The Fort Bragg and Southeastern Railroad was formed by

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

as a consolidation of logging railways extending inland from

Albion, California Albion is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located south of Fort Bragg, at an elevation of . Albion had a population of 153 at the 2020 census. Toponym Albion was named in 1844, as a reference to w ...

on the coast of Mendocino County. The railroad and its predecessors operated from August 1, 1885 to January 16, 1930.Stanley T. Borden
''The Albion Branch.''
In: ''The Western Railroader'', Issue 264. Also available a

Fred Codoni
''The Albion Branch. NWP's Orphan Railroad Failed to Reach Its Potential.''
In: ''The Northwester'', Vol 10, No 2, Fall-Winter 1996. Also available a

Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC)

/ref> The line was merged into the regional

Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional shortline railroad utilizing a stretch of the 271 mile mainline between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a r ...

in 1907; but planned physical connection was never completed.

History

Captain

William A. Richardson William Anthony Richardson (August 27, 1795 – April 20, 1856) was an early California entrepreneur, influential in the development of Yerba Buena, the forerunner of the city of San Francisco. Richardson was the first to receive a land gran ...

built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

at the mouth of the

Albion River The Albion River is an river in Mendocino County, California. The river drains about on the Mendocino Coast and empties into the Pacific Ocean near the town of Albion, California, where California State Route 1 crosses it on the Albion River Br ...

in 1853. This logging operation incorporated the Albion River Railroad Company on September 24, 1885 to haul logs down the Albion River to the sawmill. The railroad extended to Keene's summit when it was reorganized with the sawmill on May 26, 1891 as the Albion Lumber Company with headquarters in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. Lumber was loaded onto ships from a wharf at the mouth for the Albion River for drying and planing in San Francisco. H. B. Tichnor and Company built a sawmill at the mouth of the

Navarro River , name_native_lang = , name_other = , name_etymology = , image = Navarro_River.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Navarro River near its mouth. , map = , map_size ...

in 1861. This logging operation was reorganized as the Navarro Mill Company in 1886 and loaded lumber onto ships from a millside wharf. Navarro Mill Company had extended a logging railroad up the Navarro River by the time the sawmill burned in 1902. The focus of logging operations in the Navarro River watershed then shifted to the community of Wendling, near the upstream extent of the Navarro Mill Company railway. The Albion and Southeastern Railroad was formed on April 1, 1902 to purchase the railway from the Albion Lumber Company and extend it into the

Anderson Valley Anderson Valley is a sparsely populated region in western Mendocino County in Northern California. Located approximately north of San Francisco, the name "Anderson Valley" applies broadly to several rural, unincorporated communities in or near ...

of the Navarro River to

Boonville, California Boonville (formerly The Corners and Kendall's City) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located southwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 381 feet (116 m). The population was 1,018 at the 2020 cen ...

. The Santa Fe Railway incorporated the Fort Bragg and Southeastern Railroad on March 25, 1903 with intention to extend the Albion and Southeastern through the Dry Creek drainage for a connection with national railway system at Healdsburg, California. The Fort Bragg and Southeastern completed construction from Keene's Summit to Wendling on September 15, 1905. Switchbacks were required near Keene's Summit. A. G. Stearns built a sawmill in Wendling in 1905. The Wendling sawmill was reorganized as the Navarro Lumber Company in 1914. The community of Wendling was renamed Navarro as the local population shifted from the old coastal community of Navarro (which changed its name to Navarro-by-the-sea) to follow the logging and milling jobs. The Fort Bragg and Southeastern was included in the Northwestern Pacific Railroad merger on January 8, 1907.

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

purchased the Albion Lumber Company in 1907 to manufacture ties and bridge timbers for railway construction in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. The Albion Lumber Company purchased the Navarro Lumber Company in May 1920. The Fort Bragg and Southeastern was extended past Wendling to a point known as Christine, and a branch line extended one mile up the Albion River from Clearbrook Junction. Albion Lumber Company trackage extended the Clearbrook branch toward

Comptche, California Comptche ( Pomo: ''Compatche'', meaning "In the valley among the hills") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located southeast of Fort Bragg at an elevation of ...

and Navarro Lumber Company trackage extended past Christine. There were numerous shorter logging branches owned by the lumber companies, but trains never reached Boonville or Healdsburg. Operation of the Navarro sawmill ended in September 1927; and the last log went through the Albion sawmill on May 19, 1928. The railroad ceased operation on January 16, 1930 and was dismantled for scrap in 1937.

Route

* Milepost 0 - Albion wharf (2-stall Roundhouse built 1891 and dismantled in 1937) * Milepost 3.25 - Brett * Milepost 7.32 - Clearbrook Junction * Milepost 8.30 - Gunari * Milepost 12.37 - Sunny Slope * Milepost 13.05 - Skibo (water tank) * Milepost 14.65 - switchback * Milepost 15.44 - Keene summit elevation * Milepost 15.65 - switchback * Milepost 16.54 - Dunn (water tank) * Milepost 22.15 - Stearn's sawmill * Milepost 22.87 - Wendling (1-stall Roundhouse built 1905 and dismantled in 1937) * Milepost 25.65 - Christine

Locomotives

The first Albion River Railroad steam locomotive was Baldwin 2-4-2T No. 1 'Albion'. Later a

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

, a Hinkley, two other Baldwins, two

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

s and a

Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

with a Martin-Parry freight and jitney body were used.

Photographs

File:Albion Lumber Company Mill, Albion Bay, Mendocino County.jpg, Albion Lumber Company Mill Albion Lumber Company's Baldwin 2-4-2T No.1 'Albion' hauling a long string of 'bob cars' (disconnect trucks).jpg, No.1 'Albion' hauling a long string of 'bob cars' (disconnected trucks) and a load of

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 structu ...

ties (sleepers) File:Albion Lumber Company wharf. Loading is direct to vessel. Albion, May, 1920.jpg, Albion Lumber Company wharf. Loading was directly to vessel, 1920 File:Yards, runways (gangways) and warehouses of Albion Lumber Company. Gangways are on same level as sorting table floor. Albion, May, 1920.jpg, Yards, gangways and warehouses. Gangways were on same level as sorting table floor, 1920 Yards of Albion Lumber Company at Albion in May 1920.jpg, Yards of Albion Lumber Company at Albion, 1920 File:Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, Photographer Mar. 13, 1934 GENERAL VIEW OF MILL - Lumber Mill, Albion River, Albion, Mendocino County, CA HABS CAL,23-ALB,2-1.tif, Albion Lumber Company at Albion, 1934

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Bragg Southeastern Railroad Rail transportation in California Logging railroads in the United States Transportation in Mendocino County, California Defunct California railroads History of Mendocino County, California Railways with Zig Zags Railway lines closed in 1930