The work of keeping an attraction on track.

There's a lot of work involved in keeping a popular attraction going, especially one that features vehicles that are nearly a century old. The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Rail Road in Fish Camp, just south of the Highway 41 entrance in to Yosemite National Park, features two authentic Shay Locomotives. The "youngest", Engine 10, was built in 1928 while Engine 15 made it's first run on the rails in 1913.

After the heavy snows that the railroad saw last week, they unfortunately been forced to delay their opening. The information below is from owner Max Stauffer who gave us an update on what he's working on:

     "We finally got power yesterday! We began clearing the track in the afternoon. Lots of trees to  clear.       We got about 1/2 mile, so back at it today. We had a climber shovel the snow off of the engine house roof and remove the tree so that we can begin repairs. Electricians repaired the wiring damage to the shop so we now have power there also. 

PG&E crews are still occupying our parking lot, with lots of work to do in our area yet. Some folks are still out of power. 

Tons of snow and slow going, but we are determined! I will advise as soon as we get a tentative

opening date. Lots depends on the number of trees down. Many are buried deep in the snow."

Several feet of snow dropped on Fish Camp with this storm. While roads are now clear, the sides still have a lot of snow, as you can tell from Max's statements. The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Rail Road is one of the most popular attractions in Madera County and we're looking forward to Max and his crew starting the season. We know Spring has arrived when you can head on up the road and hear the mighty whistle of one of his Narrow Gauge Shay's.

 Just a little snow on the roof...

This branch went through the roof of the Engine House.