Last engine of ‘Crookedest Railroad in the World’ coming back to the mountain

Author

Engine No. 9, the last remaining piece from the fabled “Crookedest Railroad in the World” that once climbed Mount Tamalpais, is back in the Bay Area and on its way to a new home in Marin County.

The 98-year-old steam locomotive had been on display in the Humboldt County logging town of Scotia since 1953. A group of Marin residents purchased No. 9 at auction and earlier this week loaded it onto a flatbed truck and moved it to a ranch in Sonoma County.

There they plan to rehabilitate the engine to museum quality and display it somewhere along the old railroad line that ran 8.19 miles and 2,400 feet from Mill Valley to the summit of Mount Tamalpais.

The railroad, which had 281 curves, advertised itself as “The Crookedest Railroad in the World” and was a noted attraction in the early days of tourism in Northern California.

Read More