Sierra Northern Railroad Santa Cruz 3727a

Sierra Northern Railroad Company owns multiple shortlines that operate in Northern California. These photos are taken at a rural crossing north of Santa Cruz, on the Watsonville-Davenport line.

When most of the railroads that you see now operate very long trains that go across country, these small feeder lines with only a few employees and engines, are a stark reminder of the time when railroads were a very common form of local freight movement.

Update: In April, 2014, the land in this area was donated to the BLM for preservation.