Carquinas

Last Sunday, May 1st, was a beautiful day for a drive. Frank, Alex, and I went to an open house at the Carquinas Model Railroad Society in the town of Crockett, about 45 miles northeast of Livermore. The club has a multi-story track pathway so extensive it takes an HO scale train about two hours to complete one circuit. The layout models about a dozen or so towns a train would pass through when going from Oakland, CA in the lower left to Reno/Sparks, NV, in the upper right. Google maps only allowed me to show nine of them.

Alex is observing Mile Post 0.0, the starting point of the layout at West Oakland.

The path of the track S-shapes back and forth on the first floor, getting quite a length of parallel tracks and many train cars on display. There were three of these double sided aisles on the first floor. The back drop gives a sense of the skyline and traveling through different scenic vistas. The cantilevered structures in the upper right of the photo are supports for an upper level of tracks. The red brick building in the left background has the white initials C&H on it and the pier like structure in front of it are both landmarks of the town of Crocket Mile Post 26.5 - but we're coming to them.

A landmark structure in the town of Crocket is the Carquinas Bridge. Originally built in 1927 to give traffic a direct route from San Francisco to Sacramento via Vallejo, it spans the Carquinas strait between San Pablo Bay and Suisan Bay, shown in the lower left quadrant of the photo. It has since been retrofitted for seismic safety but still handles east bound traffic; a second westward bound span was added to support increased traffic demands.

Here is the Carquinas Model Railroad Society's replica of Carquinas bridge with traffic progressing across it. Can you tell where the three dimensional roadway with traffic leading onto the bridge ends and an image of the bridge photographed from an entry angle with traffic already on it begins? It is very well done.

A second iconic landmark in Crocket is the C&H Sugar Company's headquarters at Mile Post 26.0. The company was founded in 1906 and I just learned the initials stand for California and Hawaii. It refines, packages, and markets all the sugar output from Hawaii's factories.

C&H Sugar's claim to superiority is their exclusive use of cane sugar, a more desirable source than beet sugar. This is proudly displayed on the actual building that inspired the layouts's mimicking red brick structure. For the information of my east coast readers, C&H's primary market is west of the Mississippi, although some eastern high-profile locations have it shipped directly to them.

The location that houses the train layout  is directly across the street from this refinery, in Odd Fellows Hall, a vintage building. When I went to research the history of this building, I was bemused to learn that Crockett, CA is listed in the Encyclopedia of Forlorn Places, although Mark Hedlund, author of the travel site, referred to Crockett as a "gem" and has an enticing writeup and photos about the town. This is a Google Maps image of Odd Fellows Hall.

Just beyond the sugar factory on the train layout, before rounding the bend to peruse the opposite side of the aisle, was a water feature that I thought was well done.

Photographs and backdrops is an effective method for giving a somewhat narrow layout a perceived dimension of depth. Photos are from actual areas. The photographed storage tanks transition to three dimensional ones in the foreground. The greenery and trees are a seamless blend of 2-D and 3-D replicas. This diorama is labeled Mile Post 31.5 Martinez, an area know for its oil refineries. Notice the oil tanker cars in the near foreground.

A seven layer helix at the south end of the building allows trains to traverse between the upper land lower levels via a gradual grade.

Stairs at the north end of the building allow visitors to climb to the second level of the layout. The handrail is just barely visible in the lower left of the next photo. The top portion of an exit door is also visible in the left of the photo. The California towns of Davis, Sacramento, Colfax, and Gold Rush and the Nevada towns of Sparks and Reno await the visitors pleasure on the extensive length of layout on upper level. This level captures different types of vistas, those of foothill towns, agricultural fields, logging encampments, and rugged mountain terrain.

A second helix at the south end of the building, next to the stairs allows trains to traverse along a gradual grade between layout levels. Even the utilitarian helix has some landscaping associated with it.

Towns passed on the way to Reno were marked by a series of plaques denoting the milage traveled.

Cities had traffic, pedestrians, lamp posts, traffic lights, construction cranes, and Sacramento also had a replica of the capitol building.

The interspersed attentions to detail at this level was fun to discover. In a field of crops being harvested there are tall, straw-colored, dry stalks, mowed down stubble, and a still green, yet-to-be mowed section.

Other details to note along the way kept the visitor alert. Along a climbing grade there was a break in the guard rail from some unfortunate vehicle. Note the toppled post, the orange cautionary cones, and even the detail of the disturbed gravel on the sloped river embankment.

Logging towns were replete with timbers and the machinery to fell, haul, stack, and relocate the piles of logs.

The more isolated towns even saw to the discretionary needs of their residents, be they promiscuous...

... or carousing. The gold colored billboard boxcar probably brought a selection of ales to local bars. A Blind Bat Brewery actually does exist in New York...

... complete with the Bat round icon namesake and the Eye Chart logo.

The molding and modeling of the mountainous vistas was impressive, from photo concept taped to the wall ...

to mesh molding in progress, labeled with dimensions...

to final landscaping with granite colored slopes and clinging trees.

These mountains were BIG.

On our way out I noticed an antique fare machine in the foyer. The mechanism that drops the coins is fascinating and I asked Frank to watch out for one on e-Bay for our family room decor.

After the Carquinas Model Railroad Society's open house we went off to seek lunch. One of the club members recommended we go to a bayside restaurant named The Nantucket, less than five minutes away. It is not elegant he cautioned, but the food is great and the outdoor seating is very scenic. The approach was a bit disconcerting, along some gravel roadways under some elevated freeways. We parked in a dirt lot adjacent to some railroad tracks. The rails were in active use, not a retired siding, and several trains passed by while we ate.

We had to walk over the tracks, beneath the elevated red and white striped railroad crossing gates to get to the restaurant, passing signs that said motorcycles and dogs had to be left behind. What were we getting ourselves into?

But we did have lovely seats in the shade with an expansive waterfront view. Frank said this is how water front property should be, beaten up and in disrepair from the elements. Note the collapsing pier in the background.

The food was excellent. Frank had a seafood platter, Alex had a huge fettuccine bowl with chicken, sausage, and shrimp that he positively inhaled – along with a side of fries. I had a Cobb salad with avocado, bacon, chicken, hardboiled eggs, each ingredient prepared moist and to perfection!

After eating and before departing there was a stop off at the Girls' room and the Boys' room. Unique signage was in keeping with the theme.

Between Odd Fellows Hall and The Nantucket, I must admit Frank takes me to the nicest places. The restaurant's parking lot was in the shadow of the historic Carquinas Bridge so we were able to get an interesting perspective on it, too.

It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed our outing. It is amazing what hidden gems are out there for exploration if you keep an open mind. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.