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California ‘Skunk Train’ to operate photo special
The caption is wrong. The Super Skunk was the full-day Fort Bragg-Willits train that ran from 1965 until 2001, when it was discontinued because a) 45 went down for restoration, b) the railroad doesn’t want to take the risk of having 45 get worn out pulling long trains over the mountain, so that’s why anytime 45 goes the full way to Willits, she needs one of the GP9ms to provide dynamic braking, and c) the railroad doesn’t have the money to maintain the whole line, especially after the Northwestern Pacific embargo cut them off from the outside world (a problem that, fortunately, will be rectified by 2020 when the NWP is expected to restart service to Willits).
Andy Sammonds -
While most of what you type is correct, the fact that the railroad doesn’t have the money to maintain the whole line - is simply not true. The entire railroad is maintained to “class” standard and we do operate the whole line year round (seasonal adjustments are exceptions).