Mill Valley Drive Mill at Cleone (aka Laguna) – YouTube Video

March 28, 2012 by Tony Phillips

Webmaster Roger Thornburn and I chose the Mill Valley Drive Mill at Cleone (which in the good old days was named Laguna) as the subject of our second YouTube Video. Cleone is about 5 miles north of Fort Bragg.

Why are we making videos? There is no museum from Gualala to Rockport that you can go to to get “the story” of the Redwood Empire’s logging history. When we had our previous layout we spent many, many hours telling and repeating and repeating the history of the logging operations along the Mendocino Coast. Out of frustration we tried to produce a book. This didn’t work because we kept getting new/more information and revisions and printing were a costly pain. Our book is now our website. It is extensible and it has enabled us to expand and add/delete new information as we have found/received it. To complete our “virtual” museum we are using YouTube to add mini lectures to bring to life the material in the website. Hopefully, together, the videos and the website will become a virtual museum for the Redwood Empire along the Mendocino Coast.

The Filer in a Logging Camp

March 21, 2012 by Tony Phillips

Before the days of dragsaws and chain saws the crosscut saw was used for the final cut in felling a tree and bucking (cutting into lengths) the fallen trunk. Keeping the crosscut saws sharp was the work of the Filer. Whilst the Filer’s job was very skilled and he was relatively well paid it is not a job you hear much about.

The filer.

The Saw Filer often had building like a bunkhouse which provided him room to lay out the many saws he serviced. The space made it easy for the logger to locate his own saw that had been sharpened for him by the Filer. The Filer had a workbench where he sharpened the saws and adjusted the cutting edges. Each of the loggers had at least two saws, one in use while the other was being sharpened. At the end of each day the logger would leave the used saw with the Filer. In the morning he would pick up a sharpened one for that day’s use.

The Filer in his work room

The loggers were expected to sharpen their own axes. Cross cut saws were about 6 ft. in length with handles on both ends. These two man saws required coordinated pushing and pulling between the two men, thus each team had two saws with one being used till the noon break and the other the remainder of the day. These two men formed a team; once each man found a good partner, who had a good cutting stroke rhythm, they would continue to work together. Loggers (or Sawyers as they were also known) who had poor partners were not very productive and were always looking for a better partner, since they were paid by the board feet they cut.

Sometimes the Filer had a log inside so he could test his work. The saw hanging on the wall is a one-man crosscut saw used to trim timbers for bridges and trestles. It is sharpened just like the two man saws.

Filer’s workbench made from a piece of a trestle

CWR Baldwin Diesel #51 – The beginning of the story

February 20, 2012 by Tony Phillips

A couple of blogs ago I thought that, with the help of website visitor Isaac Kuster, I had finished the story of the demise of CWR Diesels #’s 51, 52 and 54. Well I was wrong. Webmaster Roger Thornburn and I were rooting around the Fort Bragg museum located in the Guest House last Sunday when I saw on the wall a picture of CWR Diesel #51. Not any old picture but her official baby picture.

When a locomotive is shipped out of the factory it has its picture taken. CWR Diesel #51 was made by Baldwin. Fred Haines was Baldwin’s official photographer for 25 years and took photos of over 25,000 locomotives. So, it was most likely that he took the “baby picture” of #51 that we found.

Having posted pictures of her remains and of her on the way to the wreckers it only seemed fair to show one of her when she was new and lovely. So here we are ……. roll of drums ……Miss CWR Diesel #51.

CWR Baldwin Diesel #51 in her finery prior to delivery

Picture of Elk/Greenwood Donkey Engine from Finland

February 19, 2012 by Tony Phillips

Early last week I received an e-mail from Finland from a Ms. Annica Holsomaki telling me that she had some photographs for the club of the Elk/Greenwood area that she obtained from her grandparents. She asked that if I had knowledge of her family named Smedman would I please let her know. Alas, the name was not one that I knew but if there is anyone with any knowledge of the Smedman’s in the Elk/Greenwood area please advise.
Annica sent the original and the restored print. Her work with Photoshop was quite remarkable – see below.

Left and right halves of Ms. Holmsaki's photo

Here’s the restored image.

Donkey engine and crew in vicinity of Elk/Greenwood

I sent the photo to Chuck Ross who grew up in Elk. Chuck has kindly offered to re-write our Elk/Greenwood website page. Chuck’s comments …… “The donkey engine setup is a great photo and Ms. Holsomaki did a really good job of restoring it. Wow, do we appreciate that! Not enough background to judge where it was taken. I suspect it is just the end of the line up some side gulch, logged out, then the rails pulled up. I don’t think it was on the main line. I love how the men all display the tools of their trade: axes for fallers, the maul used to drive the dogs into logs for skidding, the ‘donkey doctor’ at his station next to the boiler etc. Great image!”

I agree. Thanks Chuck. Thanks Ms. Holsomaki.

Three California Western Diesels Wrecked ……. In 1970 ….. the Story Gets Better

February 18, 2012 by Tony Phillips

In December 9th, 2011’s blog I explained how website visitor Isaac Kuster wrote and asked if I had any information about a wreck involving CWR diesels #’s 51, 52 and 54. With the aid of club member Chuck Whitlock we were able to offer some modest help to Isaac. Isaac pursued the matter and managed to dig up the whole story from the archives of the Ukiah daily Journal of January 15th, 1970. Even better he climbed up to Summit, the top of the grade before the Skunk drops down into Willits, and took photographs of what is left of the wreck. If you go to the December 9th blog you can see the photos.

I had an e-mail from a very excited Isaac earlier this week and I quote from it, “the wrecked locomotives sat on a NWP siding out of sight in Willits for a short time before they were hauled away to the scrap yard. I’ve heard that there were photos taken of them but I’ve never been able to find them online, until now.” Isaac found the photos on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Network website among Richard A Custer’s photos. Richard Custer, per Isaac, was a brakeman for the NWP in the 70’s.

Here are the pictures he found.

What's left of CWR Diesels #51, #52 and #54 after they were wrecked. The location is the NWP tracks north of Willits.

CWR #51 awaiting being towed to the wreckers.

The wrecked cab of CWR Diesel #52

Wreck of CWR Diesel #52 - look at the missing area of the cab on the right.

So far, amazing. Now, here’s the best part and I quote from Isaac’s e-mail again, “The wrecked units were #51, 52 and 54. The part of the wrecked cab I found out in the woods was from #52.”

The missing piece of CWR Diesel #52 cab photographed where it still lies near Summit west of Willits.

Now look at the picture above that Isaac took when he climbed up to Summit. It’s the missing piece of the cab!!! How cool is that?!?!?!

I need to ask Isaac if Sherlock Holmes is one of his ancestors. In the meantime thanks Isaac for your great detective work.

Western Railroader Magazine

February 14, 2012 by Tony Phillips

When I was “persuaded” to become the Mendocino Coast Model Railroad and Historical Society historian my predecessor, Louis Hough, was kind enough to “start me off” by passing over to me his “artifacts” that he had collected from more than ten years of superb efforts as or club’s historian. I pored through Louis’ materials and came across a copy of the Western Railroader about the California Western Railroad (CWR) by Stanley Borden (Issue No. 212, written in 1957) which I devoured. With Louis’ assistance and much searching on the internet I have, over the last few years, collected/bought/been given all of the Western Railroaders that pertain to the railroads that operated along the Mendocino Coast.

CWR issue of the Western Railroader

The Western Railroader in the form that you see in the picture to the left has long since gone out of print and copies seem to be as rare as hen’s teeth and if available for purchase are expensive. The Western Railroader was the newsletter of the Northern California Railroad Club. Intermittently the Club published an issue devoted to a particular railroad. Most of the issues were devoted to railroad news and railfan excursions put on by the club. The issues devoted to the railroads of Mendocino Coast became a prime source of information for me when creating the website because they were written over 60 years ago and the writers mostly had firsthand experience of what they wrote. In a few cases they were the only source of information about a particular railroad.

e-book of the above issue – click here

When Roger Thornburn and I started this website I felt it was critical to include these magazines in the website. It was not until we had been going for a while that Roger found and modified software to enable us to be able to do that. Below each of the covers shown below is a link to an e-book which contains every page of each of these “Mendocino Coast” issues.

We have over one hundred other issues of the Western Railroader that I have collected/bought/been given along the way that do not pertain to the Mendocino Coast railroads.

Western Railroader on Albion

Click here to reach e-book

Western Railroader about the Falk and Bear Harbour 0-4-0’s with Gypsy Winches

Click here to see e-book

Western Railroader on the Mendocino Lumber Company

Click here to link to e-book

Western Railroader on the Caspar Lumber Company

Click here to see booklet

Western Railroader on GlenBlair and the Cleone Tramway

Click here to see

Western Railroader on Point Arena And Gualala Railroads

Click here to read

Old Photographs of the Mendocino Lumber Company Operations

February 4, 2012 by Tony Phillips

I keep trawling the Bancroft Library for more old photographs. Today’s post is of three photos I found relating to the operations of the Mendocino Lumber Comapany’s operations.

The photo below was a real revelation. I had no idea that the Mendocino operation had a Gantry crane. It clearly does as this photos shows.

The Gantry crane yard of the Mendocino Lumber Company. Sawmill in back ground.

Boyles camp was the main Camp for the Mendocino Lumber Company.

Boyles Camp. April, 1921.

I have been unable to find any details of this swinging bridge. It is certainly one that I would fear for life if I set foot on it.

Big River basin, Mendocino County, the North Fork below East Branch and North Fork dam and camp. Old swinging bridge from camp trail to landing.

Big River basin, the North Fork below East Branch and North Fork dam and camp. Old swinging bridge from camp trail to landing.

Caspar Lumber Company Photographs from the 1920’s

January 30, 2012 by Tony Phillips

My culling of the Bancroft Library Collection of photographs has elicited these remarkable photographs of the operations of the Caspar Lumber Company. I have not see n them before and I suspect that they are new to many.

The photo below shows Camp 19. Camp 19 was by the pond on the left as you descend the bendy hill just past the half way mark on Route 20 en route from Fort Bragg to Willits. The pond is not natural. The stream was dammed to make a log pond for a small mill that was located there after Caspar Lumber Company ceased its operations.