Angelo Mithos explains what “side trestles” are

Story by John Vonderlin & Angelo Mithos

Email John: [email protected]

Hi June,

Angelo sent me these pictures, clarifying what a sidehill trestle looks like. Before the Montara Flood question was resolved, this is what I had assumed must have been supporting the “strangerails” before being washed away. As San Pedro Point pictures they are pretty cool too. I look at those and can’t help but think of LANDSLIDE!!! Enjoy. John

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John, you recently asked about side hill trestles. Here are three attachments depicting  examples:

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#1 (“OSRR – Another View of Pedro Pt. Tunnel”) is of the south side of the Pedro Point Tunnel showing the first such trestle on that side; it also shows the Ransome Construction Co.’s gravel bunker on the outermost track of the tunnel.

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#2 (“OSRR at Pedro Point”) is of the same scene, probably later, with the step trestle filled in.

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#3 (“NWP R.R. at Scotia Bluffs”)  is of a  Northwestern Pacific passenger train on the Scotia Bluffs near Eureka. (My wife and I took this route some years ago from Willits–very scenic along the Eel River with tunnels galore–when the NWP-Eureka Southern had excursion trains before the line was shut down for safety reasons.)
Hopefully you can see that the inner part of the track rested solidly on the mountain side while the outer part rested on built-up trestle work.   Angelo