Exploring The Train From "Ring Of Fire"

Jeff Slakey and his wife Stefanie go find what's left of the train from the 1961 movie "Ring Of Fire".

Jeff and Stefanie head out to find the train from the 1961 movie "Ring Of Fire". This is a difficult trek down the about 140' with ropes that have been placed by others. Also, it's out on Green Diamond land, so please be mindful of the signage. We parked outside the gate, which was open. We didn't want to risk it being closed while we were there. From the road it's about 2 miles following the main pathway, don't take any of the side roads until there is a bend. It's difficult to see the start of the path unless you know where you're looking. Find the ropes and take it slow. The hike back up is hard. This is not for kids, people with pets or folks with mobility issues. There is a Geocache on the site, I'd found it before but not this time, I did receive notice that others had found it.

This thriller features music from the twangy rock’n’roll veteran Duane Eddy (of “Forty Miles of Bad Road” fame) and the acting of David Janssen (The Fugitive), Howard Hughe’s starlet Joyce Taylor and Frank Gorshin (Riddler, in the original Batman). Although the storyline of three rebels with no apparent cause, a police officer kidnapping, flirtations with statutory rape and the daring evacuation of a town under threat of forest fire is disjointed to say the least, the film is a genuine piece of Pacific Northwest history.

Much of the filming was done in Mason County with many of the extras and even the police officer uniforms (and few of the officers themselves) sourced from Shelton and the surrounding area. The director/ producer Andrew L. Stone was famous for a high degree of realism in his shooting, not only did he splice in real forest fire footage, but an actual mill in Oregon was burnt for the production, the US Army was used to shoot flamethrowers for some of the scenes and an actual wooden trestle bridge over the Wynoochee River was destroyed by fire in the final scenes.

Additionally, a 1924 Locomotive and two ex-Southern Pacific coaches were burnt on the Wynoochee Trestle which plummeted into the gorge below amidst well timed dynamite charges. The train and coaches are still laying in the canyon to this day and are an extreme geocache collector destination.

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