Let me start by introducing myself; my name is Robert Jason Pinoli and I'm the Chief Skunk at the Skunk Train.
![Robert Jason Pinoli, standing on the front of Engine #45]()
Robert Jason Pinoli, standing on the front of Engine #45
This marks the start of my 21st season and today we need your help to raise $300,000 to fix a cave in at Tunnel #1.
On April 11th we discovered a small bulge on two timbers inside the 1000' long Tunnel #1 which is just 4 miles east of Fort Bragg. We started the process of mobilizing equipment and upon return discovered a cave in - that spans for about 40 feet of the 1100 total feet.
![This is what the westside looks like right now (this is about 800 feet in from the portal)]()
This is what the westside looks like right now (this is about 800 feet in from the portal)
This cave in has prohibited any traffic from passing through the tunnel to the other 36 miles of our railroad, and all our equipment is stuck on the Fort Bragg side of the railroad.
![Starting to clear the mess]()
Starting to clear the mess
Tunnel #1 was completed in 1893 (dug by hand), and is a monument to Chinese & Italian immigrants who painstakingly worked in very tough conditions for six years.
The repair process - Since the actual cave in occurred Skunk Train crews worked for two weeks clearing debris and in the meantime we retained a geotechnical engineering firm to serve as the head of this project. They advised until we begin re-construction to leave things as is. We have completed the interview process of contractors and are ready to start work, but we need to raise these critical funds. We are really faced with five options for rebuilding; the fifth and least preferred would be to reconstruct with timbers and back filling the void area (this is how the rest of the tunnel is built) it is the least preferred because it is the oldest method though it has worked very well for 120 years; the fourth would be to reconstruct in the same fashion as the fifth method but to use steel beams in place of redwood; the next three methods are all contenders for the first choice depending on the geological assessment and what the professionals think; they are inserting a pre-engineered steel plate (similar to a giant culvert) in the void and back filling the voided space with slurry, casting shotcrete / gunite panels and bolting them in place and then back filling the void with slurry, and the most preferred and most modern would be to rock bolt the existing rock and covering with a steel mesh and then shotcete the entire area.The geotechnical engineering contract is $42,000 and the construction estimate is about $250,000.
The route of the Skunk Train is 40 miles through the towering Redwoods and this tunnel is located just 4 miles East of our depot in Fort Bragg.
![The Skunk Train winding through towering trees on the Redwood Route]()
The Skunk Train winding through towering trees on the Redwood Route
All money raised above our goal will be used for other projects, like a new roof on our Roundhouse, to restore a caboose and an vintage fleet of passenger coaches.