The 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.
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 , and the
Petaluma And Santa Rosa Railroad .
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.
On
September 8 1983 , investor Bryan R. 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 Day light. It should also be noted that during this period
Environmental concerns severely restricted
Logging . Logs, lumber, and wood products were the primary commodities 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.
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 the United States to be officially closed by the Federal Railroad Administration.
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.
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