Sodumb & Gamorra Lumber Co.

a California Westcoast logging operation

The Sodumb and Gamorra Lumber Company started as an idea to introduce an American shortline type new to Europe.

Never before we met a California West Coast logging operation on a model railroad show. We started with examining books and magazines and fell in love with those rod locomotives making their way through the woods, hauling extreme loads of Redwood.

Could we bring something that 'Might have been' back to life? Not long after that, on a trip to California my wife Irene and I made a trip with the 'California Western Railroad' and that's where the idea came into my mind.....

The Sodumb & Gamorra lumber Company was born as a subsidiary of the CWR; the California Western Railroad.

The CWR is a common carrier railroad that performs operation all year round between Fort Bragg and Willits. Today the railroad company is one of a few short lines still in operation and better known under its other name the 'Skunk train'.

Our choise pinpoints operation somewhere between Fort Bragg and Willits, in the heart of Redwood County. This gives us the opportunity to build really big trees!

The Story

The S&G was founded by General Bucirus Sodumb soon after his retirement from the US army and was financed by Solomon Gamorra, an eastcoast banker.

As soon as the concession was granted, operation started by building a yard and a sawmill near Fort Bragg and by laying track from 'North Spur' into the redwood groves.

The first loggin camp came in operation in 1901 and by 1902 provided enough Redwood to keep the mill in operation even during winter. Mr. Gamorra became so exited about his investment that he made a trip with his family to meet the General and together visit to the mill and logging camps. At that occasion he named the first camp (by that time just known as: camp 1) 'Camp Jemima', after his youngest daughter, 6 years old at that time.

The design

We start a design with a discussion about how we would like to operate. Then we make a choise about presentation and the theme's we like to show to the public. Remember we have just a place to build the layout, operation will be at model railroad shows.

We picked the CWR and its subsidiary the Sodumb & Gamorra Lumber Co. So we had a location, story and history. We decided for a 'mainline' operation with a lumber operation connection. We would operate 3 loco's at max. in the lumber operation with enough switching capacity to bring empties and haul loaded skeletons and disconnects. With all these requirements Walter made the design for the layout.

We decided to devide the layout in three phases:

• Phase I:Logging operation (ready)

• Phase II:Logging transport (start 02/03)

• Phase III: Milling and shipping

We are blessed with an illustrator among our friends: Len de Vries is an educated illustrator and he makes the artist impressions of the layout based on our plan and additional comment.

Before we took off Walter build a model 1:4 so we actually could see how the layout would look like in 3D.