California's northeastern corner is dominated by the 14,162-foot-tall
presence of Mount Shasta. On the southeastern flank of the great
mountain lies the picturesque town of McCloud. The McCloud River
Railroad established its operational headquarters in the town in 1897.
The next seven decades saw the railroad and the affiliated McCloud River
Lumber Company carve hundreds of miles of railroad into the pine forests
and lava beds east of McCloud, eventually reaching as far as Lookout to
the east and the Burney Basin to the south. The McCloud River Railroad
eked out a living hauling lumber, diatomaceous earth, and occasional
tourists until 1992, when the new McCloud Railway Company purchased the
property. In 1996, the new owners launched the Shasta Sunset Dinner
Train to supplement the declining freight business. Economic conditions
forced the railroad to abandon the entire railway east of McCloud in
2006, but the dinner train has kept rolling, keeping the rails west of
McCloud shiny.