The Modoc Northern Railroad is a defunct railroad company that operated over of track in northeastern California and southern Oregon and was based in

Tulelake, California Tulelake ( ) is a city in northeastern Siskiyou County, California, United States. The town is named after nearby Tule Lake. Its population is 902 as of the 2020 census, down from 1,010 from the 2010 census. Tulelake peace officers are authori ...

. The railroad connected

Klamath Falls Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

Alturas, California Alturas (Spanish for "Heights"; Achumawi: ''Kasalektawi'') is a city and the county seat of Modoc County, California. Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, the city had a population of 2,715 at the 2020 census. Alturas ...

, and

Lakeview, Oregon Lakeview is a town in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,418 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County. The city bills itself as the "Tallest Town in Oregon" because of its elevation, above sea level. Lak ...

, to

. The railroad shipped mostly timber products and some perlite from the mine and mill near Lakeview. The rails used by the Modoc Northern were first laid out in June 1927 by a

non-operating subsidiary In the United States, a paper railroad is a company in the railroad business that exists "on paper only": as a legal entity which does not own any track, locomotives, or rolling stock. In the early days of railroad construction, paper railroads h ...

of the

Southern Pacific Company Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

with the same name. On November 1, 2005,

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

leased the Modoc line, connecting Klamath Falls to Alturas, to the MNRR for five years. By request of the Lake County, Oregon, commissioners, the MNRR also took over operation of the Lake County Railway, connecting Alturas to Lakeview, in 2006. UP cancelled the lease on May 5, 2009, and a new operator has assumed control of the

Lake County Railroad The Lake County Railroad was a railroad based in Lakeview, Oregon, United States, owned by the Lake County government and operated by various contract operators during its 20-year existence. The county-owned line running from Lakeview, OR to A ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modoc Northern Railroad Spin-offs of the Union Pacific Railroad Defunct California railroads Defunct Oregon railroads Alturas, California History of Modoc County, California Railway companies established in 2005 Railway companies disestablished in 2009 2005 establishments in California 2009 disestablishments in California