Sierra Railway

This is an intimate history of a vigorous, well-known shortline. It has been continuously in operation since 1896, and now, although dieselized, still maintains some steam motive power for peak loads, railfan trips and numerous movie appearances. Necessarily, this story covers the mining and lumbering history of Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, because these industries were responsible for the railroad's growth. Many private railroads branched from the Sierra, so they too became part of this story. Included are the Empire City Railway, Hetch Hetchy Railroad, Pickering Lumber Corp., West Side Lumber Co., Yosemite Short Line and many others. There is a wealth of photographic material, most of which has never been in print before. Endless hours were spent in rescuing old and faded pictures too rare and too good to be left out. Dorothy Newell Dean was in a unique position to write this book. Her father was the engineer who built the road, and her brother and husband were connecrted with it in other capacities. Mrs. Dean lived in the area and watched sections being built, knew the old timers to whom she could turn for pictures and records often hidden in attic trunks. "Sierra Railway" successfully recreates the atmosphere that distinguishes this line - it's a definitive history of an ambitious, far-sighted, likable railroad which traversed an area of vital historical interest.