Recently dismantled on the old Northwestern Pacific line in California. Was this piece of track abandoned or will the trestle removal be a hindrance in the revival of the NWP?

http://www.kron.com/Global/story.asp?S=1388881&nav=5D7lHHpS
ryarger@rypn.org

The removal of this bridge will not have any impact on attempts to revive freight service on the NWP. It is south of San Rafael and there has been no freight service south of Ignacio in many years, nor are there any likely customers (except maybe for Handicup who was the last NWP customer south of the bridge).

The impact if any would be on access to the Larkspur ferry terminal if and when the dream of passenger service becomes a reality. However, that would be just one more bump in an already very rutted road.

The critical issue with regard to the NWP is finding enough freight traffic to produce an operation that can cover its out of pocket expenses. Not an impossible dream, but probably an unlikely one absent a major new source of traffic. The historic transcon lumber business has essentially disappearred. In recent years I think the NWP handled about as much inbound lumber as they did outbound. There has been talk of aggregate and garbage, but so far little sign of progress.

It is interesting to drive along the NWP, at least in Marin. It has not seen a train in some years years now, and is unlikely to any time soon. Yet except for the rust, parts of it still look like mainline railroad. SP put in relatively heavy (if well worn) relay rail, and state money was recently used to regulate the ballast. Apparently, if you can believe the FRA, what you don't see are the rotted ties under the rail. My guess is the last major tie program was in the 1960's.

The NWP has not operated north of Willits area since late 1997/early 1998 and thus has had very, very little outbound lumber traffic since. In the last several years of operations north of Willits the railroad was actually having to turn lots and lots of lumber traffic away because the roadbed through the Eel River Canyon could not physically support more than about 12 loads of lumber in any one 24-hour period. They could have hauled a lot more if their roadbed could have handled it.

The last operations south of Ignacio wye took place about 1985. The right-of-way south of that point is owned by the Golden Gate Bridge District, but nothing has operated over it since.

The NWP did re-open the Schellville-Ignacio to above Petaluma section about 2000, but operations did not last very long before the operating company was booted out.

jamoore@elko.net