North Pacifc Coast Railroad -- January 14, 2014

The narrow gauge North Pacifc Coast Railroad ran from Sausalito to the Russian River at Cazadero.  Ferries ran between San Francisco and Sausalito.  The railroad began in 1874 and ran into many financial issues until 1902, when it was taken over by new owners who changed its name to the North Shore and rebuilt part of it into a standard gauge electric commuter line.  Eventually the North Shore became part of the new Northwestern Pacific Railroad, my favorite.  NWP abandoned the remaining narrow gauge by 1930. 

A. Bray Dickinson's Narrow Gauge to the Redwoods, completed by Roy Graves, was one of the first railroad books that I read.  I was staying with my father in Cloverdale one week during the summer while he worked on Warm Springs Dam.  I couldn't go with him one day, so I went to the Cloverdale Library and looked for a book to read.  I enjoyed the mix of history, maps, photos and diagrams. 

North Pacific Coast 12, the Sonoma, an 1876 Baldwin, is on display at the California State Railroad Museum.  I took the photo in 2012.