And Jason guesses it!
It's the narrow gauge line from the Mission Portland Cement Co. plant just south of San Juan Batista up to the quarry. It was built in 1916 and ran 4 miles up the canyon from the cement plant to the quarry. Power was provided by a 2 truck Climax, two 0-4-0T's and one Plymouth gas-mechanical. The line apparently ran until 1929 but was not removed until 1940 when a truck road replaced the railroad.
Here's a photo of the line heading up to the quarry:
And here's why you should not jump the fence and follow the old ROW:
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2018 02:43PM by Dave Peterson.