Northern California

With two private historic railways and a main north/south line for Amtrak and Union Pacific, Mount Shasta Country is an excellent destination for rail fans.

The McCloud Railway was developed in the late 1800s to haul finished lumber from the mills in McCloud and Burney to the city of Mt. Shasta. The railway still works daily bringing hauling timber. The lumber town of McCloud has become a year-round destination resort with lodging in historic buildings transformed into quaint hotels, B&B's and vacation rentals, and the train provides visitors with a number of exciting rail adventures.

Here, visitors will find the Shasta Sunset Dinner Train (www.shastasunset.com) running year round on Friday and Saturday evenings, with special theme trains on Thursdays during the summer months. The train, featuring carefully restored vintage rail cars, travels through deep forests with stunning views of Mount Shasta, Castle Crags and the rugged Trinity Alps. The four course gourmet dinner is served at a leisurely pace, allowing diners time to stroll through the cars, step onto the back platform for a better view, and often dance in a special car the is regularly added to the train. Other excursions are also available.

Yreka Western Railroad (www.yrekawesternrr.com) is a historic rail line connecting the town of Yreka with the main line running near the town of Montague. During the summer months rail fans can board the Blue Goose Train at the depot in Yreka and ride to the town of Montague.

The railroad town of Dunsmuir in southern Siskiyou County has one of the oldest working turntables in the United States. It has been used for turning locomotives since 1938. The electric motors that drive the heavy metal table are operated by an old-fashioned trolley controller.

In Mt. Shasta country, travelers can even overnight in a caboose at Railroad Park Motel (www.rrpark.com) five miles south of Dunsmuir in southern Siskiyou County. The restored cabooses are clustered in a beautiful valley with stunning views of Castle Crags. The dining car at Railroad Park is open for dinner on the weekends from April 1st through December 31st.

The venerable Skunk Train (www.skunktrain.com), or California Western Railroad, to use its proper name, was born of the timber rush that hit the North Coast in the last half of the 19th century. The bright yellow cars were nicknamed "Skunks" because of the noxious fumes emanating from their original gas engines. Today, the Skunk train ride runs 40 miles between Fort Bragg on the coast and Willits on US Highway 101. Crossing many of the 30 bridges and trestles along the scenic redwood route (almost one bridge for each mile of track!), as well as passing through one of the lines two deep mountain tunnels, it is an awesome trip through majestic Coast Redwoods.

The Golden Gate Railroad Museum (http://www.ggrm.org/) in San Francisco is home to authentic working Southern Pacific steam engine. Rail lovers of all ages are welcome to climb aboard to investigate this fascinating piece of machinery. Commute, streamliner, and passenger trains can also be seen. Guided tours are available, as well as Rent-a-Locomotive opportunities - under the guidance and instruction of a professional railroader, guests take the engineer's seat in control of a 350-ton piece of legendary machinery or a state-of-the-art diesel train.

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