Hetch Hetchy Railroad
Masterminding the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power Project was the brilliant chief engineer Michael Maurice O’Shaughnessy. One of his first priorities was to build a reliable and high-capacity standard gauge railway that could traverse the rugged terrain even during winter snows.
This 68 mile-long railroad carried timber, concrete and other supplies, along with work crews and visitors, to and from the dam construction site. The railroad’s round-the-clock schedule during all four seasons enabled the dam to be built in just 3½ years.
The Hetch Hetchy Railroad made its last trip in 1947. Tracks were removed to restore the landscape, and recycled parts of it are used today as guardrails to ensure safety along the road to the reservoir.
Marker can be reached from Hetch Hetchy Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
