Private company

California Northern Railroad

Logo: GWRR.com, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

Class III line up the western Sacramento Valley

The California Northern Railroad (reporting mark CFNR) is one of several Class III short-line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. It operates over Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) tracks (now Union Pacific Railroad) under a long-term lease. The CFNR was originally owned by the Park-Sierra Rail Group (owner David L. Parkinson of St. Helena, California), who also owned the Arizona and California Railroad and the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad. The CFNR was later sold to RailAmerica in 2002.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1993Founded1

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CFNR 105 EMD GP15-1
Photo: Nate Beal, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

The California Northern Railroad (reporting mark CFNR) is one of several Class III short-line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. It operates over Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) tracks (now Union Pacific Railroad) under a long-term lease.2

Corporate structure

California Northern Railroad is part of a group headed by Genesee & Wyoming. 48 entities, 3 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

1993 Operation between Schellville–Willits

Originally, in 1993 the CFNR operated much further than Schellville and their operation extended as far north as Willits, California. At Willits the CFNR interchanged with the North Coast Railroad. The North Coast Railroad ran from Willits to Eureka, California over the old NWP.

The CFNR also interchanged with the California Western Railroad at Willits. The California Western Railroad runs west from Willits to Fort Bragg, California.

Construction Completion Timeline

September 23, 1869 Davis - Woodland - Knight's Landing (California Pacific Railroad)

July 1, 1876 Woodland - Williams (Northern Ry/Central Pacific)

December 28, 1879 Williams - Willows (Northern Ry/Central Pacific)

July 31, 1882 Willows - Orland (Northern Ry/Central Pacific)

September 27, 1882 Orland - Tehama (Northern Ry/Central Pacific)

July 1, 1888 Willows - Fruto [1] (West Side and Mendocino Railroad/Northern Ry) Branch currently ends at Johns-Manville Fiberglass Plant west of Willows

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In 2009 CFNR repaired the Thomes Creek Bridge in Corning for a connection in Tehama, CA with the Union Pacific Railroad. Bell Carter Olive Company is still the primary customer on the Northern part of the line as well as Artois Feed & Grain in Artois. Other smaller customers are located in Richfield, Hamilton City, Willows, and Maxwell. Many customers on that end of the line have moved to private trucking companies to transport their goods due to lower prices.

From Wikipedia’s article on California Northern Railroad, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2012Acquired Acquired by Genesee & Wyoming1
  2. 1993Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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