Welcome to the Acreage Line, an almost unknown American railway that once operated in California’s Sonoma County, entirely at the discretion and pleasure of the reclusive nineteenth century German industrialist, Joachim von Reinbek. A contemporary of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Von Reinbek parlayed a hand of skat with the Emperor and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck into a massive debt collected over a period of seventy years, spanning two world wars and dozens of German leaders.
This is a railroad tale passed along through word of mouth and obscure breadcrumbs buried deep in the west Sonoma County redwoods. It’s been said that some can’t see the forest for the trees. In the case of the Acreage Line, you could stare at the clues and never even remember the question.