The McCloud River Railroad, or the MCR started at around 95.5 miles of track running through the forests near Mount Shasta making logging more efficient as it could be transported directly to the company sawmill starting in 1897 and operated for almost a century. During the beginning of the railroad, it was utilized mostly for logging and the Shay Locomotive variant, the Heisler, two were built specifically for the railroad by Lima Locomotive Works delivering some of the finest lumber available at the time. Work started for the Heislers on McCloud in 1898, received the nickname Maggie and hauled lumber until it was sold the Weed Lumber Company in 1904. When McCloud River Lumber Company was at its most successful, McCloud was controlling over 600,000 acres of timberland, which was considered a separate entity from McCloud River Railroad, but both owned and operated segments of the railway. Add the Heisler Steam Locomotive McCloud River Railroad #3 2-Truck Model HR2946 Analog or HR2946S Digital Locomotive to pull these log cars and complete the authentic logging locomotive look!