| Railroad Name: | Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad |
| Marks: | CPLT |
| Locale: | Placerville, California |
| Start Year: | 1904 |
| End Year: | 1986 |
| Hq City: | Camino, California |
The Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad was an 8miles Class III short-line railroad operating in the Sierra Nevada in California, east of Sacramento. It was built primarily to haul lumber from the El Dorado National Forest. The standard gauge line ran west 8.05miles from a sawmill at Camino to a connection with the Placerville Branch of the Southern Pacific Company at Placerville. Loaded cars of lumber descended a 3.5 percent grade from 3150feet at Camino to 1900feet at Placerville.[1]
The CPLT's history starts in 1903 with its predecessor, the Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railway. The Placerville & Lake Tahoe Railway started grading on or about September 15, 1903. On April 11, 1904, the Placerville and Lake Tahoe was incorporated and the line was opened that same year. At Camino, the Placerville & Lake Tahoe went to narrow-gauge (operated as the El Dorado Lumber Company Narrow Gauge Lines) where it extended another 65miles into the forest in the area of Old Pino, Pino Grande and Pilot Creek (Tallac). From 1910-1911 the Placerville and Lake Tahoe did not operate. In 1911 the Placerville and Lake Tahoe was sold at foreclosure for $62,714.58 and was reorganized on December 28, 1911 as the Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad.
The CPLT was owned by the Michigan-California Lumber Company. In 1986 the Southern Pacific abandoned the Placerville Branch, eliminating CPLT's access to the national rail network. Scrapping of the CPLT commenced on September 3, 1986. The route is now part of the El Dorado Trail, a rail trail.[2]
Other railroads operating in the narrow gauge forest were the American River Land and Lumber Company, that built a line through the forest in 1892. American River Land & Lumber was sold to El Dorado Lumber Company (Narrow Gauge Lines) in 1901 and extended the line to 34miles. In 1917, the El Dorado Lumber Company was sold to the Michigan-California Lumber Company.
| Number | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes[3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lima Locomotive Works | 3-cylinder 2-truck Shay locomotive | 1904 | 885 | built for exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition; scrapped 1955 | |
| 2 | Lima Locomotive Works | 3-cylinder 2-truck Shay locomotive | 1922 | 3172 | built as Little River Redwood Company #4; purchased 1932; placed on display at Griffith Park Travel Town Museum in 1955 | |
| 101 | GE Transportation | GE 44-ton switcher | 1953 | 31231 | purchased new[4] |