No one would have ever thought that Amedee would be the terminus of the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NCO) for nearly a decade. It certainly was not the railroad’s plan. However, the nation’s financial crisis of 1893 coupled with a national railroad strike brought a lot of activities to a screeching halt.
In January 1899, without any fanfare the NCO finally jump started its northern extension. Five miles to the north the railroad established its Hot Springs Station, known today as Wendel. Some had aspirations that it might become a new “Amedee.” However, that would not be the case. What Hot Springs did receive was a bunch of camp followers. This rag-tag group peddled alcohol, gambling and prostitution. By the time, the Lassen County District Attorney could crack down these activities, not only had the railroad continued to build north and the followers fled to more profitable locations. Hot Springs Station heyday did not arrive until after it became Wendel and the demise of the NCO. In 1927 the Southern Pacific Railroad began the conversion of the NCO from narrow to standard guage.