The Arcata & Mad River Railroad began as the Union Wharf and
Plank Walk Company. It was about two miles of red wood plank
and rails. Some time later iron strapping was added to the
rails. The line extended from a wharf built in 1854
or 1855 out into the deeper water of Humboldt Bay and crossed
tidewater mud flats connecting it to the new city of Union in
Northern California. This settlement began as the
jumping off point for the gold seekers heading inland to the Trinity
Mountains. By February 1855 a horse drawn cart
running on wood rails was the first conveyance, thus some
historians call it the first operating railroad in
California. In 1860 Union became the city of Arcata
and the railroad in time became the Arcata & Mad
River Railroad. During the the early 1940s to the
late 1950 this short line a was one of the busiest and
most profitable railroads in the US. She provided shipping of
timber for the building of the US after World War
II. Local residents affectionately called
her the "Annie and Mary." The owners shut down the
railroad in the late 1980s after many of the sawmills it served
closed down and the line was no longer profitable.
The picture above shows the
remains of the pier built into the northern part of Humboldt
Bay near
Arcata as seen at low tide. NOTE: This site is the first one done by
the author, Gerry Tomczak. He is learning and still
working on it. Some pictures of existing wood trestles and
their location will be done in the future. There will be
updates on the restoration of the AMRR
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