Thursday, September 13, 2012

Skunk Train Depot

Aside from being a popular coastal town for tourists, Fort Bragg is also famous for its Skunk Train. With a large amount of trees in the area, the railroad was built for the logging industry in the 1880's.
Passenger service started in 1904 with steam engines until 1925 when diesel engines took over. Originally named the California Western Railroad, it was eventually renamed to the "Skunk Train" when people said "you can smell 'em before you can see 'em."
You can see an old 1965 video about the history of Fort Bragg and the Skunk Train.

We arrived into town as the sun was setting and no train service was in operations for the rest of the day.
Typically, the train leaves from Fort Bragg once or twice a day and returns back in the afternoon.
Many people make it a day outing for a ride through the the redwood forest, over bridges, through tunnels, and pass-through open meadows.

The empty train platform in the early evening.

I spotted a few old trains in the railroad yard.
They seemed to be out of commission or waiting to be restored.

Not far away is a mural depicting the days of the California Western Railroad painted by Prete Giacinto in 1993.

- Karen




14 comments:

eileeninmd said...

What a name for a train station. It is a cute building and I love the mural. Great shots!

This is Belgium said...

remarkable these old train pictures

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

I love all things about trains, especially old trains.

roentare said...

The old train really tells the history. Like the third photo quite well. The texture and the design reflected the era.

rainfield61 said...

This is a great collection of trains.

Haddock said...

Perfect for making a period film.

fiziskandarz said...

Love the mural! I can imagine the old trains might be a nice backdrop for photoshooting :D Anyway, can't wait for your balloon fiesta pictures :D

betchai said...

wow, i love those old train pictures, they do tell a lot of history, and love the murals too.

Anonymous said...

Always good to see old trains, looks like another very interesting place to visit.

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

Love the skunk train, used to ride it all the time as a kid.

eastcoastlife said...

Skunk train, that's a weird name but I love this train. Happy weekend!

Zenserly said...

the old trains are so wonderful and amazing to look at, they have a lot of story to tell...the mural is so interesting and you have captured he grandeur of the place very well, viewing the train shots again :-)

Emm in London said...

Aaah, I love this! I love old trains and just love the idea of this grand old train steaming along down the west coast. Naturally, I like your photos of the trains but I thought I'd mention that I especially like your first photo too. It really caught my eye.

lina said...

I do so love old trains! :)