The town of Fort Bragg, the Union Lumber Company and the California Western Railroad in 1917 were pretty much one big redwood logging venture. I’m trying to imagine how this type of thing could be set up. Let me see if I can put it in words. The lumber mill as see today in Satellite photos shows stacks of logs and lumber for a couple miles square. Of course, satellite photos in 1917 were much to grainy to be of much use.
Anyway in 1917, there would have been incoming logs and outgoing lumber from the area of the mill. There would have been incoming and outgoing supples for the town, the mill and the logging camps and there would have been some way to manage that. There would have been incoming oil for power and the locos. And there would have been some way of organizing the trains and engine service facilities. OF course, there was passenger service.
All this suggests a yard, but I have never found mention of one. Nor have seen any space that suggests there was one at any time.
On the other hand, because everything was interrelated, it’s like the whole town, lumber mill, etc, was a giant terminal point for the railroad. It might have made sense to simply run everything on an in-out basis and not have a yard, but rather have set out points where the engine gathered cars on it’s way out of town.
Supplies and empties to the log camps.
Shipments and passenger out to the Northwestern Pacific Railroad.
Incoming supplies would be dropped at the final destination as there were no through freights.
Okay more info. In 1917, The CW had 8 locos. 3 were old-time 1869-1884, 2 4-6-0s, and a 2-4-4 one was built new in 1901, a 0-4-2. The rest were more modern a 3 truck shay built in 1912 and 2 2-6-2Ts built in 1909, 1913, and 1914.
The Shay was scrapped in 1917 so it was probably in pretty sorry shape. I figure it was in logging camps.
The pictures I have show the 2-6-2Ts pulling freight & Passengers, but the configuration suggests they hauled logs.
So if you figure 3 lived in the logging camps, 2 were on the road, one in the shop, that leaves 2 in the Fort Bragg area.
The number and types of locos is no idicator of whether or not there was a yard. If there was sorting of cars to be done, most likely there were roughly parallel tracks connected by turnouts. That’s the way most railroads built physical plant to handle that function. Yes, there are exceptions, but they are notable for that reason, they’re exceptions.
If you want to replicate what was there historically, you’ll need to investigate the ICC records, contact a local (Fort Bragg) historical society or museum, and the local library to get more information. It is probably out there. Don’t take this the wrong way, but more time researching and less time posting would be one approach you might find useful.
If you want to build a satisfying model railroad while tolerating some potential liberties with history, a thoughtful study of Armstrong will give you an idea of some potentially useful track configurations that will fit your space. If you look carefully at what you need to do, you’ll probably find that at least some of the tracks you design in take the form, more-or-less, of a yard. Even if it is just two or three tracks wide.
The answers are out there, but the detailed answers to the very specific questions will not be found on this forum.
I told you I needed someone to tell me to quit whining.
I knew that answer, I just don’t know the execution of it. I’m planning a road trip out there in August to do the research, but the idea of spending $1200 to find out the layout of tracks in 1917 is hard to justify. And the truth is I might not be successful. At least I can ride the Skunk.
But short of going out there, I’ve hit the end of my research rope. But I’m open to ideas.
Call local libraries. Ask for the reference librarian. These folks are generally really good at helping with inquiries and, in my experience, love to help. Ditto local museums and historical societies. Write them a letter. Call.
If it is defunct, the SP hsitorical society may be able to help http://www.sphts.org/
Write to the NMRA’s Kalmbach library.
Again, I’m sorry, this is going to sound harsh. In the months since you decided on this concept, you’ve been wringing your hands about a lack of info and spent some time tweaking people with snappy posts on the forum. If you put the same amount of time and energy into the research, you could be well on your way by now.
Or, you can always make the conscious decision that a track-for-track replica wll not fit anyway, and decide to design something that’s a “coulda been” version that is a better fit for your operating needs and space. In which case you may start now.
You may find that you don’t need to take a trip, or if you do, you’ll be much better prepared to use your time wisely.
Sorry to be a knudge. Now log off the forum and start tracking down useful historical sources.
Chip, a yard is a realtive thing, it could be the massive 200 track, 8 mile long Cumberland Yard on the B&O. Or it could be the podunk backwoods Hudson yard on the Lehigh And Hudson River RR, keep in mind, Hudson yard was one of the L&HR’s terminals. NS still uses it to this day, as it is today it’s 3 tracks. Glorifed passing sidings. I do understand that before 1976 it was a little larger, but still podunk and easy to model.
As Byron said above, I’d suggest doing as much research as you can into the subject, and If it really comes down to it and you need to have a yard there for operational perposes, build one, you dont need to have 100% prototype track layouts all the time (And this is coming from a self proclaimed rivet counter!). And if there was a yard there it could be small and could be modeled easy, for example, I know of a modeler who is recreating the Eries 28th Street terminal on 2 hollow core doors, with almost zero compression. I have a feeling your backwoods lumber company would have more of a Hudson yard then a Cumberland yard.
I ahve the feeling you are right about the yard, but the Union Lumber company was a consolidation of 5 lumber comapnies and was the second biggest mill in California. It was backwoods in location but not in production.
Even with a size that big, I would say that at maxium, the yard (If there is one) would only be 10 tracks wide maybe not even half of that. Hell, the marshalling yard on the C&O at Qunnimont W Va. was only four tracks, and it handled an entire coal branch with several large tipples. And Qunnimont was about as backwoods as it gets. It was just long. Length could be your drawback to modeling it effectively. What kind of traffic would be leaving this yard? Log buggies and general frieght?
a quick search of their library catalog reveals a few things , mostly by a fellow named Spencer Crump
Crump, Spencer. REDWOODS, IRON HORSES AND THE PACIFIC : THE STORY OF THE CALIFORNIA WESTERN “SKUNK” RAILROAD / by Spencer Crump. 1st ed… Los Angeles, Calif.: Trans-Anglo Books, c1963 (1st printing, Oct. 1963). 159 p. : ill., facsimiles, maps, plans, portraits ; 29 cm. ID 390
Crump, Spencer. THE CALIFORNIA WESTERN “SKUNK” RAILROAD / by Spencer Crump. Corona del Mar, CA: Zeta Publishers Co., c1991. 76, [4] p : ill., maps, plans ; 28 cm. ID 5107 Filed: Stacks
in addition to books they probably also have a great deal of raw information , maps , company documents etc.
the museum is worth a visit anyway if you haven’t been , i was there 15 years ago and it was great , worth the trip just to see the SP cab forward
I have not been, but it will be one of my stops this summer. I have Crump’s books and they are glossed over histories designed to be sold as souvenirs to Skunk riders.
Stuck,
I cannot find evidence of any kind of yard nor do I now where one could have been. Below is a photo taken sometime in the 50’s or so. The Union Lumber Company is the complex in the upper center next to the ocean. The railroad comes off at at 45 degree angle down and right and the passenger terminal is at about 3 o’clock. The railroad then Follows the river about a mile and then goes under the mountain out of town. There is another rail that head right from the lumber yard and heads right North along the beach to bluffs where lumber was loaded by cable to ships.
I had seen it but, didn’t “see” it. When I was looking at it before, I was looking at the route and had focussed in on the Willits Yard. But there it is. Probably the most obvious place. And from the layout it could have been much bigger like 10-12 tracks and much longer. I’m wondering if there was a turntable at one time. Right now they pretty much only have to spin the Skunk.
I only knew it was there because I happened to physically be there a few months ago - unintentionally stumbling into the train station and tracks.
I’m pretty sure this was a standard gauge line, right?
They had a little museum there where you buy tickets for the skunk train, complete with a bunch of books. You may want to locate them, give them a call, and order some books.
Chip some type of yard would be needed even if it no more the a interchange yard.You see empty boxcars and log cars need to be spotted out of the way until needed.The loaded boxcars could be taken directly to the interchange yard/track.Of course 2-3 tracks should suffice.A track by the station would suffice for storing a short passenger train.Supplies would be handled at a team track or a small freight house-usually near the station.Coal for the locomotives would be handled in the usual manner.I suspect the denizens would use wood chips/bark slabs for firewood since its readily available. .
Thanks. I kinda saw the way you described as a possibility, but the Sat photos shows it was probably a more conventional yard. The CW was pretty much all oil fuel.
