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Road Trip August 2008Our Ride on the Skunk Train |
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Click the left turn sign to get back to the start page or the U-turn sign to get back to the road trips page. |
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For over 100 years, the Skunk Train has steamed through a part of Northern California's Redwood forests one wouldn't be able
to see any other way. It started in 1885 as a logging railroad for moving massive redwood logs to Mendocino Coast
sawmills. The further the logging industry expanded into the rugged back country, the further the railroad tracks
were extended and finally, in 1911, the rail reached the town of Willits from where it was connected to
the US railway system.
Originally only carrying freight, the train started transporting passengers too as early as 1911. And in 2002, when logging operations in Fort Bragg ceased, it became a pure passenger train and one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area. Moving at a leisurely pace (29 miles per hour maximum), the trains pull covered cars as well as open observation cars -- perfect for capturing photographs of the truly exhilarating journey. |
 1924 Baldwin Locomotive |
Why "Skunk Train?" originally, the train was powered by a steam engine. In 1925, it was replaced by a so-called "rail bus." That bus was gasoline-powered and people said one could smell it before one could see it. |
1925 rail bus, the "Skunk"
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Today, the train uses a diesel engine and (on weekends) a beautifully restored Baldwin Locomotive, built in 1924.
And here are the pictures of our ride on August 29, 2008 |
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| Our journey started at the Fort Bragg Station. There is only one rail leading out of this station and only one train leaving per day. |
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| While we were waiting for our train, we checked out the old train depot. This is where railroad waggons go when they die. |
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| And while we were still admiring all the other interesting things... | ...our train arrived. |
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| Ready to board the train ... |
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| We soon left Fort Bragg and headded into the Pudding River Valey. |
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXPudding Creek The train rides along Pudding Creek for a while. Although it is now officially called Pudding Creek, that is actually the wrong name! Originally, this little river was called Put-in Creek because it was used to float giant logs downstream to Fort Bragg.
The picture to the left shows the remains of one of the jetties used to "put-in" |
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| and the train moves on ... |
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| ... over bridges ... | ... and through tunnels. |
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| Sometimes, the vegetation comes pretty close ... | ... but the conductor warned us: | "There is no berry-picking from the train!" |
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| Only 80 years ago, the area was completely cleared by the logging industry and looked somewhat like in the picture above. The land was supposed to become farm land but people underestimated the resilience of the coastal redwood, which grew back faster than the area could be cleared. | Redwood trees release their seeds the moment they die and the farmland never had a chance. Today, the vegetation has made a full recovery – only the trees are a lot smaller than they were back then. Every once in a while we passed some giant stumps, bearing witness of what was here 100 years ago. |
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| Looking left and right wasn't enough on this ride. To fully appreciate nature, we also had to look up! |
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XXXXXXEnglish Camp
XAlthough the train is now mainly a tourist |
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After 1½ hours and 21.3 miles, we reached Northspur. This is where the Fort Bragg train turns around.
Those who want to do the entire 40 miles have to
We staid with the beautiful steam engine and |
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On the ride back, we had life entertainment! for over twenty years,
Train Singer Greg Schindel has been playing his guitar and harmonica on the Skunk Train. Greg proudly claimed to sing any requested train song. After we exhausted all the obvious choices like "Last Train to Clarksville" and "Midnight Train to Georgia", we asked him for Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath." Well, he didn't do that one, but he made up for it by singing Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" and this is what it looked like: |
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To sum it all up: this was a very happy day! |
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| Happy Judy | Happy Volker | Happy Judy |
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| Happy Volker | Happy Judy | Happy Us! |
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