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Re: North Coast Railroad Authority and Northwestern Pacific Railroad Company vs. Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District
Author: Jeff Moore
Date: 10-04-2016 - 23:36
I mis-spelled Sonoma in the original title. Oops.
Ownership question...briefly answered as it is late and I am tired.
In 1984, Southern Pacific sold the line north of Willits to the Eureka Southern Railroad. Eureka Southern went belly up (bankruptcy) in late 1986, it operated under a trustee for the next six or so years. During that time, the state created North Coast Railroad Authority, jointly owned and managed by the Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity County governments. NCRA purchased the Eureka Southern from the bankruptcy court in 1992 and set up operations as the North Coast Railroad.
In 1993, SP leased the line south of Willits to the California Northern Railroad.
Around 1997, the State created the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority, which was in turn owned by NCRA, Marin County, and the Golden Gate Bridge District. In a sequence of transactions effected in 1997, Sonoma County joined NCRA's ownership and management group, which then purchased the line from Willits south to Healdsburg. Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority at the same time purchased the line south of Healdburg. NCRA as part of this acquired a permanent freight easement on the part of the line owned by Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority. The North Coast Railroad changed its name to the Northwestern Pacific and replaced California Northern as operator on the Willits to Lombard trackage.
A few years later SMART came into being, and in 2003 it purchased the trackage owned by Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority. NCRA retained its freight easement through that transaction. NCRA contracted operations of the freight railroad running upon its easement over to Rail-Ways in the late 1990s and very early 2000s (note this was mostly trying to get the work done to lift FRA's 1998 emergency order shutting the NWP down, with actual operations lasting for about six months in 2001 before NCRA terminated the contract). In 2006, NCRA selected the present contractor (NWP, Inc.) to provide service, and working with them and SMART they started running work trains in 2009 and commenced freight operations in 2011.
That, in brief, is the ownership history and how we got to this point.
Jeff Moore
Elko, NV
Ownership question...briefly answered as it is late and I am tired.
In 1984, Southern Pacific sold the line north of Willits to the Eureka Southern Railroad. Eureka Southern went belly up (bankruptcy) in late 1986, it operated under a trustee for the next six or so years. During that time, the state created North Coast Railroad Authority, jointly owned and managed by the Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity County governments. NCRA purchased the Eureka Southern from the bankruptcy court in 1992 and set up operations as the North Coast Railroad.
In 1993, SP leased the line south of Willits to the California Northern Railroad.
Around 1997, the State created the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority, which was in turn owned by NCRA, Marin County, and the Golden Gate Bridge District. In a sequence of transactions effected in 1997, Sonoma County joined NCRA's ownership and management group, which then purchased the line from Willits south to Healdsburg. Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority at the same time purchased the line south of Healdburg. NCRA as part of this acquired a permanent freight easement on the part of the line owned by Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority. The North Coast Railroad changed its name to the Northwestern Pacific and replaced California Northern as operator on the Willits to Lombard trackage.
A few years later SMART came into being, and in 2003 it purchased the trackage owned by Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority. NCRA retained its freight easement through that transaction. NCRA contracted operations of the freight railroad running upon its easement over to Rail-Ways in the late 1990s and very early 2000s (note this was mostly trying to get the work done to lift FRA's 1998 emergency order shutting the NWP down, with actual operations lasting for about six months in 2001 before NCRA terminated the contract). In 2006, NCRA selected the present contractor (NWP, Inc.) to provide service, and working with them and SMART they started running work trains in 2009 and commenced freight operations in 2011.
That, in brief, is the ownership history and how we got to this point.
Jeff Moore
Elko, NV
