West Side and Mendocino Railroad

It began officially operating on July 1, 1888, however special excursion trains were being chartered by San Francisco real estate developer Eastin Eldridge & Company in order to bring prospective buyers to Fruto and develop the area.

In the branch's early days there were two trains that ran the line; one freight and one passenger.

The passenger train originated at Fruto and ran to Willows in the morning.

During World War I and II the line hauled chromite ore to Bay Area smelters.

The West Side & Mendocino connected with the mainline of the Northern Railway, a non-operating subsidiary of Southern Pacific, at Willows.