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 which rebuilt the southern section into a standard-gauge electric railway.
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:
*San Francisco – Sausalito via Ferry
*Sausalito (milepost 6.5)
*San Rafael
*Junction (later known as San Anselmo) (milepost 16.5)
*Fairfax (milepost 18.3)
*Point Reyes Station (milepost 36.4)
*Marshall (milepost 45.4)
*Tomales (milepost 53.1)
*Valley Ford (milepost 59.5)
*Freestone (milepost 63.7)
*Occidental (milepost 67.6)
*Monte Rio (milepost 73.8)
*Duncans Mills (milepost 77.1)
*Cazadero (milepost 84.3)
Subsequent to abandonment, a segment around Samuel P. Taylor State Park was converted into a rail trail: the Cross Marin Trail. 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 tunnel at Alto. 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.) 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. The electric lines were expanded after 1907 as part of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. Interurban services ceased on February 28, 1941.
==Locomotives==
Number	Name 	Builder 	Type 	Date	Works number	Notes
1 	Saucelito 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	2-6-0 	1873	3495 	sold to White Lumber Company of Elk, California 1876
2 	San Rafael 	Mason Machine Works 	0-4-4T	1874	537 	burned at Tomales 1905 & rebuilt became NWP #89
3 	Tomales 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1875	3722 	became NWP #83
4 	Olema 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1874	3629 	wrecked 1894 & rebuilt became NWP #81
5 	Bodega 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1875	3703 	dismantled by 1897
6 	Valley Ford 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1874	3664 	leased to Dollar Lumber Company in 1899
7 	Tamalpais 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1875	3721 	
8 	Bully Boy 	Mason Machine Works 	0-6-6T	1877	584 	burned at Tomales 1905
9 	M. S. Latham 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1875	3749 	wrecked 14 January 1894 at Elim Grove trestle over Austin Creek
10 	Bloomfield 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1876	3840 	sold 1895 Guatemala Western #1
11 	Marin 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1876	3842 	became NWP #82
12 	Sonoma 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1876	3843 	sold 1879 Nevada Central #5 (preserved at California State Railroad Museum)
13 	 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	2-6-0 	1883	6611 	became NWP #195
14 	 	Brooks Locomotive Works 	4-4-0 	1891	1885 	became NWP #92
15 	 	Brooks Locomotive Works 	4-4-0 	1891	1886 	became NWP #90
16 	 	Brooks Locomotive Works 	4-4-0 	1894	2421 	became NWP #91
17 	 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1875	3749 	NPC 1894 rebuild of wreck-damaged #9 wrecked again in 1900
18 	 	Brooks Locomotive Works 	4-6-0 	1899	3418 	reputedly the largest 3 ft (914 mm) gauge locomotive in the world when built became NWP #145 then #95
20 	 	NPC Sausalito shop 	4-4-0 	1900	1 	became NWP #84
21 	Thomas-Stetson	NPC Sausalito shop 	4-4-0 	1901	2 	
cab-forward rebuild of #5 scrapped 1905
22 	 	Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-4-0 	1874	3664 	former #6 renumbered when returned from Dollar Lumber Company in 1901
===Roster of electric cars===
Number 	Builder 	Type 	Date	Capacity 	Notes
101-112	St. Louis Car Co.	Trailers	1902	66 seats 	twelve unpowered open platform wooden trailers; #102 built in North Shore shops
201-202	North Shore shops	Motors 	1904	32 seats & baggage/mail/express compartment	two vestibuled wooden motors converted from narrow-gauge Pullman coaches built in 1879
203 	North Shore shops	Motor 	1904	50 seats 	open platform wooden motor converted from narrow-gauge Pullman coach built in 1879; renumbered 309
301-308	St. Louis Car Co.	Motors 	1902	64 to 70 seats 	open platform wooden motors; #303-308 built in North Shore shops
350-358	St. Louis Car Co.	Motors 	1902	36 seats & baggage/mail/express compartment	nine vestibuled wooden motors
401-404	North Shore shops	Trailers	1904	66 seats 	four unpowered open platform wooden trailers converted from narrow-gauge Pullman coaches built in 1879
==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, North Shore 1725, has been restored as a picnic car and operates at the Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources' Railroad Museum at Ardenwood in Fremont. 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.
File:North Pacific Coast Railroad tunnel near Keys Creek.jpg|thumb|left|A former tunnel near Keys Creek
File:North_Pacific_Coast_Railroad_caboose_preserved_at_Duncans_Mills_depot.jpg|thumb|Caboose #2 preserved adjacent to the depot at Duncans Mills, California
Image:North Pacific Coast Railroad tunnel near Keys Creek - inside.jpg|thumb|Inside the tunnel
Image:North Pacific Coast Railroad Keys Estuary bridge supports.JPG|thumb|Bridge over Keys Estuary, viewed from California State Route 1
Image:Former North Pacific Coast Railroad grade adjacent to Tomales Bay.JPG|thumb|Former railroad grade adjacent to Tomales Bay, viewed from California State Route 1
==External links==
*PacificNG.com: North Pacific Coast Railroad
*Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources: Flatcar NS 1725
Category:Railways
Category:United States
Category:American railroads
Category:North American Railroads
Category:Companies
Category:Defunct companies
Category:Narrow-gauge locomotives
Category:3 foot gauge