ROSILDA SPRING CANYON BRANCH LINE; RANCHO VIEJO TANK
ROSILDA SPRING CANYON BRANCH LINE COPYRIGHT; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (5/10/22) In 1921, three years prior to the building of the Garland Prairie line, a Saginaw and Manistee engineer began the survey of a roadbed that would connect the mill with the new timber holdings. With much fanfare and pride of accomplishment, the engineer announced the completion of his survey (MS 266 Series 3, Box 16 #140 Report on Proposed RR From Williams, 1921:NAU Cline Library, Special Collections.) The proposed route had the advantage of the S&M controlling the haulage of timber by rail, cutting the Santa Fe out of any potential revenue. Most of the route would encounter grades that could be overcome by methods used in prior lines. The most difficult section (if the interpretation of the Forest Maps is correct), would be the Rosilda Spring Canyon area. They had used watersheds before, and this canyon presented the same challenges: roadbed subje