The Amador Central Railroad Corporation (ACRC) was formed in 2020 and is an all-volunteer group governed by a Board of Directors who oversees its operation and is dedicated to the preservation and operation of the historic Amador Central Railroad (AMC). In 2023 the Amador Central Railroad Corporation committed to restoring the historical Ione Railroad Depot. As with the Amador Central Railroad, the Ione Depot is of a great historical significance to the City of Ione and County of Amador and needs to be preserved.
The primary sources of funding for the Amador Central Railroad Corporation are motorcar excursions, donations and more recently grants to make money necessary to keep THE old rails active.
Motorcar excursions are offered to the public on the second Saturday of the month from April through October, weather permitting. In addition, special excursions such as a history run and geology runs are held throughout the year. Private excursions can also be arranged. Please visit our website at www.amcrr.org for more information and schedules. Please direct any questions to our email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or our website.
In addition to the motorcar rides, Rail Explorers Amador Gold Country is now offering rail bike excursions on the Amador Central Railroad. Please visit www.railexplorers.net for more information.
Greatly appreciated donations can be made to the restoration of the Ione Depot and to the preservation of the Amador Central Railroad by going to www.amcrr.org. If you would like to volunteer to help out on either or both projects, you can do so by also visiting our website.
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Railroad History
Railroads were first established in the early 1850s in California. The Sacramento Valley Railroad and the Arcata and Mad River Railroad were two of the first railroads in the state. California became connected with the rest of the nation’s railroads in 1869 with the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah, connecting the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads.
In 1873 that the Big Four (Crocker, Huntington, Hopkins and Stanford) organized the Ione Branch, to run from Galt to Ione. Construction started in 1874. In late 1876, the last of the track was completed in to Ione.
The importance of having a rail line that connected the gold mines and timbered areas of the county to the rest of the state was recognized by numerous businessmen. The railroad could transport people and freight (clay and clay products, sandstone, copper, gold, timber and timber products, mining equipment and hydroelectric equipment and other items).
In 1904 Jackson Dennis formed the Ione and Eastern Railway Company and began purchasing the right of way for the railroad. Grading of the rail line began in summer and laying of the rail started in early 1905. In February of 1905, the railroad advertised they could transport freight from Ione to Ranlett Station near the Newton Copper Mine. By March the line was operating from the Ione to Martell Station with stations at Ranlett, Jack Dufene, and Mountain Springs (Sunnybrook).
The Ione and Eastern did not prove to be as profitable as expected and the company defaulted on the bonds in 1908. Charles Erickson, who held the bonds, purchased and incorporated the line as the Amador Central Railroad Company. For the first five years the railroad was not profitable, but with the purchase of a new engine, it became profitable for a number of years. Meta Erickson took over operation of the railroad when Charles passed away in 1910.
Revenues for the railroad diminished greatly with the Great Depression. Two of the railroads largest customers, the Argonaut and Kennedy mines, had closed. By 1932 the railroad stopped passenger service, including the transport of high school students to the only high school in Ione.
The railroad originally had 12 trestles. One trestle burned in 1935 and two more trestles burning in 1938, costing the railroad a large sum of money to rebuild those sections. Consequently, in 1938, the rail line filed for abandonment and closed in November. Local businesses, including the Ione Fire Brick Company and the new mill at Martell, reorganized the line and suspended the abandonment. Numerous improvements were made, but in 1939, two more bridges burned, costing the railroad $18,000. In November of that year the roundhouse at Martell burned. Good news in 1940 was that a new lumber mill was built at Martell, increasing capacity and thus revenue for the railroad. Some of the mines also reopened and started shipping concentrate on the railroad.
The increased revenues from the mines were short lived. With the start of WWII, the mines were again closed. In 1945, the Winton Lumber Company purchased the railroad. They purchased diesel engines, replaced the wooden turntable with a steel one, and replaced some of the rail with heavier rail. Most of the freight included lumber and clay and brick heading west and petroleum products and machinery heading east.
In recent years, owners include Georgia Pacific (1988) and Sierra Pacific Industries (1977). In 1998 the railroad was renamed the Amador Foothills Railroad.
Contact Information
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.amcrr.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amadorcentralrailroad
Address: P. O. Box 1436
Ione, CA 95640
