Work Train Operations Reach Petaluma

Today (June 3), Balfour Beatty operated the work train locomotive from Schellville to Petaluma to gather 11 hoppers in the yard there to be used in ballasting the Northwestern Pacific mainline between Lombard and Ignacio. Due to mechanical difficulties, the crew was unable to retreive the cars and returned light engine to Schellville. This train movement was the first through Novato and Petaluma since September 2001.

In the above photograph taken at 10:05 a.m., Willamette Valley No. 2502 crossed the century old Haystack through swing truss bridge over Petaluma Creek at milepost 37.16. This structure is the oldest of the four movable bridges - Brazos, Wingo, Black Point, and Haystack - on the NWP mainline in the North Bay.


Returning to Schellville, No. 2502 and crew pass the NWP depot at Grant Avenue in downtown Novato. The golden flanks of Mt. Burdell are visible in the background.


In anticipation of work trains to Petaluma and beyond, rail was reinstalled on the fully rehabilitated wood-pile bridge over Novato Creek at milepost 26.93 in recent days.