Club member Ben Sockacki has sent me another excellent lead to a video of the Skunk Train Route way back then.
The music at the beginning is a bit bleh unless you like banjo. Also, it’s a bit long (43 minutes) but worth the view if you have the time.)
I don’t know much at all about these photos except that they were taken quite a while ago. Click on any one to see them full size,
Ranch was 9 miles along the Skunk rote from Fort Bragg to Willits. Ranch – the Union Lumber Company (ULC) Company Ranch was where cattle and sheep were raised during the early days of the railroad to provide meat for the logging camps. Ranch also raised vegetables and had orchards. The original school is still there but has been made into a private dwelling. Our website has but two pics of Ranch so this one is a welcome addition.
CWR’s #45 stopping at the ULC’s Company Ranch
I received this e-mail from Stephanie Perdue a day or so ago:
“…….. Thank You…. and to Chuck for giving us the “VIP” experience. We had a great time and my father-in-law was thrilled to see everything. You guys are amazing and have done great work with your museum, we are honored to have met you and learned of your experiences.
Our Club Members were recently given the opportunity to see the progress that has been made bringing #45 back to operating condition. Club member Steve Worthen took the pictures.
The great picture of Wendling in the last blog was supplied by Greg Checkal. Greg also supplies this wonderful picture of CWR’s Steam Locomotive #45:
Greg Chekal’s picture of CWR’s #45
A very old club member, John Skinner, came by the other day with a bunch of really neat historical stuff. One of the items that John dropped off was a booklet celebrating the “regeneration” of #45. The key parts of the booklet are reproduced below:
Front Cover
Pics of the Transformation Page 1
Pics of the Transformation Page 2
Thanks Greg. Thanks John.
M300 in the woods
She sits, sad and forlorn, on a track between the building that houses our layout and the Skunk train depot in Fort Bragg. Visitors to the layout frequently ask, “Does she run?” The answer is, “Yes.” That’s the good news. The bad news is that she does not go backwards so she cannot run the Pudding Creek Express as there is nowhere for her to be turned around for the return journey. Once the railroad between Fort Bragg and Northspur is in operation she will be back in business as she can use the wye at Northspur to “about face.”
M300 was built by American Car & Foundry in 1935, Order #1432, as Seaboard Air Line RR 2026, part of a three car order, 2024 thru 2026. She was sold to the Aberdeen & Rockfish as 106. In 1951 and was purchased as Salt Lake Garfield & Western M.C.3 to replace their electric cars. Finally, in 1963 she became part of the CWR roster where she was numbered M300. So (in 2017) she’s 82 and still rolling along. Not bad eh?
Here’s a bunch of pics of her taken over the years:
Today, two families of visitors at our layout (which is adjacent to the Skunk Train depot) expressed their disappointment at finding that they were not going to ride behind #45 – #45 is undergoing major maintenance. I told them that if they checked into this blog they could see a vid of ole 45 in action:
Hope this gives you the look and feel of riding the Skunk.