The December 1955 floods caused considerable damage to the railroad line between Susanville and Westwood. With the imminent closure of the lumber mill at Westwood, the Southern Pacific Railroad decided to close that segment, rather than spending significant amount of money when freight would decrease. Since they did not abandon the line at that time, if a person wanted to ship something by rail from Susanville to Westwood, or vice versa, Southern Pacific could only charge the freight costs between the two points. It was their problem to figure out how to deliver the freight and bear the additional cost. In 1976, Southern Pacific began the formal process to abandon that segment of the line, which we will explore in the near future.

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