Someone told me that Malibu, California once had a railroad connection.
What years did the Malibu Railroad operate? And what was route? Finally, does anything (roadbed, buildings, etc.) exist?
Development ploy in 1892.
(From the beach to the developers mansion ... a toy, per se - to keep the steam railroads from running along the beach from Santa Monica to Oxnard. IIRC it was less than a mile long. Local museum has what little remains...) Never connected to anything.
It was actually more than a "toy"
https://calisphere.org/item/a79ca9d9f4bc44b96e5915ff10632f2f/
"Completed in 1908, this 15 mile standard gauge railway was built by May Rindge, the matriarch of the Rindge family that owned the expansive Rancho Malibu, starting in 1892. Called the Hueneme, Malibu and Port Los Angeles Railway, the tracks stretched from Las Flores Canyon (the eastern point) to Yerba Buena Canyon (the western point). The railway was used to move supplies around the ranch and ship goods from the Malibu wharf, although its chief purpose was to keep the Southern Pacific Railroad company from gaining right-of-way access to the private lands of the Rancho Malibu. The railway was in use until about 1920, and completely dismantled by 1942. As evidenced by this photograph, the tracks were at a continual risk of being buried by beach sand, and high surf and landslides meant that the railway required constant repair. "
See also
http://www.malibucomplete.com/mc_history_rindge.php
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/making-malibu
Railrod book author David F Myrick wrote about it
https://www.amazon.com/Determined-Mrs-Rindge-Legendary-Railroad/dp/B0006QMPVU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534732682&sr=1-1&keywords=malibu+railroad
Might be able to get it here
https://www.biblio.com/cart.php?bid=802271615&country=1¤cy=1&aid=bkfndr&add=1&refresh=1
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
DSchmitt It was actually more than a "toy" https://calisphere.org/item/a79ca9d9f4bc44b96e5915ff10632f2f/ "Completed in 1908, this 15 mile standard gauge railway was built by May Rindge, the matriarch of the Rindge family that owned the expansive Rancho Malibu, starting in 1892. Called the Hueneme, Malibu and Port Los Angeles Railway, the tracks stretched from Las Flores Canyon (the eastern point) to Yerba Buena Canyon (the western point). The railway was used to move supplies around the ranch and ship goods from the Malibu wharf, although its chief purpose was to keep the Southern Pacific Railroad company from gaining right-of-way access to the private lands of the Rancho Malibu. The railway was in use until about 1920, and completely dismantled by 1942. As evidenced by this photograph, the tracks were at a continual risk of being buried by beach sand, and high surf and landslides meant that the railway required constant repair. " See also http://www.malibucomplete.com/mc_history_rindge.php https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/making-malibu Railrod book author David F Myrick wrote about it https://www.amazon.com/Determined-Mrs-Rindge-Legendary-Railroad/dp/B0006QMPVU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534732682&sr=1-1&keywords=malibu+railroad Might be able to get it here https://www.biblio.com/cart.php?bid=802271615&country=1¤cy=1&aid=bkfndr&add=1&refresh=1
All of which seems to prove the old axium:" Those that want to; build a railroad in their basement to fantasize their enjoyment of trains. Those that can; build a railroad in their back yards, and operate 1':1' trains."
Never a common carrier. Never qualified as a logging, sugar cane, mining or funicular road .... kinda falls in with Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland in its designation.
What if any roads have been built on the ROW ?
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