Railroaded: The History and (Possible) Futures of the Northwestern Pacific Rail Line Patty Clary, Director of Californians for Alternative s to Toxics (CATs)
Berkeley. Tracks on the 300mile line were first laid in the late 1800s. By 1914, forty-five short lines An elegant solution were merged into one to the problem of what jointly owned by two to do with the northern major rail companies, 175 miles of the old with the last section Northwestern Pacific punched through the R a i l ro a d ( N W P ) — unst able Eel R iver where reconstructing canyon. The railroad’s the defunct railroad is inevitable demise was comparable to building foreshadowed when one in Switzerland a landslide covered or Norway, the most tracks the day the final difficult location golden spike was driven, possible—was signed preventing participants into law on September from returning home 30. This law, converting by rail. Eighty-four the NCRA to the Great years later, in 1998, Redwood Trail Agency, the current owner, the will come into effect State of California, lost March 1, 2022, dividing all rights to operate on the railroad line in two, the line when federal rail with commuter rail safety authorities closed in the south and the it completely, the only coming transformation railroad in the nation to of rail to the Great suffer that fate. Redwood Trail in the Maintenance of the north. south portion has always Yet, even as the had its difficulties and governor signed the bill, environmental impacts, a battle for its future The railroad’s inevitable demise was foreshadowed in 1914, when a landslide covered tracks on the final day the golden spike was but the north became was underway as the driven, preventing celebrants from returning home by rail. This tunnel is indicative of the old Northwestern Pacific rail line's overall known as the most condition. Photo by Patty Clary. latest wild dreams of expensive stretch of fortune seekers relying railroad to maintain in on antiquated pro-railroad law threatened to put the nation. A constant cycle of build/storm damage/ multiple daily train passages required to profit, such trains back on the track after a forced twenty-three rebuild done within northern California’s coastal geology as severe noise and traffic congestion in urban and year pause in operations with a proposal to carry a (the most unstable in North America and perhaps suburban areas, but the greatest is toxic coal dust. At highly dangerous commodity: toxic coal. the world) and accomplished with little engineering least several hundred pounds of dust escape each coal Western coal, particularly that mined in the or regulatory oversight left the environment severely car in transit. Though it was apparently expressed in Powder River Basin as the still-shadowy proposal impacted. secret meetings with local elected officials and Tribal suggests, is well known within the coal industry as Fast forward one hundred-plus years to now, past staff that covered cars would prevent such calamity, prone to uncontrollable spontaneous combustion. A floods, earthquakes, landslides, burned and collapsed coal dynamics leading to spontaneous combustion coal train on the old NWP line could roll a smoldering tunnels, twisted steel, shattered bridge piles and rail increase when kept under cover. Uncovered, coal fire through hills and canyons historically the scene of ties, toxic waste often indiscriminately dumped and transport leaves in its wake a toxic dust composed of regular derailments. Access is difficult to impossible by irreversible environmental destruction caused by dangerous airborne particulates and mercury, lead, other means along much of the line in a region struck building and operating a railroad in the northern cadmium and many other highly toxic chemicals. hard by massive wildfires in recent years. Among highly section where one should never have been built. Originally the railroad was built for one purpose: sensitive areas at risk would be the Rockefeller Forest, The decision to shelve railroad activity until it could to transform old growth forests of northwestern where trains passing through Dyerville could expose be useful and affordable, and use the right-of-way it California into bank accounts packed with gold. the largest remaining contiguous old-growth coastal occupies as a trail for public use looks to be the only The ancient trees became part of the nation’s urban redwood forest in the world to smoldering coal. useful option currently available. infrastructure, from water tanks topping buildings in A laundry list of other problems plague the New York and Chicago to shingles cloaking homes in (continued on next page)
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NOVEMBER 2021 ECONEWS
