Bodie and Benton Railway and Commercial Company
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Mono County, California |
| Dates of operation | 1881–1917 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
The Bodie & Benton Railway was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge common carrier railroad in California, from the Mono Mills to a terminus in Bodie, now a ghost town, in Mono County. It was unusual among U.S. railroads in that it was completely isolated from the rest of the railroad system.[1]
History
As the Bodie Railway & Lumber Company, the railroad was established in 1881 to link the gold-mining town of Bodie to the Bodie Wood and Lumber Company's newly built sawmill, Mono Mills, 32 miles south of Bodie along the eastern shore of Mono Lake.[2] The line was completed and operational on November 14, 1881. Temporary spurs into timberlands were built in 1882.
With a ruling grade of 3.8%, steep for a common carrier but easy for a logging railroad, the line could be worked by rod engines, and rostered a selection of 2-6-0 "Mogul" types and tank locomotives.
Locomotive roster
The Bodie and Benton rostered the following locomotives during its history:[3]
| Number | Name | Arrangement | Builder | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0-6-0T | Prescott Scott | 1881 | ||
| 2 | 0-6-0T | Prescott Scott | 1881 | ||
| Second 2 | Inyo | 2-6-0 | |||
| 3 | Mono | 2-6-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1874 | Ex Eureka and Palisade Railroad No.2 |
| 4 | Bodie | 0-4-2T | H. K. Porter, Inc | 1882 |
References
- ^ Hilton, George W. (1990). American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2369-9.
- ^ Myrick, David F. (1992). Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California, Volume 1: The Northern Roads. Reno: University of Nevada Press. ISBN 0-87417-193-8.
- ^ Myrick, David F. (1992). Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California, Volume 2: The Southern Roads. Reno: University of Nevada Press. pp. p. 885. ISBN 0-87417-194-6.
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