Departing Plaster City

In Plaster City, California the United States Gypsum Company operates the last narrow gauge freight railway in North America. The 3 foot gauge railway runs from the USG wallboard plant to a quarry North of town on a 27 mile line. The railroad transports limestone from the quarry to the plant and also supplements the water supply at the quarry with a water car. USG operates two MLW/Bombardier DL-535EW locomotives (numbers 111 and 112) which were built in 1982 for the Whitepass and Yukon Railway who never took delivery of them. Four units were built total, with 113 having been wrecked and the 114 getting delivered to the Whitepass & Yukon with a 14 year delay in 1994. 114 was later sold to the Durango and Silverton Railway.

 

Here USG 111 departs the Plaster City wallboard plant with the usual train of hoppers to be loaded at the quarry 27 miles East of town and a water tank to supplement the water supply out there. During my last visit there had been no morning train due to trackwork, but this time around the plant was much busier and both a morning and afternoon (and probably a night crew as well) ran this day. Plaster City, CA

 

 

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