page_title: Arcata and Mad River Railroad
section_title: Arcata and Mad River Railroad Company
hierarchical_section_title: Arcata and Mad River Railroad / History / Arcata and Mad River Railroad Company
caption_attribution_description: English: In the late 1880s, the A&amp;MR line carried lumber for the (Isaac) Minor Mill and Lumber Company of Glendale.
context_page_description: The Arcata and Mad River Railroad, founded in 1854, was the oldest working railroad in California. It operated on a unique narrow gauge until the 1940s when standard gauge rails were laid. Service ceased in 1983 due to landslides. It is California Historical Landmark #842.
context_section_description: In 1883, the Korbel family bought the line which had about 27 miles (43 km) of track split between common carrier lines and private logging track.   The Korbels organized the company on December 29, 1891, as the Arcata and Mad River Railroad Company. In the late 1880s, the A&MR line carried lumber for the (Isaac) Minor Mill and Lumber Company of Glendale.  In 1890, the A&MR engines included Arcata,  North Fork,  Eureka and Blue Lake as well as a small engine named Gypsy; by the early 1900s, a new Baldwin 1901 engine named the Hoopa was added.
  In 1896 the line carried 24,752 passengers and 6,475 short tons (5,781 long tons; 5,874 t) of freight from four saw mills and two shingle mills. Passenger revenue on the line was about 28 percent of freight revenue.
  In March 1896 an E&ERRR construction train failed to stop and collided with a passenger train. The first known Humboldt County railroad accident with injuries occurred on September 13, 1896, when seven people were killed and 23 injured by a train falling through the Mad River truss bridge.  Lawsuits relating to the fatal accident were filed against the Korbels but were unsuccessful.
  Construction of the California and Northern Rail line between Arcata and Eureka in 1901 put the Alta out of business.   Two years later the Humboldt Lumber Mill and the A&MR were bought by the Riverside Lumber Company and the Charles Nelson Steamship Company who reinforced the wharf for use by any locomotive instead of just the lightweight engine formerly used.
caption: 1933 map showing the abandoned Minor RR line
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