Northwestern Pacific Railroad

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Northwestern Pacific Railroad
Reporting marks	NWP
Locale	Northern California's Redwood Empire from Marin County - Eureka
Dates of operation	c. 1907 – 1992
Successor line	Southern Pacific
Track gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	San Francisco, California

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting marks NWP) was a regional railroad serving the Redwood Empire of Northern California. The railroad ran from the Northern Bay Area at Tiburon to Eureka, California, primarily near the U.S. Route 101 corridor.

The NWP ran an electrified interurban in Marin County until 1941. The opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 caused commuters to shift from the train-ferry service to commuting by bus and car.

The NWP was merged into the Southern Pacific in 1992, only four years before the Union Pacific/Southern Pacific merger.

1 History
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

The early history and predecessors of the NWP can be traced back to the dawning of rail service in the 1860's in Marin and Sonoma Counties and the redwood lumber railroads near Eureka. These earlier roads include the Sonoma Prismoidal, (an early wooden monorail), the narrow gauge North Pacific Coast Railroad, the Arcata and Mad River Railroad, the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad, and the California Western Railroad-Skunk Train.

[edit] Modern History

The line was prone to problems caused by mother nature and tunnel fires, making the railroad expensive to maintain. Keeping freight customers had to be a challenge also, as through service was frequently disrupted.

January 1953 a severe rainstorm caused earth and debris to slip suddenly from the face of the Scotia Bluffs sweeping an 80-ton locomotive into the Eel River killing three crewmen.
July 1961 a tunnel fire north of San Rafael decapitated the line south into Marin County until it was finally repaired in 1967.
December 1964, flooding washed out over 100 miles of the northern end of the line inside the Eel River Canyon.
September 1978, a tunnel fire north of Island Mountain severed the line for a year.
January 1980, flooding washed out the tracks at Schellville at NWP's interchange.

With up to 115" of rainfall each year, unstable geology, and seismic activity, the Eel River Canyon has been deemed unsuitable for economic use. 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 as 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.

[edit] Eureka Southern Railroad saves the Willits - Eureka line from abandonment

On September 8, 1983, investor Bryan R. Whipple came to rescue the line and his new railroad, the Eureka Southern Railroad, was incorporated. He purchased the line north of Willits from NWP for $4.95 million and on November 1, 1984 the railroad commenced operations.

The Eureka Southern operated the railroad with four EMD 2,000 horsepower locomotives it acquired from Conrail that were built in 1969.

The Eureka Southern struggled to make money on the line and on December 15, 1986 they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, however the railroad continued operations. The railroad tried operating excursion trains such as the North Coast Daylight. It should also be noted that during this period environmental concerns severely restricted logging. Logging was the primary commodity carried by the Eureka Southern.

In September 1988 the ES purchased the 7 mile shortline Arcata & Mad River Railroad from Simpson Timber Company for $300,000. The A&MR had been closed for the two year period prior to its purchase by the Eureka Southern.

The deathnell of the ES came on April 25, 1992 when an earthquake and a related landslide at Scotia Bluff closed the line.

[edit] North Coast Railroad

In 1992, the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) purchased the Eureka Southern and leased the line to the newly-formed North Coast Railroad . The NCRA was created by state law in 1989 to preserve the Northwestern Pacific line from future abandonment. The new NWP currently operates the line from Eureka to Schellville over the length of the original route of the NWP. In 1996, the North Coast RR and the former "south end", owned by the Southern Pacific RR, became the "new" Northwestern Pacific Railroad under public ownership. The goals of the new Northwest Pacific Railroad include handling more freight by rail along the Highway 101 corridor, establishing passenger excursion trains, and eventually providing regular passenger commute service. In 1998 the railroad, which had more than 208 damaged sites along 216 miles, became the first and only railroad in America to be officially closed by the Federal Railroad Authority.

On May 31, 2006, NCRA announced that it had selected a new operator for the line. The winning bidder was NWP, Inc., led by CEO John H. Williams who had been instrumental in setting up Caltrain service on the San Francisco peninsula. Repairs to the line are expected to begin over the summer of 2006 with service reinaugurated in phases as soon as practical. The details of the lease to NWP, Inc., are expected to be finalized by July 2006.^[1]

[edit] References

Robertson, Donald B. (1998). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History - Volume IV - California. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers. ISBN 0-87004-385-4.
Drury, George H. (1984). The Train-Watcher's Guide to North American Railroads. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-061-2.
Lewis, Edward A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-290-9.
(2000) in Kalmbach Publishing: The historical guide to North American railroads, 2nd Edition, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-356-5.
Stindt, Fred A. (1978). The Northwestern Pacific Railroad: Redwood Empire Route, 3rd Edition, Kelseyville, California: Fred A. Stindt. ASIN: B0007F4A2M.