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CONTINUED FROM
JAMESTOWN
PAGE 1
The Sierra Railway was incorporated in February 1897,
and a 41 mile railroad was completed between Oakdale
and Jamestown in November 1897.
Jamestown became the main centre for
communication between Tuolumne County and the outside
world. The line was extended four miles to Sonora in
1899 and another 12 miles to Tuolumne City in 1900. A
19-mile branch to Angels Camp was completed in 1902 and
served neighbouring Calaveras County until 1935.
Temporary branches were built to haul construction
materials for dams on the Stanislaus and Tuolumne
rivers.
The Sierra Railway established its
headquarters and maintenance shops in Jamestown which
today comprise the Railtown 1897 - Historic Sierra
Railroad Shops complex. Most of the structures were
built between 1897 and 1922. When the Sierra Railway
converted to diesel locomotives in 1955, a modern shop
was built in Oakdale.
Railtown 1897, complete with its
roundhouse, will appear familiar to many visitors for
the fact that the Sierra Railway has been featured in
over 200 motion pictures, television programs and
commercials. Engine No. 3, Engine No. 2, and Engine No.
28 have appeared in many of them.  The first
film was in May of 1919, The Red Glove. Other
films include the first "talkie" filmed on a railroad,
The Virginian (1927), and Dodge City
(1939), High Noon (1951), The Great Race
(1966), Finian's Rainbow (1969) and Back to
the Future III (1989).
Film stars, including Mable Norman,
William S. Hart, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Michael
J. Fox, are but a few of the well known personalities
who have appeared in productions involving the Sierra
Railroad.
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In 1982, the 26-acre site and its collection of
historic rolling stock was purchased by the California
State Railroad Museum, part of the California
Department of Parks and Recreation, which has also
taken over the task of operating the system. Railtown's
historic and famous steam engines continue to take
visitors on weekend excursions during the summer months
and on other special occasions throughout the
year.
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