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Northwestern Pacific Railroad
NWPRR 1922 near Petaluma, California.jpg
NWP #1922 running freight near Petaluma, California; October 21, 2011
Overview
Status Operational (partial)
Owner Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit
Termini Schellville
Samoa
Website
Service
System NWP
Operator(s) NWPco
Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit
Depot(s) Freight: Schellville
Passenger: Mark West
History
Opened 1907 (1907)
c. 1980 closed to all traffic
1989 North Coast Rail Authority established
2011 Service begins under NWPRA
Technical
Line length 271 mi (436 km)
62 mi (100 km) (operational)
Character freight and commuter railroad
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad (reporting mark NWP) is a railroad covering the 62 mi (100 km) stretch between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a regional railroad primarily used for logging that served the entire North Coast of California, with a main line running 271 miles (436 km) from Schellville to Eureka, along with an additional portion of the line running from the Ignacio Wye to the edge of San Rafael. The portion of the NWP main line between the Larkspur Station in Marin County and the depot in Healdsburg is currently owned by SMART. The Schellville–Ignacio and Healdsburg–Eureka portions are owned by the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA). Private contractor NWPco operates freight service under NCRA lease. California's 2018 Great Redwood Trail Act repurposes the abandoned railroad right-of-way from Eureka to the San Francisco Bay in Marin County for future use as the Great Redwood Trail.

NWPtrestleLong
Vegetation encroaches on Swauger Creek trestle near Loleta.

History

In the late 1800s both the Southern Pacific Railroad (“SP”) and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (“AT&SF”) had great interests in building lines north from San Francisco to Humboldt County to transport lumber south. The Southern Pacific Railroad controlled the southern end of the line from Willits south to Marin and Schellville, while the AT&SF controlled line south from Eureka through Humboldt County. Both railroads planned to build a line north, the AT&SF starting with a boat connection in present-day Larkspur, California, and the Southern Pacific, starting at its interchange in American Canyon, north through Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt counties to finally terminate in Eureka, California. As plans went forward it became clear that only one railroad would be profitable serving Mendocino and Humboldt Counties, so the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe entered into a joint agreement, and in 1906 merged 42 railroad companies between Marin and Humboldt Bay to create one railroad line stretching from Sausalito to Eureka. Completion of the project was disrupted by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; plans and right-of-way documents were destroyed in the subsequent fire. After a time-expedient "punt" of the route through the unstable Eel River Canyon, construction was finally completed in October 1914 when a "golden spike" ceremony and celebration was held to mark the accomplishment. There were also dozens of miles of narrow-gauge trackage in Marin and Sonoma Counties.

Shelter at Asti station, 1883
The depot at Asti

The railroad used ferries of San Francisco Bay for freight transfer until connected to the national rail network at Napa Junction by the Santa Rosa and Carquinez Railroad in 1888. The Santa Rosa and Carquinez remained part of SP independent of the NWP with a primary freight interchange at Schellville. SP's Santa Rosa branch continued from Schellville through Sonoma to a separate terminal yard on North Street in Santa Rosa. Freight interchange was predominantly through Ignacio, but there was a second connection to the SP in Santa Rosa until the line through the Valley of the Moon was abandoned in 1935.

The railroad service became popular; an early daily NWP timetable shows 10 passenger trains each way, plus dozens of freights. The rail line soon replaced steam schooners as the main means of getting lumber from Humboldt County to market. Rail service to inland areas facilitated local development of the lumber industry.

In 1929 the AT&SF sold its half-interest to the Southern Pacific, making the NWP a full SP subsidiary.

The SP era

Northwestern Pacific Railroad
Northwestern Pacific train at Santa Rosa California 1911.JPG
Train at Santa Rosa, California in 1911
Overview
Headquarters Schellville, California - Operational
Palo Alto, California - Administrative
Reporting mark NWP
Locale California's North Coast from Marin County to Eureka
Dates of operation 1907 (1907)–1998 (1998)
Successor Southern Pacific Transportation Company
Eureka Southern Railroad
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gauge 80 miles (130 km) of system originally 3 ft (914 mm)
Length 271 miles (436 km)
Other
Website
Revenue freight traffic, in millions of net ton-miles (P&SR not incl)
Year Traffic
1925 150
1944 348
1960 604
1970 421
Source: ICC annual reports

Passenger service boomed until the 1930s, when improved roads and highways made traveling and shipping by motor vehicle more accessible. By 1935 freight and passenger service diminished because of the Great Depression. With the onset of World War II, freight shipments rose while passenger service remained constant. Freight service on the NWP increased in the 1950s owing to an increase in lumber demand due to the post-war housing boom.

Branch lines were dismantled during the 1930s. The Sebastopol branch became redundant following purchase of the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad in 1932, and California State Route 12 adopted the former alignment between Leddy and Sebastopol. The Trinidad extension reverted to a logging line after NWP service ended in 1933. Sonoma County's River Road adopted the former alignment of the Guerneville branch from Fulton to Duncans Mills after rails were removed in 1935.

Diesels were being used on all trains by 1953, with the exception of ten-wheelers number 181 and 183 pulling passenger trains numbered 3 and 4 between San Rafael and Eureka with number 182 on standby. The #3/#4 trains offered sleeping cars, a cafe-lounge in addition to coach cars. Passengers from San Francisco would take Greyhound Buses from the San Francisco Ferry Building at the base of Market Street to San Rafael. NWP locomotives 112, 140, 141, 143, and 178 plus SP numbers 2345, 2356, 2564, 2582, and 2810 were stored at Tiburon for emergency use; but steam power had disappeared by 1955. On November 10, 1958, all mainline passenger service was discontinued south of Willits. The only remaining service was a tri-weekly Willits-Eureka round trip, operated by a single Budd Rail Diesel Car, which ran until April 30, 1971. When Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail service on May 1, 1971, it did not continue service on the NWP.

1964 flood damage

The catastrophic Christmas flood of 1964 destroyed 100 miles (160 km) of the railroad in Northern California, including three bridges over the Eel River, and permanently changed the topography of the area. The line was closed for 177 days while 850 men rebuilt the railroad through the Eel River canyon. The line was reopened on 16 June 1965. In the years following the 1964 flood, the rail line was less reliable due to increased landsliding in the Eel River Canyon; but freight traffic remained high until the 1970s, as improvements to US Highway 101 cut hauling times, making trucking competitive with the rail line. An example of a 1970s work day on the NWP might look something like the following: During the final decade of Southern Pacific operation, carloads of lumber left Eureka each morning pulled by six EMD SD9 locomotives called "Cadillacs" by their crews. The train might pick up a refrigerator car of butter from Fernbridge and more lumber cars from Fortuna and Scotia before making a meal stop for its crew at the Fort Seward depot. More lumber cars might be added at Alderpoint during the long, gentle climb up the Eel River canyon. A second crew took over at Willits, where more cars from the California Western typically swelled the train to approximately one hundred cars. Five miles of 2.25 percent grade from Willits to Ridge originally required helpers, but six "Cadillacs" typically moved the train from Willits to Ridge in two sections during later years. The remaining trip down the Russian River to Schellville included a meal stop for the crew at Geyserville.

1978 tunnel fire

Many Humboldt County mills began shipping lumber in trucks when a fire caused collapse of the Island Mountain tunnel, or tunnel 27, closing the line north of Willits on 6 September 1978, and only half of that traffic returned to the rails when the line reopened on 10 December 1979. Remaining traffic revenues were insufficient for track maintenance through the Eel River Canyon, at that time the most expensive stretch of rail line in the United States. In September 1983, the SP announced that it was shutting down the maintenance-intensive NWP line north of Willits. This led to a contentious court battle since the SP did not properly notify the Interstate Commerce Commission of their intent to abandon the line. The line was ordered reopened by the U.S. Circuit Court in March 1984.

Sales and shortline development

In 1984, the SP sold the north end from Willits to Eureka to Bryan Whipple, who ran it as the Eureka Southern Railroad under the reporting marks EUKA. The Eureka Southern operated freight trains and revamped tourist train service until bankrupted by storm damage in the Eel River Canyon.

North Coast Railroad Authority

NWPwreck
Derailed box cars remain adjacent to Outlet Creek at milepost 152 near Longvale.

The California Legislature formed the NCRA in 1989 to save the NWP from total abandonment. NCRA purchased the Eureka Southern in 1992 and leased the line to the newly formed North Coast Railroad which operated until late 1996, when severe flooding of the Eel River led to widespread landslide damage and destruction of roadbed which remained unrepaired as of 2020. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) prohibited any train operation north of Willits in 1998. This order was amended in 1999 to allow the connecting California Western Railroad to resume operation to Willits Depot and turn trains on the wye at Willits Yard.

While Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District began purchasing sections of the NWP's south end from the SP, and SP began to lease the line to the California Northern Railroad (CFNR). CFNR operated one train from Willits to Hopland, where freight cars were transferred to a second train from Hopland to Schellville. The track from Lombard to Healdsburg is owned by SMART, and the CFNR had trackage rights granted from Schellville to Willits.

When the CFNR lease was terminated, the NCRA took over operations using "Black Widow" EMD GP9 and SD9 locomotives running both freight service and occasional passenger excursion service from Santa Rosa and Healdsburg to Willits from 1996 to 1998. The line was plagued by a series of harsh El Nino storms causing washouts and bridge instability until the FRA shut down all operations over the entire length of the line. The six Black Widows were returned to their lessor Omni-trax in 1998, and former SP SD9s, leased from BUGX, and former North Coast Railroad GP9s, owned by the NCRA, were pressed into service. These locomotives and some maintenance of way equipment remained in storage at the Willits and Schellville yards, with the first set being returned to BUGX in December 2016.

In January 2001, the NWP resumed service between Schellville and Cotati using three leased locomotives with reporting mark "NWPY", but service was discontinued in September 2001 because the operator lacked capital to continue operations.

New NWP (2009–present)

The new SMART began electrical work from Schellville to Windsor in 2009. Reballasting and replacement of bad ties between Schellville and Windsor was completed by October 2009. Northwestern Pacific reopened the line and began operations in June 2011 over the section of track between Napa and Windsor, California. In July 2011 the first freight train delivered grain to Petaluma. Trains on the NWP run from the Lombard interchange with the California Northern Railroad, up to Windsor. Service consists of about three trips weekly over the line. The railroad has hauled grain for dairy and poultry farms in Sonoma County, and lumber products out of Windsor and Schellville. Occasional maintenance of way work for SMART and car storage in Schellville have also been an integral part of NWP operations. At Napa, the railroad exchanges freight carloads with the CFNR in American Canyon.

Regular passenger trains began in late Spring 2017 between Sonoma County Airport and San Rafael, with bus connections to the Larkspur ferry landing and city of Cloverdale. While SMART will eventually extend commuter service to Cloverdale, NCRA and NWPco have plans to open the line to the Skunk Train connection and major yard facility in Willits, but no timeline has been established. Both agencies' plans are dependent on state and federal grants, and the success of the SMART train. Although tourist companies have expressed interest in possibly opening an excursion and dinner train that would traverse Humboldt and Arcata bays, there are no plans to reopen the Eel River Canyon segment.

Financial disarray and legal troubles beginning before the turn of the millennium have caused the North Coast Rail Authority to fall out of favor with state officials and the public, who have moved to replace the length of the former railroad with pedestrian trails. California's 2018 Great Redwood Trail Act includes detailed plans for investigating and resolving the Authority's debts, dissolving the NCRA, and converting its rights-of-way to rail-trail.

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit acquired 21 miles (34 km) from Healdsburg north to the Mendocino-Sonoma County border in September 2020, and in February 2021, took over freight operations, having been approved by the Surface Transportation Board.

Predecessor lines

1916 ICC RG134 NWP map
Valuation map of the Northwestern Pacific railroad
  • California Midland Railroad extended the Eel River and Eureka Railroad up the Van Duzen River to Carlotta, and was merged into SF&NW in 1903.
  • California Northwestern Railway formed in 1898 for Southern Pacific Railroad to assume control of the SF&NP and extend the line from Ukiah to Willits in 1902. An extension was built from Willits to Sherwood in 1904. Merged into NWP in 1907.
  • California and Northern Railway was formed by Santa Fe Railroad to build north from Eureka to Arcata in 1901, and was merged into SF&NW in 1904.
  • Cloverdale and Ukiah Railroad extended the SF&NP from Cloverdale to Ukiah in 1889.
  • Eel River and Eureka Railroad connected Humboldt Bay with the Eel River town of Fortuna in 1884, and was merged into SF&NW in 1903.
  • Fort Bragg and Southeastern Railroad formed in 1905 for Santa Fe Railroad to assume control of the isolated 24-mile (39 km) Albion River Railroad built in 1891. Merged into NWP in 1907, but never connected to the remainder of the NWP system.
  • Fulton and Guerneville Railroad constructed the 15-mile (24 km) SF&NP branch from Fulton to Guerneville in 1877.
  • Marin and Napa Railroad extended the Sonoma Valley narrow-gauge 8 miles (13 km) from Sears Point to connect with the SF&NP at Ignacio in 1888.
  • North Pacific Coast Railroad built a 3 ft narrow gauge line from Sausalito via the Tomales Bay coast to the Russian River in 1876. Became North Shore Railroad in 1902.
  • North Shore Railroad formed to assume control of the North Pacific Coast narrow-gauge in 1902. Merged into NWP in 1907.
  • Oregon and Eureka Railroad was formed in 1903 for Southern Pacific Railroad to assume control of logging lines around Arcata at the north end of Humboldt Bay. Selected lines to Trinidad were merged into Northwestern Pacific in 1911. The Trinidad extension reverted to Hammond Lumber Company control in 1933 and operated as logging branches of the Humboldt Northern Railway until 1948.
  • Pacific Lumber Company built 7 miles (11 km) of track in 1885 to connect their mill at Scotia with the Eel River and Eureka Railroad at Alton. Branch lines were subsequently built up the Eel River; and these lines merged into SF&NW in 1903.
  • Petaluma and Haystack Railroad built from Petaluma to Haystack Landing on the Petaluma River in 1864. Purchased by SF&NP in 1876.
  • San Francisco and Eureka Railway formed by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1903 to build a connection from Willits to Eureka. Merged into NWP in 1907.
  • San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad (SF&NP) built from Donahue landing on the Petaluma River to Santa Rosa in 1870 and extended to Cloverdale in 1872. Extended from Petaluma to San Rafael in 1879. Extended from San Rafael to Tiburon by the San Francisco & San Rafael in 1884. Extended from Cloverdale to Ukiah by the Cloverdale & Ukiah in 1889. Merged in NWP in 1907.
  • San Francisco and Northwestern Railway (SF&NW) formed by Santa Fe Railroad in 1903 to consolidate the California and Northern Railway from Arcata to Eureka, the Eel River and Eureka Railroad from Eureka to Alton, The California Midland from Alton to Carlotta, and the Pacific Lumber Company lines from Alton up the Eel River. Merged into NWP in 1907.
  • San Francisco and San Rafael Railroad extended the SF&NP from San Rafael to Tiburon in 1884.
  • San Rafael and San Quentin Railroad (SRSQ) was a narrow-gauge railroad formed on 25 February 1869 to connect a ferry landing at Point San Quentin with San Rafael.
  • Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Green Valley Railroad built the 6-mile (9.7 km) SF&NP branch from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol in 1890.
  • Sonoma and Santa Rosa Railroad extended the Sonoma Valley narrow-gauge from Sonoma to Glen Ellen in 1882.
  • Sonoma Valley Prismoidal Railway was an early wooden monorail that was to be built from Petaluma River landing 5 miles (8.0 km) to Schellville in 1876. However, only the segment from Norfolk landing (later called Wingo) on Sonoma Creek was ever completed. The line ceased operations in May 1877 and was converted to the narrow-gauge Sonoma Valley Railroad beginning in 1878.
  • Sonoma Valley Railroad purchased Sonoma Valley Prismoidal Railway in 1878, converted it to a conventional 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge, and extended it into Sonoma in 1879. Extended from Sonoma to Glen Ellen by the Sonoma & Glen Ellen in 1882. Extended from Sears Point landing to rail connection at Ignacio by Marin & Napa in 1888.

Route

Northwestern Pacific Railroad Route 1931
Northwestern Pacific Railroad Route in 1931

NWP mileposts conform to Southern Pacific Railroad convention of distance from San Francisco:

Roster

Steam locomotives

Number Builder Type Date Works number Notes
1 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1884 7400 ex-Eel River and Eureka Railroad #2 then San Francisco and Northwestern Railway #2 retired in 1916
2 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1883 7013 ex-Eel River and Eureka Railroad #1 then San Francisco and Northwestern Railway #1 retired in 1920
3 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1887 8947 ex-Los Angeles County Railroad #3 then Eureka and Klamath River Railroad #6 then Oregon and Eureka Railroad #6 retired in 1923
4 Norris Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1862 1009 ex-San Francisco and San Jose Railroad #2 then San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #1; used in passenger service between Tiburon and San Rafael; retired 1920
5 Booth 4-4-0 1873 17 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #5 scrapped 1911
6 Booth 4-4-0 1870 14 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #2; used in passenger service between Sausalito and San Quentin; destroyed by boiler explosion 1915
7 Booth 4-4-0 1870 15 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #3; used in passenger service between Sausalito and San Quentin; retired 1920
8 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1881 5485 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #8; shipped to Eureka in 1911 for construction through the Eel River canyon; retired 1925
9 Grant Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1883 1664 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #9; used in passenger service between Sausalito and Glen Ellen; reboilered 1917 retired 1938
10 Grant Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1883 1665 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #10; used in passenger service between Sausalito and Glen Ellen; reboilered 1917 scrapped 1937
11 Grant Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1878 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #6 scrapped 1912
12 Grant Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1878 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #7; shipped to Eureka in 1911 for construction through the Eel River canyon; retired 1926
13 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1875 3831 ex-Santa Fe Railroad #07 then San Francisco and Northwestern Railway retired 1929
14 Grant Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1888 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #14; used in passenger service between Sausalito and Glen Ellen; reboilered 1915 retired 1926
15 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1878 4416 ex-New Mexico and Southern Pacific Railroad #203>#503 then Santa Fe Railroad #103>#049 then San Francisco and Northwestern Railway #7 scrapped 1930
16 Pennsylvania Railroad 4-4-0 1886 1031 ex-Pennsylvania Railroad #452 then Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Railroad #452 then Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad #8298>#298>#343 then Pacific Lumber Company #3 then Eel River and Eureka Railroad#4 then San Francisco and Northwestern Railway #4 retired 1930
17 Rogers Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1889 4155 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #17; used in passenger service between Sausalito and Duncan Mills; scrapped 1935
18 Rogers Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1889 4154 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #16 wrecked 1910
19 Rogers Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1884 3305 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #12; shipped to Eureka in 1911 for construction through the Eel River canyon; reboilered 1917 scrapped 1937
20 Rogers Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1884 3306 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #13; used in passenger service between Sausalito and Duncan Mills; reboilered ~1916 retired ~1932
21 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1904 24035 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #24; used in passenger service between Sausalito and Ukiah; scrapped 1937
22-23 American Locomotive Company 4-4-0 1908 44959-44960 used in passenger service between Sausalito and Ukiah; scrapped 1938 and 1949
51-54 American Locomotive Company 4-4-0 1914 54580-54583 scrapped 1938
99 E. Jardine 0-4-0T 1887 purchased by San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad 1898 sold 1910 North Bend Lumber Company
101 Rogers Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1889 4212 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #18; used on the mixed train between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol; scrapped 1928
102 Grant Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1888 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #15; used in freight service between Tiburon and Glen Ellen; retired 1929
103 Richmond Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1901 3304 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #20 scrapped 1935
104 Richmond Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1901 3303 ex-California Northwestern Railway #31; shipped to Eureka in 1911 for construction through the Eel River canyon; scrapped 1936
105 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 1902 25620 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #21 scrapped 1934
106 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 1902 25621 ex-California Northwestern Railway #32 then San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #25 scrapped 1934
107-108 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1904 23933 & 23951 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #22-23 scrapped 1937 & 1948
109 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1900 18179 ex-California Northwestern Railroad #30; used in freight service between Tiburon and Sausalito; scrapped 1948
110 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1900 17759 ex-San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad #19 scrapped 1937
111-114 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 1908 44955-44958 used for freight service between Willits and Santa Rosa; #112 retired in 1962, preserved California State Railroad Museum
#114 wrecked 1946 #111 & 113 scrapped 1949 and 1947
130-133 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 1910 49089-49092 initially used in passenger service between Sausalito and Willits; scrapped 1938
134-135 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 1912 51536-51537 scrapped 1940
136-141 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 1914 54578-54579 & 54975-54978 scrapped 1940-57
142-143 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1922 55356 & 55473 scrapped 1953
170-172 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1907 30105-30106 & 31094 ex-Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad #4, #5 & #8 purchased 1918 scrapped 1946-1950
178 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1906 29726 ex-Bullfrog Goldfield #13 > #11 purchased 1917 scrapped 1954
179 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 1907 44753 ex-Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad #12 purchased 1917 scrapped 1952
180-181 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 1914 54979-54980 renumbered from #160-161 1918 scrapped 1952-1955
182-184 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1922 55351 & 55470-55471 #184 destroyed in Scotia Bluffs slide 1953 – others scrapped 1955
201-202 Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-6-2T 1903 22446 & 22474 ex-California Northwestern Railway #33-34 tenders added 1910; used in freight service on the Sherwood branch until #202 was shipped to Albion; scrapped 1930-1937
225 H. K. Porter, Inc 2-4-2T 1887 905 ex-National City and Otay Railroad #5 then Fort Bragg and Southeastern Railroad #1 scrapped 1937
226 Hinkley Locomotive Works 0-6-0 1880 ex-Santa Fe Railroad #122>#2232 then Fort Bragg and Southeastern Railroad #2 scrapped 1910
227-228 American Locomotive Company 0-6-0 1910 48037-48038 scrapped 1948-1949
229-231 American Locomotive Company 0-6-0 1914 54981-54983 scrapped 1948-1950
251 Lima Locomotive Works Shay locomotive 21 September 1904 909 ex-Northwestern Redwood Company #1 then California Northwestern Railway 2nd #32; leased to Northwestern Redwood Company of Willits, California; leased to Portland, Eugene and Eastern Railroad; sold 1935 to Washington construction firm
255 Heisler Heisler 1912 1254 ex-Jordan River Lumber Company #7 then Horseshoe Lumber Company #7 purchased 1922 sold Shaw Bertram Lumber Company 1924
300 Cooke Locomotive Works 2-6-0 1901 2624 ex-Southern Pacific Railroad #2140>#1714 leased 1929 retired 1934
301 Cooke Locomotive Works 2-6-0 1901 2626 ex-Southern Pacific Railroad #2142>#1716 leased 1929 retired 1934
351 Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-6-0 1887 8776 ex-Eel River and Eureka Railroad #3 then San Francisco and Northwestern Railway #3 renumbered from #151 1914 scrapped 1916
352 Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-6-0 1886 8092 ex-Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad #65>#314 then Santa Fe Railroad #0179 then San Francisco and Northwestern Railway #5 renumbered from #152 1914 scrapped 1929
353-354 American Locomotive Company 2-6-0 1908 45284-45285 renumbered from #153-154 1914 scrapped 1935

Diesel locomotives 1996–1998

Number Builder Type Date Builder's # Frame # Notes
70 EMD GP7 5/1953 18418 5250-10 Ex NCRR 70; ex EUKA 70; ex CCT 70; née RDG 618. Formerly stored in Eureka, CA. Scrapped in 2015.
2872 EMD GP9E 4/1959 25136 5595-37 Ex NCRR 2872; ex SP 2872; ex SP 3847; ex SP 3699; née SP 5836. Stored out of service in Eureka, CA.
3190 EMD GP9E 4/1955 19980 5369-4 Ex NCRR 3190; ex SP 3190; ex SP 3007; née SP 5625. Stored out of service in Eureka, CA.
3779 EMD GP9E 3/1957 22922 5516-11 Ex NCRR 3779; ex SP 3779; ex SP 3581; née SP 5740. Stored out of service in Eureka, CA.
3786 EMD GP9E 3/1957 22945 5516-34 Ex NCRR 3786; ex SP 3786; ex SP 3604; née SP 5763. Stored out of service in Willits, CA.
3804 EMD GP9E 3/1957 22943 5516-32 Ex NCRR 3804; ex SP 3804; ex SP 3602; née SP 5761; to BUGX 3804. Formerly stored in Willits, Petaluma, and Schellville, CA. Sent to lessor in 2016.
3825 EMD GP9 4/1959 25133 5595-34 Ex SP 3825; ex SP 3696; née SP 5833; to OMLX 3825 (1996?). Scrapped in 2004 in Loveland, CO.
3840 EMD GP9E 2/1959 25146 5596-2 Ex SP 3840; ex SP 3654; née TNO 450; to OMLX 3840 (1996?); to RailServe (Prentiss, AB) 3840 (2000)
3844 EMD GP9 4/1959 25137 5595-38 Ex SP 3844; ex SP 3700; née SP 5837. Wrecked in 1997. Stored out of service in Willits, CA.
3850 EMD GP9 3/1959 25116 5595-17 Ex SP 3850; ex SP 3679; née SP 5816. Wrecked in 1997. Stored out of service in Willits, CA.
3857 EMD GP9E 4/1959 25139 5595-40 Ex NCRR 3857; ex SP 3857; ex SP 3702; née SP 5839. Stored out of service in Eureka, CA.
4324 EMD SD9 4/1954 19441 5322-13 Ex SP 4324; ex SP 3813; née SP 5352; to OMLX 4324 (1996?); to CRGX 100
4327 EMD SD9 1/1955 20229 5381-7 Ex SP 4327; ex SP 3856; née SP 5378; to OMLX 4327 (1996?); to GWR 4327 (still in NWP Paint as of 1FEB14)
4423 EMD SD9 3/1956 21297 5435-9 Ex SP 4423; ex SP 3946; née SP 5472; to OMLX 4423 (1996?); to NICX 5472
5305 EMD SD9 7/1957 22808 5507-1 Née DRGW 5305; to OMLX 5305 (1996?); to CRRX 5305. Low short hood. Scrapped early October 2012.
6595 EMD GP35 6/1964 29569 5669-19 OMLX 6595; ex SP 6595; née SP 7483; to OMLX 6595 (1996); to HBRY 2502 (1997); to OMLX 2256
6600 EMD GP35 12/1964 29705 7756-4 OMLX 6600; ex SP 6600; née SP 7703; to OMLX 6600 (1996); to HBRY 2503 (1997)

Diesel locomotives 2001

Number Builder Type Date Builder's # Frame # Notes
NWPY 171 EMD SW1500 1969 34973 4557-2 LLPX 171; née AN 713
EMDX 6412 EMD SD40 1/1971 37004 7290-39 Ex CR 6278; née PC 6278; to CFNR 4097; to KYLE 4097
EMDX 6413 EMD SD40 1/1971 37009 7290-44 Ex CR 6283; née PC 6283; to CFNR 4098; to KYLE 4098

Diesel locomotives post 2006

Number Builder Type Date Builder's # Frame # Notes
1322 EMD GP7u 1/1952 15799 5110-2 BUGX 1322; ex BNSF 1322; née ATSF 2109. Painted in Santa Fe Bluebonnet scheme. Returned to BUGX and sent to Santa Maria Valley RR in spring 2016
1501 EMD MP15DC 12/1974 73625-5 [1] Ex GMTX 212; ex UPY 1293; née SP 2694. Unit started long term lease in 4/2016. In Service out of Schellville. Painted in SP Bloody Nose colors.
1922 EMD GP9 8/1957 22740 5505-21 [2] Ex BUGX 337; ex BNSF 1628; ex BN 1922; née NP 337. Leased from BUGX. Out of Service in Schellville storage. Painted in SP Bloody Nose colors.
2009 Railpower RP20BD 12/2007 19234 5321-B29 Originally leased from RJ Corman, later purchased. In Service out of Schellville. Built as UP GP9B #158B in 2/1954.
2611 Railpower RP20GE 11/2006 43589 UNK Ex UP Y2611. Currently being used as a switcher at Hunt and Behrens. Built as UP B30-7A #238, née MP 4838 in 1/1982. Painted in Union Pacific colors.
TCRY 007 Baldwin/EMD VO-1000m 1/1944 70126 Unit bought 2/2013. Built as SLSF VO-1000 #215. Repowered with an EMD 567 in 1957. Out of Service in storage Schellville.

Narrow-gauge line

PostcardMesaGrandeCARailroadStationCirca1910
Mesa Grande station was served by dual-gauge track.

The NWP 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge line was built as the North Pacific Coast Railroad in 1873 from a San Francisco ferry connection at Sausalito to the Russian River at Monte Rio. Rails were extended downriver to Duncans Mills in 1876, and up Austin Creek to Cazadero in 1886. This narrow-gauge line became the Shore Division of the NWP formed by Santa Fe and Southern Pacific in 1907. Freight traffic was heavy as the lower Russian River valley was a major source of redwood lumber for rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The NWP narrow-gauge obtained additional freight cars from the South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPC) as the SPC was converted to standard gauge between 1907 and 1909. Ferries Lagunitas, Ukiah, and Sausalito carried narrow-gauge freight cars across San Francisco Bay from Sausalito to the dual-gauge San Francisco Belt Railroad.

After the flooded Russian River destroyed the 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge NWP Guerneville branch bridge at Bohemia on 19 March 1907, NWP rebuilt the bridge one-half mile downriver; and extended the Guerneville branch from Monte Rio to Duncans Mills as dual-gauge by 1909. Redwood lumber was then shipped out over the Guerneville branch. A freight transfer shed was built at San Anselmo so narrow-gauge tracks could be removed from the ferries in 1910; and more than half of the narrow-gauge freight cars were scrapped by 1912. A daily freight train operated from Occidental to San Anselmo in the morning and returned to Occidental in the afternoon. The train included a coach for Sonoma County students attending school in Tomales. A freight engine stationed at Duncans Mills was operated by the Guerneville branch freight crew as needed to bring infrequent freight down from Cazadero for transfer to the Guerneville branch until the line up Austin Creek to Cazadero was standard-gauged in 1926.

Summer tourists from San Francisco still visited Russian River vacation spots via joint narrow-gauge/standard-gauge NWP "triangle" excursions until 1927 when automobile travel became more popular. Standard-gauging of the southern end of the line from San Francisco Bay to Point Reyes Station at the head of Tomales Bay was completed on 5 April 1920. Freight service between Point Reyes Station and Occidental was reduced to thrice weekly with freight transfer at Point Reyes Station. Lumber production from the lower Russian River valley was ended by a wildfire on 17 September 1923. After the standard-gauge line was extended to Cazadero, service north of Point Reyes was reduced to a daily (except Sunday) mixed train to Camp Meeker and return until the last narrow-gauge train ran on 29 March 1930; and the remaining narrow-gauge line between Monte Rio and Point Reyes Station was dismantled that autumn. The route of the dual-gauge line from Fulton to Duncan Mills later became the popular River Road connecting all the towns from the coast to the central county.

Route

Mileposts conform to Southern Pacific Railroad convention of distance from San Francisco.

  • Milepost 6.5 – Sausalito
  • Milepost 11.7 – tunnel 1
  • Milepost 12.6 – Corte Madera
  • Milepost 13.4 – Larkspur
  • Milepost 14.7 – Kentfield
  • Milepost 16.5 – Junction later known as San Anselmo
  • Milepost 18.3 – Fairfax
  • Milepost 20.7 – tunnel 2
  • Milepost 23.1 – Nicasio
  • Milepost 27 – bridge over Paper Mill Creek and highway (former hamlet of Taylorville)
  • Milepost 35.6 – Arroyo San Geronimo trestle
  • Milepost 36.4 – Point Reyes Station
  • Milepost 45.4 – Marshall
  • Milepost 50.5 – bridge over Keyes Creek
  • Milepost 51.9 – tunnel 3
  • Milepost 53.1 – Tomales
  • Milepost 53.7 – tunnel 4
  • Milepost 54.9 – Stemple Creek trestle
  • Milepost 58.8 – Estero Americano Creek trestle
  • Milepost 59.5 – Valley Ford
  • Milepost 61.9 – Ebabias Creek trestle
  • Milepost 62.2 – Bodega Road crossing
  • Milepost 62.7 – Salmon Creek trestle
  • Milepost 63.7 – Freestone
  • Milepost 65.2 – Salmon Creek trestle
  • Milepost 66.9 – Brown Creek trestle (this 142-foot (43 m) high trestle was reputedly the highest of its kind in the United States when built in 1876)
  • Milepost 67.6 – Occidental
  • Milepost 68.7 – Maquire Creek trestle
  • Milepost 69.0 – Camp Meeker
  • Milepost 70.5 – Larry Creek trestle
  • Milepost 70.8 – bridge over Dutch Bill Creek
  • Milepost 71 – tunnel 5
  • Milepost 71.6 – bridge over Dutch Bill Creek
  • Milepost 71.7 – bridge over highway
  • Milepost 73.8 – Monte Rio
  • Milepost 77 – bridge over Russian River
  • Milepost 77.1 – Duncans Mills
  • Milepost 82.1 – bridge over Austin Creek
  • Milepost 84.3 – Cazadero The D.H. McEwen Lumber Company operated narrow gauge 2-cylinder Shay locomotive C/N 1823 at Cazadero briefly beginning in 1906.

Locomotives

Number Builder Type Date Works number Notes
82 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1876 3842 ex-NPC/NS/NWP #11 scrapped 1911
83 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1875 3722 ex-NPC/NS/NWP #3 scrapped 1913
84 NPC Sausalito Shop 4-4-0 1900 1 ex-NPC/NS/NWP #20; used in passenger service between Sausalito and Point Reyes; retired 1920 scrapped 1924
85 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1884 7249 ex-South Pacific Coast Railroad #14 wrecked
86 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1884 7236 ex-South Pacific Coast Railroad #15 then NWP #19>#86 sold Duncan Mills Land & Lumber Company 1920 scrapped 1926
87 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1880 4960 ex-South Pacific Coast Railroad #10 then NWP #10>#87 scrapped 1917
90 Brooks Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1891 1886 ex-NPC/NS/NWP #15 operated last narrow gauge NWP train in 1930 scrapped 1935
91 Brooks Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1894 2421 ex-NPC/NS/NWP #16 scrapped 1935
92 Brooks Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1891 1885 ex-NPC/NS/NWP #14; used in passenger service between Sausalito and Cazadero; retired 1926; scrapped 1935
93 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-4-0 1884 7249 1924 rebuild of wrecked #85 scrapped 1935
94 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1887 8486 ex-South Pacific Coast Railroad #20 then NWP #21>#144>#94 scrapped 1935
95 Brooks Locomotive Works 4-6-0 1899 3418 ex-NPC/NS/NWP #18 then NWP #145>#95 retired 1929 scrapped 1935
195 Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-6-0 1883 6611 ex-NPC/NS/NWP #13 scrapped 1912
321 Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-8-0 1880 4974 ex-Denver and Rio Grande Railroad #44 then NS/NWP #40 scrapped 1912
322 Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-8-0 1885 7676 ex-Hancock and Calumet Railroad #2 then Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad #33 then NS/NWP #33 scrapped 1914
323 Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-8-0 1885 7677 ex-Hancock and Calumet Railroad #3 then Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad #31 then NS/NWP #31 scrapped 1912

Railroad in film

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad has been featured in several motion pictures and films, thanks to both the historical and natural backgrounds offered by the route.

One of the most notable is in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, which was filmed in downtown Santa Rosa, California in the summer of 1942, using the stone depot and railroad yard as a background, as well as stock footage shot from an NWP passenger train.

The NWP trestle at Greenbrae, Marin County, (MP 14.61) was featured in the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood made a famous jump from the trestle onto a school bus loaded with kidnapped children passing underneath.

Stock footage of a Eureka Southern "North Coast Daylight" train was used in an episode of ABC's TV show "Moonlighting," starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepard. The episode, titled "Next Stop Murder," aired on March 19, 1985 and was set on a murder mystery dinner train. Footage used included GP-38 #30 winding through South Fork and Shively, as well as a shot of the train passing through Tunnel #39.

A 1991 television remake of Shadow of a Doubt was filmed at the Petaluma NWP depot, using former Daylight passenger equipment owned by the NCRA and Southern Pacific 6051, loaned from the California State Railroad Museum.

In the 2003 film Cheaper by the Dozen, the Santa Rosa Railroad Square and depot area were used as backdrops.

The film Bloodloss or Day of Vengeance utilized the tracks for a filming location just south of Dos Rios in the summer of 2008.

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