Willits, California.

In 1885, the Fort Bragg Railroad was created to haul lumber from the vast redwood forests nearby. Workers used the train to set up logging camps and they and their families were the primary human cargo on the route. Today, the line runs from Fort Bragg to Willits and there are excursions from both cities into the redwood forests along the way.

The excursion we chose brought us into the Redwoods on an hour-long journey. At the turn-around point, we disembarked for a picnic lunch or just a stop to enjoy the views of the redwoods at the former Crowley station. Another hour brought us back to the depot at Willits.

Their website provides a history of the line which eventually became California Western. The unusual name came from the introduction of motor rail cars in 1925. These cars were automobiles on rail wheels, powered by a gasoline engine and in the cooler months, the heat for passengers was provided by crude oil-burning stoves.

When burning crude oil for heat, the pungent odor of those self-propelled rail cars made it so “You could smell them before you could see them.” Those passenger cars are long since gone, so “nose” pollution is much reduced now.

The image above features a small section of a large yard where logs are turned into redwood lumber. I’m not sure which company is depicted above because there are several lumber companies in town and most of them are near the railroad tracks. No real surprise there, I guess.

Today the rail line is operated by the Mendocino Railway Company and the company offers regular runs from both cities as well as special holiday runs. The excursion we chose is called the Wolf Tree Turn. There is no shortage of redwoods to view along the way.

Available at Fort Bragg, in addition to riding the train, you can select a more personal tour on an electric railbike that was custom-built to provide seating for two passengers. Two seven-mile excursions and one 25-mile excursion are available. You can also choose to hike from Fort Bragg along a trail that follows the rail line into old-growth redwood groves.

As is typical for out-and-back rail journeys, at the midpoint of the excursion, the train is stopped, the engine decoupled, and routed to a siding track where it reconnects at the other end of the train for the return to the starting point.

There is a tunnel built in 1893 that runs over 1,000 feet (305 m) over the rail line between Willits and Fort Bragg. In 2013, a portion of that tunnel (Tunnel #1) collapsed shutting down the Skunk Train until it was repaired. In searching the web for information on the train, I found a post by the company that designed and engineered the repairs, then let bids to construction companies for the completion of the repairs. It took only a few months to complete the repairs and for the rail service between the two cities to begin again.

At the Crowley stop, we saw the rail vehicle and trailer that follows the train with fire suppression gear. If a stray spark ignites a fire in the forest, the equipment is immediately available to extinguish any fire before it gets out of control.

There are interesting sights all along the railway. The wide variety of options allows you to select different pricing options. For example, the Wolf Tree Turn excursion travels through Tunnel #2, over the summit of the line, and down into the Noyo River Canyon. Prices for adults start at $64.95 per seat and a VIP ticket with extra perks including that picnic lunch is $99.95 USD. These prices are quoted from their website in early March 2022. You can check out their excursions and other activities on their website here.

According to an article from Reuters, the line serves about 50,000 passengers a year and generates about $20 million US Dollars in Mendocino County. Tourists aren’t the only people who ride the Skunk Train, however. Residents who live along the remote route still ride the train to and from their homes. To view these images in 2K HD and to see a few additional images not included in this post, check out my Flickr album here.

John Steiner