Western Railroad Discussion > GGRM track on NWP done/SMART SRF Construction & wknd test trains

Two storage tracks have been built by Industrial Railways of Richmond in Schellville for the impending GGRM move to NWP. The two tracks were built off of the Sonoma Pacific Industrial lead. One is north of the spur and the other is on the south side near the northern boundary of Victory Station. First image looks east towards the Schellville depot. The Sonoma Pacific lead is in the middle andVictory Station, under construction is to the right. 2nd image: The LPG cars are back in the yard along with empty hopper cars. The yard is full of storage cars. Long time NWP Superintendent of MOW, Tom Slivka has retired. He is solely responsible for the restoration of the NWP and from keeping Mother Nature from reclaiming the South End. Here he is inside his office on his last day.

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The fourth image shows all three tracks at Schellville. SMART construction continues to move along. The fish image shows the welded rain ready to be laid. In the sixth image. Rollers have already been placed on the Auburn St. Bridge underneath US 101 Cal Park overpass to pull the rundown to the completed Cal Park Tunnel. The final image shows the forms completed for the pouring of the platform at Larkspur.

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Totally unexpected were these test Trains at Petaluma last weekend during my work shift on the Platform. This train was ahead of the first morning train to San Rafael and made two round trips than back to Santa Rosa. The day before was a very wet one. Not much protection for man or beast in Petaluma. Her is the mid-day train in a downpour. Last image was taken right after it left! Photos and Text by Mike Pechner.

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What gauge is it? LOL

Why 3rd rail?

I really like seeing welded rain in my fish images!



It's not a third rail, but part of the station's gauntlet track.

Standard gauge. What you're seeing is gantlet track at the stations to move the freight traffic away from the high level platforms.

Brody Wyrick
Reno, NV

What did they do about the parking lots on both sides of Rice Drive in San Rafael? Did they simply make them smaller or did the auto dealership(s) get evicted?

Highball Tom! It was a pleasure and a good deal of muscle pain for the short time I worked with him, he sure knew how to crack the whip! Huge shoes to fill but Vic with the help of the crew will be able to slip right into them.

IRC did a good job building the new track for GGRM, next step now is for them to get their equipment rolling.