The Minarets and Western Railway was a Class II common carrier that operated in Fresno County, California, from 1921 to 1933.

Southern Pacific later sold the spur and Clovis Branch to the San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SJVR).

SJVR abandoned the line in the 1990s and today the Pinedale Spur is preserved as the Fresno-Clovis Rail Trail.

[2]: 143 The Minarets and Western Railroad connected Wishon and Pinedale, their future mill site.

Today a granite monument (California State Historical Landmark #934)[3] is at that depot/camp location in remembrance of the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Minarets and Western Railway rolling stock was used in the filming of "Carnival Boat" (1932), which starred Bill Boyd and Ginger Rogers.

In action scenes featuring Boyd and other actors atop flatcars carrying loads of timber, the film is intentionally reversed, making it difficult to read the "Minarets and Western Railway" markings.

[2]: 145 The closure of the Sugar Pine Lumber Company in 1933 wiped out the vast majority of income for the railroad.