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Inventory of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Collection, 1907-1917
MS 56  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Collection Description
  • Historical Background

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Northwestern Pacific Railroad Collection,
    Date (inclusive): 1907-1917
    Collection number: MS 56
    Extent: 4 volumes + 1 box
    Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library
    Sacramento, California 95814
    Shelf location: Big Four Building or off-site storage. Please contact the Library in advance of your visit.
    Language: English.

    Administrative Information

    Provenance

    Gift of Brian Thompson

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Senior Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Northwestern Pacific Railroad Collection, MS 56, California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento, California.

    Collection Description

    Two volumes from the Office of Master Mechanic and Superintendent of Steamers / Mechanical Department are letterpress copy books which record the cost for services completed by Mechanical Department (Tiburon Shops) to Comptroller, relating to locomotives, rolling stock and floating equipment. Includes information recorded on a variety of forms. Data may include shop expenses, changes made to equipment, regular maintenance and labor costs. A third volume of letterpress copy books contain copies of invoices, records of repairs to equipment, including foreign roads, NWP shops (Tiburon, Willits and San Francisco). Also contains data relating to material and labor costs. The fourth and final volume contains an "Abstract of bills rendered." Also includes miscellaneous reports for the Eel River development project and a commendation list, which have been arranged by date.

    Historical Background

    Incorporated January 8, 1907, consolidating the San Francisco & North Pacific Railway, the North Shore Railroad, and several smaller railroads between San Francisco and Eureka, California. The NWP was a major presence in the area offering commuter service through to San Francisco via ferry. In 1929 Southern Pacific assumed sole ownership of the company. The last steam run was September 30, 1953. On November 1, 1984, the lines north of Willits were purchased by the Eureka Southern Railroad. Lines south were retained by the Southern Pacific. The North Coast Railroad Authority purchased the Eureka Southern out of bankruptcy in 1992. Currently a consortium of several government agencies control the line: the North Coast Railroad Authority, Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, Marin and Sonoma Counties, and the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Authority. The line is presently operated by a contract operator under the historic name of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad.