The start of the journey: the long-gone Merced, CA YVRR Station.
March 27, 2019 - Some seats remain for the Yosemite Gateway Partners April 11th Quarterly Meeting in Yosemite National Park. Reserved seating is required for this free, special event featuring renowned Yosemite Valley Railroad author and authority Jack Burgess. And while the opportunity for travelers to ride a train from Merced all the way to Yosemite's boundary has long passed, it all comes back to life via Mr. Burgess' presentation. The Yosemite Valley Railroad once served as a lifeline to Yosemite, with private cars for famous visitors and Pullman cars for the not-so-famed, freight transport supplying the park, lumbering operations and much more all serving as a critical function to the Yosemite region.
(Photo: YVRR Engine 20 at Snelling Depot)
Burgess, author of "Trains to Yosemite" and longtime expert chronicler of the line's history, will present rare photographs, fascinating stories and artifacts of the 74-mile line. The YGP April 11th 2019 Spring Quarterly Meeting is a free event, open to all, with mandatory online reservations required to be made before noon on April 8. The meeting will be held in the Mountain Room Restaurant at Yosemite Valley Lodge from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM; the meeting will be preceded by a one-hour networking opportunity beginning at 9:00 AM. Yosemite Hospitality (a division of Aramark) offers an optional buffet luncheon at $25 per person and reservations may be made online as well. If paid by noon on April 8 (online) the luncheon price is $25; if payment is offered after that deadline or at the door, the price rises to $30. Reservations may be made at:
https://tinyurl.com/YGPSpring2019
Following that luncheon, the floor will be turned over at 1:00 PM to Yosemite National Park Superintendent Michael Reynolds and staff, for an up-to-date, up-close-and-personal 90-minute interactive report on the latest information from Yosemite National Park.
(Bay Area Author Jack Burgess)
The Yosemite Gateway Partners (YGP) is a closely-cooperative association of the National Park Service, Yosemite National Park's Concessionaire Yosemite Hospitality (a division of Aramark) and Yosemite's many gateway communities.
Despite its name, the Yosemite Valley Railroad didn't actually enter Yosemite Valley, or even the National Park itself. Some few glimpses may still be seen today, and particularly in the Merced River Canyon, where the rail line once traversed the north side of the Merced River, opposite today's Highway 140, the "All-Season Highway to Yosemite" on the south bank. But even those few signs of what was once thriving commerce related to the YVRR are disappearing: the remaining 1920s boarding house at Emery was consumed and burnt to the ground during last summer's Ferguson Fire. What once were inclined logging tracks ascending to the very top of the Merced River Canyon and far beyond are gone. Grades of up to 66% and massive machinery including donkey engines have disappeared, though the routes opposite the river at El Portal and Cedar Lodge can be discerned by the sharp-eyed. More information about the Yosemite Valley Railroad and Jack Burgess may be found at his website:
http://www.yosemitevalleyrr.com Now in its 15th year of existence and 9th year as an incorporated non-profit, YGP is a partnership of government agencies, non-profit organizations, tribes, individuals and businesses that acknowledge the interdependence of Yosemite National Park and the surrounding communities, and collaborate on and address issues of regional importance to create sustainable cultural, natural and economic prosperity. Governed by an 11-member Board of Directors, YGP also serves as an information and communications clearinghouse to insure effective information exchange between the park and its partners, as well as between the gateway communities and counties surrounding Yosemite National Park.
