Page 32 - 2022-04 Courier.pub

Pat Patterson, continued
Pat Patterson; Photos from 1990 - 2021

Bodie & Benton Railway

The newly formed Bodie Railway & Lumber Company, (BR&L) started in Febru-
ary 18, 1881. Thirty-six years later with the decline of mining and lumber on Sep-
tember 6, 1917 the railroad was abandoned. All that is left today of the Bodie &
Benton Railway is the Railroad Office and its adjacent water tower on top of the
hill.
In 1881 there were 23 mines operating, but most of the production was concen-
trated in the Standard Consolidated and the Bodie Consolidated. The narrow-
gauge railroad was used exclusively for the carrying of freight, to run from Bodie
south to the timber lands owned by the Bodie Wood & Lumber Company 40
miles to the south. A paradox as such due to its limited line service. It started on a
barren hilltop overlooking Bodie and ended in the timber lands near Mono Mills
south of

Mono Lake. It never served the town directly and was not connected to any outside
railroad. Completion of the railroad brought with it increasing signs of prosperity
for the area. Bodie continued active and prosperous throughout the summer and
early fall of 1882. No. 1 & 2 Prescott Scott locomotives (0-60T) started BR&L.
The bulk of the work was completed by Baldwin Mogul locomotives second No. 2
INYO, No. 3 MONO, & the TYBO, (2-6-0), & Later No. 4 BODIE (0-4-0T).

Then mines start shutting down. Slowly the need for Lumber and supplies de-
creased. From 1885 to 1887 the output of the Bodie district was $500,000 almost
1/6 the amount between 1880 through 1881. In 1888 the production dropped to
$126,000. In 1890 the population of Bodie dipped to 500. The Bodie & Benton
(B&B) railroad stopped operations. For three years Bodie lay dormant. Reorganiza-
tion followed in 1893 and the Bodie Railway and Lumber Company was formed.
Two years later the railroad began its annual run of two months of summer opera-
tion to supply wood and lumber to the mines that had resumed operation. In 1897
an additional 4 miles of track was laid near Mono Mills this increased the total
length to 37 miles. The total population in Bodie increased to 600 people. Eight saloons and gambling houses plus 12 stores were in operation. One hun-
dred and forty children attended the local school. Three mines; the Standard, Syndicate and Bodie tunnel were running full out.

The next few years the railroad was leased out to E. L. Reese. In late 1906, Charles E. Knox, owner of the Montana-Tonopah Mining Company purchased
the Bodie Railway & Lumber Company, (BR&L) together with the 7,600 acres of timber lands at Mono Mills for $200.000. The name changed to Mono
Lake Railway & Lumber Company. Attempts were made to extend the line to Bridgeport, Basalt, and Whiskey Flat but all lost interest in these projects. In
1912 mining activity in Bodie declined and with it came a decline in the demand for lumber and wood. In 1914 the Standard closed down with the Mono
Railway its largest customer also filed with the California Railroad Commission to abandon the entire line. In 1917 the request was approved, and the rail-
way was dismantled. It was said using the Bodie & Benton's initials, it
might be said that the road was "born & booming" then "beaten and bust-
ed." It can also be said that it served mining operations and the people of
the Bodie area very well during those boom days! As reported by a
Truckee newspaper of the time a prayer made by a little girl moving to
Bodie, "Goodbye God!! We are going to Bodie!"

Bodie and Benton Railway (Narrow Gauge)
Bodie Railway and Lumber Co. (1881-1882)
The Bodie and Benton Railway & Commercial Co. (1882-1893)
Bodie Railway and Lumber Co. (1893-1906)
Mono Lake Railway and Lumber Co. (1907)
Mono Lake Railway (1907-1917)
The Wealth Created by Bodie Mining Total $21,000,000, 1 Billion
today
Standard mine; $14,500.000
Bodie Tunnel Mine; 4,000,000
Noonday Mine; $1,000,000
All other mines total: $1,500,000
Notes taken from: Railroads of Nevada and /California, volume 1, David
F. Myrick. Pages; 305, 307, 311.

April 2022 Page 32