Somehow I missed the topic about the ‘abandoned railroad’ along Hwy 101 in northwest California. This is the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, and most of the original line was purchased by the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) from Southern Pacific in 1995.
North of Windsor the line is currently embargoed. Freight service might be restored to Willits eventually but there seems no economic justification (customers) to rebuild this section. In spite of the obvious, the hysterical greenies keep pounding the NCRA with lawsuits that threaten operations over the entire property. In their twisted brains ‘someone’ wants to pay for rebuilding the line through the Eel River canyon north of Willits.
South of Windsor the line is still active - the current private freight operator (NWP Inc.) is regaining customers and the taxpayer funded commuter agency ‘Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit’ (SMART) is upgrading the line to San Rafael and then to the Larkspur ferry (not yet funded). SMART’s mission also includes extending service north to Cloverdale, home of the Lonely Train Station.
Now to ‘the rest of the story’. I just came across this YouTube posters recent and excellent aerial videos of the railroad reconstruction:
SMART is building a line from The Larkspur ferry terminal in the south to Cloverdale in the north. Most of the right of way still exists and they are putting in a new track for the distance. If it starts to get used it may outgrow the currently planned service in short order.
The US 101 corridor north from San Francisco to Santa Rosa is very heavily travelled and has needed this since before WWII. Originally much of the development in Marin county was on account of the NorthWestern Pacific RR commuter line that was discontinued in 1941.
Thanks for the heads up since I avoid FB like the Plague, the link is here.
A classic understatement! [^o)] Having grown up across the bay and passed through many times to visit relatives, I have few nice thoughts about the over-the-top ecoNIMBYs who have obstructed completion of the freeway between Novato and Petaluma.
A video of the existing Haystack Bridge which will be replaced in a few months:
The replacement is a bridge previously used by the BNSF at Galveston, TX and is being modified and refurbished. It will be placed on piers eight feet taller and further apart to allow passage of smaller boats.
In 2013 the Cinnabar trestle just north of Petaluma was replaced:
A NWP test train run in 2011; the video is a cab ride showing what SMART riders will see in the near future:
Link to my Google map with some NWP/SMART points of interest:
In the next phase, passenger service will be extended south to the Larkspur ferry just south of the dual use Cal Park Hill tunnel. Further south, the ROW is partially used for hiking and bike paths.
The first photo shows the ‘new’ Haystack bridge (photo right) being readied for emplacement and use this year.
Returning from a trip to Mendocino county last week, it is more apparent why this service should achieve good ridership figures. For historic state and county bureaucratic reasons, the Hwy 101 freeway between Petaluma and north Novato is still a total CF. [banghead] Currently several upgrades / widenings are underway but appear to be non-contiguous, very strange and superbly dumb. By contrast, the freeway north of Petaluma is six lane to north Santa Rosa and has been upgraded to modern standards. No improvements seem to be started south of the Marin County line.
Assembly of the bridge will be completed, track laid and everything tested to the Coast Guard’s and other agencies satisfaction. The contractor is allowed up to 18 days for this task during which NWP freight operations are isolated on either side.
They are also putting up new signals in downtown San Rafael, the current south end of SMART commuter service.
SMART recently held ‘a media tour’ of the new Rail Operations Center. Of note is that it will be one of the first railroads to fully deploy PTC when it opens late this year.
I will be interesting to see how the DMUs work out. SMART didn’t want the Caltrain system of locomotive-hauled passenger cars for a few reasons. As long as ridership doesn’t skyrocket, they should be o.k.
Unfortunately, the locals didn’t prevent the Marin bike nazis from wasting a huge amount of taxpayer money on the new commuter hostile ped/bike bridge in Larkspur; an extremely long walk to the ferry and not covered to boot. This will bite SMART in the rear big time ridership-wise. If I’m proven wrong, it looks like a non-cab car could be inserted into the existing consist. Hopefully riders can walk between cars to reach a platform adjacent door.
Just discovered that many YouTube videos have been posted recently about the SMART train testing / driver ‘conditioning’ now underway. Here is a sample:
And what is it with new rail transit agencies that approve the most obnoxious sounding horns? SMART horns sound like a badly built and tuned harmonica to me. [+o(]