| Bellevue | |
|---|---|
| Former settlement | |
  Bellevue Location in California | |
| Coordinates: 37°21′40″N120°29′24″W / 37.36111°N 120.49000°W Coordinates: 37°21′40″N120°29′24″W / 37.36111°N 120.49000°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Merced County |
| Elevation [1] | 177 ft (54 m) |
Bellevue is a former settlement in Merced County, California. [1] It was located on the Yosemite Valley Railroad 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Merced, [2] at an elevation of 177 feet (54 m). [1] Bellevue still appeared on USGS maps as of 1917. [1]
Merced County, is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California.
California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.
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 Valley itself. With closure of the Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company in 1942 and the sale of the Yosemite Portland Cement Company to the Henry J. Kaiser Company and subsequent suspension of all operations in 1944 led to a loss of most of the freight track on the railroad. This in addition to the increased competition for passengers from use along the Yosemite All-Year Highway, both commercial and private, and the substantial decrease of recreational passenger traffic because of World War II led to the downfall of the railroad. The railroad asked the Interstate Commerce Commission for permission to abandon operations on October 25, 1944. The last regularly scheduled train ran on August 24, 1945.
