The Sierra Railway / Sierra Railroad Collection contains financial materials, administrative records, correspondence, engineering and shop records, and legal records pertaining to Sierra Railroad operations. Records of other organizations such as the Jamestown Improvement Company, Nevills Hotel, Sierra Telegraph and Telephone Company, Sugar Pine Railway, and the Yosemite Short Line Railway are also included in this collection. In addition, the collection contains research materials belonging to Richard Rosenquist which relate to his unpublished book, Railroad Transplant. The records in this collection cover the years 1886 to 1988 with the bulk of the records pertaining to the years 1900-1965.

The Sierra Railway Company of California was incorporated on February 1, 1897, by Thomas S. Bullock, William H. Crocker, and Prince AndrÈ Poniatowski. The articles of incorporation were signed by the company's five stockholders: John M. Bonner, Sidney D. Freshman, Charles Gross, James Henry, and Edmund E. Simpson. Original plans for the railroad called for approximately 125 miles of rail from Oakdale to Sonora station to branches in Coulterville in Mariposa County and Jackson in Amador County. However, the line as finally constructed was significantly shorter, extending approximately 56 miles from Oakdale in Stanislaus County to Tuolumne in Tuolumne County, with an additional 20-mile branch connecting Jamestown with Angels Camp in Calaveras County. The original line was constructed in part with materials salvaged from Thomas S. Bullock's Prescott and Arizona Central Railroad.Excerpted from Sierra Railway and Sierra Railroad Historical Chronology by Curt Bianchi (1996).

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Chief Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the writer.

Access to documents in Series 10. Fire Damaged Records may be restricted because of condition. Please contact the Library staff in advance of your visit for more information.