Yosemite Valley Railroad Yosemite Valley Railroad The Yosemite Valley Railroad (YVRR) was a short-line railroad operating from 1907 to 1945 in the state of California, mostly following the Merced River from Merced to Yosemite National Park, carrying a mixture of passenger and freight traffic. Contrary to the name of the railroad, rail service did not extend to Yosemite Valley itself, but rather ended at the park boundary as the construction of railroads is prohibited in the National Parks. Passengers would disembark at the park boundary in El Portal, CA and take a stage coach, and starting in 1913 a motor coach, to Yosemite
History of the Yosemite area Through Johnson, Muir had a national audience for his writing and a highly motivated and crafty congressional lobbyist. Muir's wish was partially granted on October 1, 1890, when the area outside the valley and sequoia grove became a national park under the unopposed Yosemite Act. The Act provided "for the preservation from injury of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said reservation, and their retention in their natural condition" and prohibited "wanton destruction of the fish and game and their capture or destruction for the purposes of merchandise or profit." Yosemite National Park included the entire upper