This is an extract of an e-mail that Chuck sent out today …. “Today [Club Member] Basil [Casabona] got to run his beautiful SF {Santa Fe] consist on our AGNR [Ain’t Goin Nowherer Railroad] layout. Many of our members got to see it run. Several members were able to capture it on their cell phones, … Continue reading
The Big River Diorama featuring Hellsgate Dam
When we designed the layout we decided we needed two rivers. After looking at all the rivers along the Mendocino Coast we decided that “our” two would be Noyo (for its proximity to Fort Bragg) and Big River in Mendocino because, we learned, that it had been dammed. Club Member Earl Craighill lives in Mendocino … Continue reading
The Carpenter’s Barn soon after we moved in in 2011 – home of our Mendocino Model Railroad & Navigation G Scale Railroad
I was sure that I took a whole bunch of photos of the outside of the Carpenter’s Barn when we first moved in. Well, if I did they are gonzo. This is the only one I can find. It’s not right at the beginning because Bill Shepherd has installed the new door.
Ground Cover and Ballast for the New Mendocino Coast Model Railroad & Navigation Co.
When we started building our layout in 2011 we had little money. Club Members dug into their own pockets to supply locos, rolling stock and track. Ballast and ground cover were not high on the list of priorities. There were many brainstorming sessions in the early days and someone came up with the idea of … Continue reading
The first churches of the Mendocino Coast Model Railroad and Navigation Company
The Club’s first church was one made of tin. It was acquired from one of the local charity shops. The roof, as they say, was more wholly than godly. The leaking roof was “fixed” by adding strips of emery cloth and pretending it was tar paper. You can see the result on the right of … Continue reading
The early days of the Skunk Train Depot
Club Member Jeff Pratt really enjoyed building card stock models. Soon after he joined he offered to recreate the Skunk Train Depot in the colours it existed at the time (2012). He created a masterpiece and it was our piece de resistance for quite a while. Alas, this was the only model Jeff built. He … Continue reading
The very first days in the Carpenter’s Barn – early 2013
We got the keys to the CWR’s Carpenters’ Barn in January 2013. This is the first picture that I took of what was to become the Club’s (Mendocino Coast Model Railroad & Historical Society) layout. The picture was taken looking toward the north end. The first job was to replace the south side east door … Continue reading
Basil Casdabon’s Santa Fe Consist in August 2013
These pictures were taken in August of 2013. Our club didn’t have a website or blogs back then. I was not even the historian – a gentleman named Louis Hough held the position and he didn’t have a computer. Sounds like the dark ages doesn’t it? The good news is that I did have a … Continue reading
Narrow Gauge
The track we use is standard G-gauge – 45 mm between the rails. Virtually all out locomotives and diesels are 1:22.5 which means that what they are running on is really narrow gauge (approx. three feet) track. Our 1:29 locomotives (we have a few) do see our track as standard gauge. We try to be … Continue reading
Ain’t Goin Nowhere Layout pics
Last week we were lucky enough to have our Florida Club members visit – Bobby and Barb Cowan. Bobby took this great pic of one of our three truck shays on the move: My pics …….