Point Reyes Light - October 11, 2001

A chance to bike historic railroad path

By Daniel Freed

Its tracks now long gone, the railroad that made Point Reyes Station hasn’t seen a passenger in years. But this weekend, bicyclists from across West Marin will have the opportunity to pedal the abandoned railroad right-of-way between Point Reyes Station and Tocaloma, a woodsy path which meanders along Lagunitas/Papermill Creek and through the historic Gallagher Ranch.

Cyclists interested in joining the special trek can meet at 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 14, outside the Bovine Bakery in downtown Point Reyes Station. Coalition president Debbie Hubsmith said this week that riders will be required to have a helmet and a bicycle that can ride off-road.

The Gallagher family and the Park Service granted the Marin County Bicycle Coalition special permission to use the right-of-way for the event. In the late 1970s, the Park Service received permission to purchase the 330-acre Gallagher Ranch, but negotiations have never come to fruition and the railroad right-of-way has remained closed to the public.

Lagunitas to Point Reyes

If deals to purchase the Gallagher Ranch and one other small property are finalized, the Park Service could open a five-mile, multiple-use trail which would connect to an already existing eight-mile trail through Samuel P. Taylor State Park. Hikers, bikers, and equestrians could then travel along a thirteen-mile, automobile-free path which runs along Lagunitas/Papermill Creek all the way from Lagunitas to Point Reyes.

Ken Eichstaedt of Olema, president of the Bicycle Coalition, on Tuesday explained that the straight, flat route that was designed for train travel also makes a perfect pathway for bicyclists.

"What we have to gain as a community is a way to bike without having to worry about safety," he said.

In addition to being a practical, safe route for people to travel outside their cars, Eichstaedt said the railroad path could be a much-needed recreation site for locals – and with its beauty could attract additional visitors to the area. Coincidentally, many of the same societal benefits were attributed to the trains which once ran along the right-of-way through West Marin, said author A. Bray Dickinson in his book Narrow Gauge to the Redwoods .

History of Gallagher Ranch

The Gallagher Ranch – also known as the North Bend Ranch because Lagunitas Creek makes a northward pointing arc as it crosses the property – was the birthplace of twin brothers Bob and George Gallagher. The brothers were born on the ranch in 1913, in a white two-story Victorian house which their grandfather purchased from the Shafter family in the 1870s.

The brothers grew up on the ranch, watching the train pass them everyday and sometimes hopping aboard for a trip into the city. "There’s something about a train. You can live right by it every day, and still, when one comes by, you can’t help looking up," said Bob Gallagher on Monday.

The narrow-gauge North Pacific Coast Railroad was built to haul redwoods from Sonoma County to Sausalito. In Sausalito harbor, the timber was loaded onto ferries and transported to San Francisco. To simplify the building process, parts of the tracks were set along the side of Lagunitas/Papermill Creek – and right across the Gallaghers’ land.

Passengers and dairy products

Though timber supplies were ravaged by over-harvesting in the early part of the 20th century, the narrow-gauge railway became an important mode of transporting passengers and dairy products along its coastal route. According to the Gallaghers, the many trains that chugged across their dairy farm provided the family with a number of conveniences.

"You could always keep time by the trains runnin’ by there," said George this week. "Like clockwork five or six daily trains passed by on schedule from dawn to dusk."

While Bob and George rode a horse and buggy fueled daily by "a sack of hay" to Blacks Elementary School in Point Reyes Station, the twins’ older siblings relied on the trains for a ride to and from Tomales High each day.

"They used to get the train up to Tomales High and get there by noon," said George. "Then they’d have to catch another train back at 3 p.m. That cut into their learning some, but they turned out just fine."

A ranching ‘tail’

The train, Bob explained, came right by, and "the dairy was on one side and the house was on the other." He said, "We had to cross those tracks. It always whistled before it got there, but comin’ one way it came right out of the woods."

The ranch’s children weren’t the only ones who had to look out for speeding trains. Bob said turkeys and cows often got a little too close to the tracks while feasting on the good feed growing next to the right-of-way.

Bob also described an instance when a young ranch dog followed him and George as they ran across the tracks to beat a speeding train. The boys made it across safely. The dog, he said, wasn’t so fortunate and disappeared beneath the engine.

But when the train passed, the dog – which had apparently ducked beneath the passing cars – got up and walked away – minus its once-wagging tail.

The train also offered the Gallaghers a fast and easy way into San Francisco, and the two brothers fondly remembered playing cards on one such trip with Jacky Coogan – then a famous child actor – who often visited his grandfather in West Marin. The train was easy to catch as it ran through the ranch, they said.

Trips to the city

"You’d just wave down the conductor and he’d stop and give you a toot-toot," said George. The brothers would then board the train and ride it to Sausalito, where they would transfer to a ferry and be at Fisherman’s Wharf in about 90 minutes – less time then it takes most commuters today.

"It’s a sad thing that the train doesn’t run. It’d be a wonderful commute," said Bob, "But that day, I guess, is long gone."

For his part, Eichstaedt said he hopes that bicycle paths like the one planned across the Gallaghers’ ranch could become – like the train – a safe way to travel through West Marin.

The one-hundred riders expected at this weekend’s event will be able to consider the history of transit in West Marin as they also look toward its future.

"One of the things that caught me was the legacy of these experiences," said Eichstaedt, who has spent much of his own time discussing the train’s history with the Gallaghers. "The trains might not be coming back, but wouldn’t it be nice to use these lands in a people-friendly manner?"

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