On many trains, speed thrills. Scenery flashes past, and passengers dart from side to side to view this mountain or that river. Not so with a pair of popular rail excursions that amble through wilderness in Northern California, barely faster than the stagecoaches that preceded them more than a century ago. What the Skunk and North Coast Daylight trains lack in miles per hour, they make up for in dense redwood groves, remote river canyons and all-aboard camaraderie. The revival of the North Coast Daylight for a second straight summer run has enabled railroad buffs to witness a rare sight in this town 130 miles north of San Francisco: two passenger trains arriving at the same time. ``It reminds me of the old days,'' said Jim Claveo of San Francisco, arriving on the Daylight after the 10-hour, 144-mile trip from Eureka. ``They're very friendly, more friendly than on most trains. ``You ride it for the scenery, and you also ride it for the nostalgia.'' The Skunk Train, running along a 103-year-old line through Mendocino County woods to Fort Bragg on the coast, has been full of like-minded tourists all summer despite last year's complaints about heavy logging spoiling part of the view. Bob Reid, who has crammed 151 tourist pins onto his crowded conductor's cap, keeps travelers amused in his role as ticket-checker, guide and glad-hander. ``I've been working for this railroad for 27 years, and it's still fun,'' said the Fort Bragg resident. ``Every day I meet new people from all over the world. There's only one Skunk Train.'' There was no North Coast Daylight train for almost two years following its ill-fated summer debut in 1985. On one of its early runs that year, the train was stranded by a landslide in the Eel River Canyon just 27 miles out of Willits. Financial problems and winter track damage caused suspension of the run, and service didn't resume until a year ago when Eureka Southern took over the line. The train is a reincarnation of the old Shasta Daylight that served the West Coast decades ago. It generally consists of eight cars: turquoise coaches, Shasta Daylight lounge cars with plush interiors and padded seats, a rare Southern Pacific club car with a standup bar decorated in ranch motif, and a classic Frisco Line parlor car where passengers may be served calzone or lasagna. Winding through the canyon on weather-beaten tracks that slow its speed to 10 mph, the North Coast Daylight can hit a rollicking 30 mph on straightaways. Twenty-nine tunnels enliven the trip, much of which is through wild terrain far from the nearest road. In addition to the usual sun-worshipers and skinny-dippers, passengers on one recent trip were treated to the sights of deer, bears, raccoons, river otters, wild pigs, an elk and an osprey clutching a trout in its beak along the peaceful banks of the Eel. ``The Eel River Canyon is one of the most beautiful river canyons I've ever seen,'' said Anne Tolleson of Santa Rosa. ``It's a great ride if you're not in a hurry.'' Further north, the train chugs through the redwood forests of Humboldt County and past one of the world's largest redwood mills in Scotia, the town of Fortuna and the dairy community of Loleta before ending the outbound half of the journey on the coast at Eureka. Eureka Southern has a half-dozen more weekend trips, with overnight layovers in Eureka, scheduled from August through mid-October. Business has been good enough, at 150 to 200 passengers per trip, that the railroad plans to expand the schedule next year, according to business manager Steve Branstetter. The Skunk, meanwhile, continues to lure enough train fans to operate year-round. Gerald Allen, general manager of the Fort Bragg-based California Western Railroad that took it over in 1987, says the train should match last year's near-record total of 70,000 passengers taking the daily trips out of either Fort Bragg or Willits. About half the riders hail from the San Francisco Bay area. The line was founded as a logging railroad in 1885. Steam passenger service began in 1904 and was extended to Willits seven years later. Gas engines replaced steam in 1925, and the train's famous moniker was born shortly thereafter by trainmen who remarked that the smelly fumes had the aroma of a skunk. Today's trains are almost all diesel-powered, but the name has proven longer-lasting than the polecat's pungency. The serpentine route could be a roller coaster, climbing from sea level to 1,740 feet, crossing 31 bridges and trestles and disappearing into two pitch-black mountain tunnels. But top speed of 20 mph _ the average is 13 mph _ keeps this a leisurely family experience. The Skunk even stops to pick up campers or deliver groceries, mail and medicine to areas inaccessible by car. Passengers are let out for half an hour in deep woods at Northspur, the line's midway point, where they can buy snacks and gaze up at coastal redwoods towering more than 300 feet. Repeat patrons may notice a few more bare patches than in past years on the Fort Bragg half of the line. ``We never considered clear-cutting to be a major problem, but there are certainly some areas out there that are not the Avenue of the Giants by any stretch of the imagination,'' said Allen. ``Everybody wants a redwood deck, and that's where they come from.''
