[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad

The North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) was a common carrier 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad (California) (NSR) and rebuilt the southern section into a standard-gauge electric railway.

North Pacific Coast Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersSausalito, California
Reporting markNPC
LocaleMarin and Sonoma counties, California
Dates of operation1871–1907
SuccessorNorthwestern Pacific Railroad
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gauge3 ft (914 mm)
Route map
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
84.3
Cazadero
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
82.1
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
81.x
Cazadero Redwoods
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
77.1
Duncan Mills
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
77.0
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
75.5
Sheridan
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
75.x
Mesa Grande
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
74.5
Cascade
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
73.8
Monte Rio
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
72.x
Tyrone
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
71.7
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
71.6
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
71.0
Tunnel 5
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
70.8
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
70.5
Larry Creek
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
69.0
Camp Meeker
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
68.7
Maquire Creek
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
67.6
Occidental
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
66.9
Brown Creek
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
65.2
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
63.7
Freestone
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
62.7
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
62.2
Bodega Road
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
61.9
Elbias Creek
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
59.5
Valley Ford
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
58.8
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
55.2
Fallon
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
54.9
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
53.7
Tunnel 4
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
53.1
Tomales
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
51.9
Tunnel 3
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
51.x
Camp Pistolesi
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
51.2
Keyes Creek
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
50.5
Keyes Creek
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
49.4
Hamlet
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
45.4
Marshall
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
40.5
Millerton
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
36.4
Point Reyes
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
35.6
Arroyo San Geronimo
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
31.2
Tocaloma
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
27.9
Camp Taylor
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
27.0
Paper Mill Creek
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
25.8
Bottini
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
25.2
Lagunitas
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
23.1
San Geronimo
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
22.0
Woodacre
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
21.5
Woodacre Lodge
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
20.7
Tunnel 2
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
18.8
Manor
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
18.3
Fairfax
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
16.5
San Anselmo
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
14.7
Kentfield
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
13.4
Larkspur
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
12.6
Corte Madera
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
11.7
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
6.5
Sausalito
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
[en] | North Pacific Coast Railroad
0
San Francisco

The NPC operated in the northern California counties of Marin and Sonoma that carried redwood lumber, local dairy and agricultural products, express and passengers. The NPC operated almost 93 mi (150 km) of track that extended from a pier at Sausalito (which connected the line via ferry to San Francisco) and operated northwest to Duncans Mills and Cazadero (also known as Ingrams). The NPC became the North Shore Railroad (California) (NSR) on March 7, 1902. In 1907 the North Shore Railroad became part of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP). Southern portions of the line were standard gauged and electrified by the North Shore for suburban passenger service, though tracks north of Point Reyes Station remained 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge until abandonment in the late 1930s.

Route

Mileposts conform to Southern Pacific Railroad convention of distance from San Francisco:[1]

Subsequent to abandonment, a 4-mile (6.4 km) segment around Samuel P. Taylor State Park was converted into a rail trail: the Cross Marin Trail.[2][3] It includes a segment in Tocaloma as well as the bridge over Lagunitas Creek and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

Electrification

The NSR was operated by John Martin and Eugene de Sabla Jr., pioneers in the electric railroad business. The southern 23 miles (37 km) of line were modernized to allow operation of standard-gauge electric passenger cars in addition to narrow-gauge steam-powered freight trains. Electric cars sometimes shared dual-gauge tracks with the steam trains, while at other locations a separate track for the electric cars was constructed parallel to the narrow-gauge route. The line was ultimately double tracked from Sausalito to San Anselmo except for the Alto tunnel. A power house was built at Alto and power was also purchased at San Rafael. Direct current electrical power was transmitted to the trains at 600 volts by a third rail (which was actually a fourth rail on the dual-gauge segments.)[4] Service started to Mill Valley on August 20, 1903, and to San Rafael on October 17, 1903. It was the first United States steam railroad electrified for operational efficiency rather than for smoke abatement. The railroad established practices later used in Grand Central Terminal and the interborough subways of New York City.[5] The electric lines were expanded after 1907 as part of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. Interurban services ceased on February 28, 1941.[6]

Locomotives

PhotographNumberNameBuilderTypeDateWorks numberNotes[7]
1SaucelitoBaldwin Locomotive Works2-6-018733495sold to White Lumber Company of Elk, California 1876[8]
2San RafaelMason Machine Works0-4-4T1874537burned at Tomales 1905 & rebuilt became NWP #89[9]
3TomalesBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018753722became NWP #83[10]
4OlemaBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018743629wrecked 1894 & rebuilt became NWP #81[11]
5BodegaBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018753703dismantled by 1897[12]
6Valley FordBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018743664leased to Dollar Lumber Company in 1899[13]
7TamalpaisBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018753721[14]
8Bully BoyMason Machine Works0-6-6T1877584burned at Tomales 1905[15]
9M. S. LathamBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018753749wrecked 14 January 1894 at Elim Grove trestle over Austin Creek[16]
10BloomfieldBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018763840sold 1895 Guatemala Western #1
11MarinBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018763842became NWP #82[17]
12SonomaBaldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018763843sold 1879 Nevada Central #5 (preserved at California State Railroad Museum)[18]
13Baldwin Locomotive Works2-6-018836611became NWP #195[19]
14Brooks Locomotive Works4-4-018911885became NWP #92[20]
15Brooks Locomotive Works4-4-018911886became NWP #90[21]
16Brooks Locomotive Works4-4-018942421became NWP #91[22]
17Baldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018753749NPC 1894 rebuild of wreck-damaged #9 wrecked again in 1900[23]
18Brooks Locomotive Works4-6-018993418reputedly the largest 3 ft (914 mm) gauge locomotive in the world when built. Became NWP #145 then #95[24]
20NPC Sausalito shop4-4-019001became NWP #84[25]
21Thomas-StetsonNPC Sausalito shop4-4-019012cab-forward rebuild of #5 scrapped 1905[26][27][28][29]
22Baldwin Locomotive Works4-4-018743664former #6 renumbered when returned from Dollar Lumber Company in 1901[13]

Roster of electric cars

NumberBuilderTypeDateCapacityNotes
101-112St. Louis Car Co.Trailers190266 seatstwelve unpowered open platform wooden trailers; #102 built in North Shore shops[30]
201-202North Shore shopsMotors190432 seats & baggage/mail/express compartmenttwo vestibuled wooden motors converted from narrow-gauge Pullman coaches built in 1879[31]
203North Shore shopsMotor190450 seatsopen platform wooden motor converted from narrow-gauge Pullman coach built in 1879; renumbered 309[30]
301-308St. Louis Car Co.Motors190264 to 70 seatsopen platform wooden motors; #303-308 built in North Shore shops[32]
350-358St. Louis Car Co.Motors190236 seats & baggage/mail/express compartmentnine vestibuled wooden motors[31]
401-404North Shore shopsTrailers190466 seatsfour unpowered open platform wooden trailers converted from narrow-gauge Pullman coaches built in 1879[30]

Ferries

Remains

All of the NPC trackage has been abandoned either by the NPC or the NWP. Some of the original right of way can be seen at the Samuel P. Taylor State Park near Fairfax, and along the shores of Tomales Bay and Keyes Estuary. Former stations remain in San Anselmo, Duncans Mills, and Point Reyes Station. The wooden water tank and a freight shed are maintained and in good condition at Freestone.

One NPC steam locomotive, No.12 the “Sonoma,” remains as a restored static exhibit in its circa 1870s appearance at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. A flatcar NS 1725 and caboose NS 2002 (as NWP 6101)[33] have been restored and are operated by the Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources at its Railroad Museum at Ardenwood in Fremont, CA. Several former railroad cars are located at Duncans Mills; one, a former passenger coach, was used as the Point Reyes Station library beginning in 1931.[34][35]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Stindt (1964) pp.88-89
  2. ^ Dunham, Tracy (August 10, 2014). “Hike of the Week: Cross Marin Trail is level, shaded and ready for feet or bikes”. Marin Independent Journal. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  3. ^ “Cross Marin Trailhead”. National Park Service. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  4. ^ Stindt (1964) p.31
  5. ^ Demoro (1986) pp.13 & 88
  6. ^ Wood, Jim (18 November 2016). “Remnants of the Rail Era”. Marin Magazine. December 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  7. ^ Dickinson (1970) pp.132-133
  8. ^ Dickinson (1974) p.27
  9. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.27,72-74,108,110 & 155
  10. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.5,63,67,136 & 150
  11. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.10,68,87 & 148
  12. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.40 & 137
  13. ^ a b Kneiss (1956) p.140
  14. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.66-67,115 & 134
  15. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.50,134 & 156
  16. ^ Dickinson (1970) pp.46 & 83-83
  17. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.88-89
  18. ^ Dickinson (1974) p.46
  19. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.55,80 & 116
  20. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.87,109.113,& 136
  21. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.76,109 & 137
  22. ^ Dickinson (1974) p.82
  23. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.70,96 & 120
  24. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.91 & 155
  25. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.2,92,107 & 114
  26. ^ Dickinson (1974) pp.93-94,115 & 156
  27. ^ Patented water tube boiler: Patent #682,765, application filed 20 June 1901, patent granted 17 September 1901.
  28. ^ Patented cab forward: Patent #35,806, application filed 25 November 1901, patent granted 11 March 1902.
  29. ^ Kyle K Wyatt: Cab Forward Locomotives, 30 November 2006.
  30. ^ a b c Stindt (1964) p.214
  31. ^ a b Stindt (1964) p.220
  32. ^ Stindt (1964) p.218
  33. ^ Bunker, Kevin V. (2017). “Preliminary Restoration Analysis of Northwestern Pacific Railroad Caboose No. 6101” (PDF). Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources, Inc.
  34. ^ “The Point Reyes Station Branch of the Marin County Free Library, located in a railway coach, 1931 [photograph]”. Marin County Free Library. May 1931.
  35. ^ Gross, Stephen D. (November 17, 2014). “Off The Rails: Duncans Mills caboose now holds a library”. Press Democrat.

Source: en.wikipedia.org