Trip Report: The Great “Rail” Journey of April 2008

by Ted & Sylvia Blishak

Days 3 and 4 of 26.

Wednesday, April 9, Thursday April 10, 2008. Fortuna to Little River, CA

Train fans, be patient, we are going to California to ride trains, and before we are finished we will have ridden the following trains:

1. Silver Solarium, (the restored 1949 California Zephyr dome, lounge, sleeper, observation car), from Oakland to Bakersfield and return.

2. The truncated coach-only Coast Starlight from Oakland to San Luis Obispo.

3. The Pacific Surfliner from San Luis Obispo to LA.

4. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief from LA to LaPlata, MO.

5. A stay at railfan themed Depot Inn at La Plata.

6. Return to LA on the Southwest Chief.

7. The partially restored Coast Starlight to San Jose, with sleepers, diner, lounge café, but no Pacific Parlour car.

8. Cal Train Baby Bullet from San Jose to San Francisco.

9. San Francisco Muni vintage trolley cars and cable cars.

10. The Altamont Express from San Jose to Stockton.

11. The longest Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) route from Pittsburg, CA to the San Francisco International Airport.

12. One of the first overnight segments of the Coast Starlight to Klamath Falls since the mudslide of January 19.

In the meantime, we are driving Highway 101 from Fortuna south to the junction of Highway 1, the Shoreline Highway. Highway 101 offers a variety of experiences, from 4 lane limited access, to 4 lane without limited access. Two lane bypasses called the Avenue of the Giants, the original Highway 101 with narrow lanes in and amongst the tallest trees ever, the California Coast Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens.), many of which have actually been preserved in the California State Park System, so that we in the 21st century can catch a glimpse of these once mighty forests the way they were most were converted into shingles and redwood decks.

The tallest Sequoia sempervirens, 379 feet, has been named Hyperion, and exists in a remote and unspecified corner of Redwoods National Park. It was saved from destruction a mere two weeks before California logging crews reached it, due to a Executive Order by President Carter, adding the land that it grew on to the National Park system. The fury of the logging industry, which had been working 24/7 to beat the Executive Order deadline, must have been interesting to behold.

Logging continues in unprotected land and as an awesome testament to American ingenuity and technological expertise, only 4% of our Sequoia sempervirens still exist.

US 101 is in some segments a 4 lane limited access freeway, but can turn into a 2 lane winding country road, or even down to 1 lane where work is being done by Cal Trans.

But we are in for a real surprise when we exit 101 at the northern terminus of "world-famous" California Highway 1. 22 miles of the most winding road imaginable, leading to a turnout overlooking the blue Pacific.

Overlooking the blue Pacific

Old water tank at Ft. Bragg	Fort Bragg coach yard
Skunk logo	Redwood Route logo

We make a brief stop at the Fort Bragg Station of the California Western Railroad, western terminus of the "world-famous" Skunk Train, so named for its stinky gasoline engine exhaust. Today’s Skunk has already returned from its 10am to 2pm trip from Fort Bragg to Northspur and return. During the summer months, there is a stopover at Northspur for a barbeque. On selected dates, the California Western steams up Number 45, a 1924 steam locomotive.

From Fort Bragg, it is just a short drive to The Little River Inn, at Little River, CA, where we have reserved as a special treat for ourselves, the Coombs Cottage, a very private accommodation with a fireplace, and a deck equipped with a Jacuzzi, all overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

We are staying here two nights for much needed R&R.

Dawn from our deck, looking west