Welcome to Our Site!

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN - It is sad but true that there is no testament to the loggers and the railways that ran into the woods to feed the mills that existed at every river between Gualala and Westport in Mendocino County. We, The Mendocino Coast Model Railroad and Historical Society, have rectified the situation by creating a "living history" of the Redwood Empire in the form of a large (G) scale model railway layout.

The purpose of our website is to link the dioramas we have created on our model railroad, with the history of the Redwood Coast. When we set out to build our layout we were distressed to find that there was no comprehensive website, museum or book, that in one place told the history of logging along the Mendocino Coast from 1850 through 1940. Our website tells of the wreck of Frolic and many other schooners on the rocks of the Mendocino Coast, the arrival of the Finns, Swedes, Germans and Italians and the building of the mills and towns. It also chronicles the cutting of the Redwood Giants by hand, the arrival of steam in the woods in the form of railroads and steam donkeys and the incredible structures, bridges, inclines and logging camps that were created at first by hand and later using steam.

We are a mostly male bunch of old geezers who have grown old but not up. For us the mills and the logging railways that served the Redwood Empire on the Mendocino Coast between Gualala and Rockport are literally all gone but definitely not forgotten. Sadly the whistles of the mills and locos are all silent. We welcome new members of all ages and both sexes.

Use our website as a guide to see what little remains of the early history of the Redwood Coast. Learn about the Redwoods and where to visit them.  Read about all the towns (some of which no longer exist) along the Mendocino Coast. See and learn about the real life inspiration for the lighthouses, trestles and other structures that we have created on our layout.

Here's just a small sample of the extensive information contained on this site:

HISTORY - Pictures and maps of the Logging Towns of the Mendocino Redwood Coast and the Giant Redwoods which we have drawn on as the basis for our new layout..

MISSION STATEMENT - Membership fees , dues and meeting schedule.

LAYOUTS - See Movies and Picture Book of our last layout, Digger Creek and Northern Railroad. See Pictures and Movies of events we have hosted and pictures and stories of the layouts of our members

PLACES TO GO – links to see the local history and events around Fort Bragg

VISITS - to other model railroads, real railroads and events that our members have enjoyed.

Author and Webmaster

Tony Phillips is the elected official historian of our Train Society and it is he who must take the blame for all and every error of omission and commission herein as 'twas he who is responsible for each and every word, comma, picture and full stop. Please feel free to contact him at or this form, on any ideas, material you feel might be included and, of course, errors. If you take offence at some of the spelling please remember he is from the other side of the pond.

The webmaster responsible for the coding and presentation is another Englishman, Roger Thornburn. He deserves a medal on two accounts: one, putting up with Tony and two, his incredible patience in hand coding every page, which is what makes this site quite different from other model train sites.

We would like to thank our respective wives, Sarah and Nancy, for allowing us to spend countless hours doing our thing.