The Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad was an Class III

short-line railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...

operating in the

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California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, east of

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. It was built primarily to haul lumber from the El Dorado National Forest. The standard gauge line ran west from 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 Camino to a connection with the Placerville Branch of the Southern Pacific Company at Placerville. Loaded cars of lumber descended a 3.5 percent grade from at Camino to at Placerville.

History

The CPLT's history starts in 1903 with its predecessor, the Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railway. The Placerville & Lake Tahoe Railway started grading on or about September 15, 1903. On April 11, 1904, the Placerville and Lake Tahoe was incorporated and the line was opened that same year. At Camino, the Placerville & Lake Tahoe went to narrow-gauge (operated as the El Dorado Lumber Company Narrow Gauge Lines) where it extended another into the forest in the area of Old Pino, Pino Grande and Pilot Creek (Tallac). From 1910-1911 the Placerville and Lake Tahoe did not operate. In 1911 the Placerville and Lake Tahoe was sold at foreclosure for $62,714.58 and was reorganized on December 28, 1911 as the Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad. The CPLT was owned by the Michigan-California Lumber Company. In 1986 the lumber mill was closed, negating any further need of rails, and the Southern Pacific abandoned the Placerville Branch, eliminating CPLT's access to the national rail network. Scrapping of the CPLT commenced on September 3, 1986. The route is now part of the El Dorado Trail, a rail trail. Other railroads operating in the narrow gauge forest were the American River Land and Lumber Company, that built a line through the forest in 1892. American River Land & Lumber was sold to El Dorado Lumber Company (Narrow Gauge Lines) in 1901 and extended the line to . In 1917, the El Dorado Lumber Company was sold to the Michigan-California Lumber Company.

Chart of History of Area Lines

Standard Gauge 8 mile line

*Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad 1911-1986 Standard Gauge 8 miles (Owned by Michigan-California Lumber) **Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railway — Standard & Narrow Gauge 1904-1911 ***Locomotives

Narrow Gauge 50 mile line

:*From Camino — Pino Grande. * Michigan-California Lumber Company 1917-1951 (, later abandoned) **El Dorado Lumber Company 1901-1917 (34 miles) ***American River Land and Lumber Company 1982-1901 Mill-timber ***R.E. Danaher Lumber Company / C.D. Danaher Pine Company 1911-1915 Pino Grande-Pilot Creek (15 miles)

Sources

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Notes

External links

El Dorado Trail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camino Placerville Lake Tahoe Railroad Defunct California railroads Logging railroads in the United States Eldorado National Forest History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Placerville, California