill at Merced Falls in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

. The mill broke ground in the summer of 1911. Over 945 tons of machinery was brought to Merced Falls by train including a 600 horsepower electric plant which electrifed both the plant and the town. The mill operated seasonally, whenever the snow had cleared enough for logging trains to resume. By the 1920s, the mill delivered between 40 and 50 million feet of lumber every season and employed between 250 and 300 men. The sale of alcohol was forbidden in the incorporated city of Merced Falls. But several saloons opened to serve mill workers just across the

Mariposa County Mariposa County () is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,131. The county seat is Mariposa. It is located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of Fresno, east of ...

line. In 1918, a petition was raised to close the saloons as a war measure, citing the mill's role in support of government contracts. Yosemite Lumber Company Mill Construction.jpg, Mill under construction. Yosemite Lumber Company Mill Log Pond.jpg, Sawmill and log pond. Yosemite Lumber Company Log Wash.jpg, Log wash. Yosemite Lumber Company Mill Sharpeners.jpg, Saw sharpeners.

Locomotive Roster

The Yosemite Lumber Company ran Shay locomotives produced by

Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between ...

. Shay engines could be run forward or backwards, and could run on poor-quality track, making them ideal for logging in the woods. Unlike the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

run by the nearby Madera Sugar Pine Company which allowed for tighter curves and lighter rails, YSP had to run standard-gauge

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

because of their direct connection to

Bankruptcy and Liquidation

Yosemite Lumber closed at the end of the 1930 season and Merced Falls dwindled into a “ghost city.” A $400,000 loan by the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgag ...

helped reopen the mill in 1935 as depression era relief measure. The mill operated until 1942, supplied by timber from Mariposa and Tuolumne counties north of the Merced River and west of Yosemite National Park. Today, few remnants of the lumber operation remain. Within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park, many of the old Yosemite Lumber railroad beds were repurposed as part of the

Yosemite West Yosemite West is an unincorporated community of resort homes located just outside the southern area of Yosemite National Park, just off Wawona Road, a continuation of State Route 41 from Fresno. It is a census-designated place (CDP), with a popul ...

subdivision, while others have been reclaimed by the forest. In the San Joaquin Valley, the Yosemite Lumber Mill at Merced Falls is gone, and the community has become a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

References

{{California railroads Timber industry Logging in the United States Companies based in California Sierra Nevada (United States) History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Defunct California railroads Railway companies established in 1912 American companies established in 1912 Railway companies disestablished in 1942 Closed railway lines in the United States