Heavy Rain Injured Skunk; Short Runs Now "We've got a washout the size of this room and track hanging in the air," David Magaw told the city council on May 10. "(There's also) a mudslide the size of a football field with trees on top." Magaw, who oversees construction for Skunk Train owner Sierra Railroad, was describing damage from the non-stop February and March rains on the Willits, California side of the rail line. On the Fort Bragg side, he said, tunnel walls need shoring up with steel supports most readily available in Canada. Despite the difficulties, the Skunk Train will leave the Willits depot at 09:45 daily through June for a 90-minute trip up the mountain and through a tunnel to the Wolf Tree turnaround, and back. "We'll be open to Northspur by the end of June," predicted Wendy Squires, who handles public relations and reservations for the Skunk Train. Northspur Station, a clearing in the redwoods halfway between Willits and Fort Bragg, will then become a venue for concerts, barbecues, and such events as Outlaws and Hookers, an off-color history of the Mendocino Coast in the early 1900s, when the train was a new arrival. If all goes as planned, barbeques will be offered at Northspur every Tuesday through Saturday in July. A Music in the Redwoods event is planned for Sunday, July09 with trains arriving from both ends of the tracks. That means a Willits/Fort Bragg run is also possible. Later in the year, probably at the end of September, the schedule calls for Steam Days in Willits, a week of events surrounding the arrival of vintage steam trains at this end of the line. "It'll be a big celebration," Squires said. "(The steam train) hasn't been in Willits for years." In October, the Little Engine That Could, with its eager blue face, will roll out of the storybooks to make its way up the big hill with the help of all the children on board. In December, special Christmas trains are planned. - Claudia Reed, The Willits News
Bummer! :sad: I hope this kind of setback isn't going to deal a fatal blow to their finances. :sad: Boxcab E50
That area is prone to natural disasters. Remember all of the NWP babble over on Altamont Press? Actually I think that is still going on. I know my wife and I spent a New Year's Eve in a motel in Willits a few years ago because 101 was washed out big time right where 1 branches off of it. I don't know when it finally got cleared, but we backtracked and crossed over to I-5 through Clear Lake. Long day driving, but we made it home. :beer:
I know the area can get large storms, and heavy rains. I worry this type of event could put an end to something so historic. :sad: Boxcab E50
