Western Railroad Discussion > NWP out of service for awhile?

Today I was driving up Highway 121 past the Sonoma Raceway, and saw a long cut of tank cars (looked like about 50) parked on the NWP main around the old station point of Fairville. I would imagine that if they're spotting storage cars out on the main they must figure the washout over toward Ignacio will have the line closed for several days at least. Any further info from anyone?  

It is almost a given that in wet years the Schellville yard is going to flood. I am sure its in terrible shape right now. It has been standard practice when the yard is going to flood that they push the stored cars out onto the mainline. In other years i've seen both with cars out East of Ramal and down North of Highway 37, on higher ground. 

Gary

I think that's where they put their Schellville yard tank cars when a bad storm is coming. Someone was telling me this time two years ago as he drove home at night his headlights would light up the string of cars out there. This was when there was extremely bad flooding in Schellville area--Lake Schellville--and washouts. 

I've also seen the tank cars out by Ramal Rd which is a little bit higher above the flood plain. I think they use that area too or maybe used to. I would guess that storing the cars by Fairville allow them to still go to Lombard even if they are still working on fixing washouts in the Schellville yard area.    

That does make sense, I know the flooding Schellville gets. Still, I wonder how long before Ignacio is passable again.

Correct, tank cars are shoved out to Fairville prior to potential flood causing storms. Shoving east to ramal requires much more horsepower and tractive effort to get around the wye and blocks off the connection to CFNR for any traffic that may come in. In past years Hunt and Behrens has unloaded their cars in Schellville, and a connection is required to ensure the product is moved. Schellville has faired well this past storm compared to the late January one, and thusly all efforts are being focused on repairing the levee breach.

Caltrans was working on it last night. Word is this weekend they are building a dam of some kind to stop the creek from draining into the low-lyingfield. Then work will begin on repairing the damaged levee and RR tracks comes next sometime this coming week. It could be the case that the railroad track is the levee protecting this field, I'm not sure. But whatever failed should be repaired this week. 

The County of Marin has hired local contractor Ghilloti Brothers to put in a temporary inflated dam to stop the flow of water from the two levee breaks. This afternoon, rip-rap from Syar in Napa was being trucked to the site and an excavator was using its bucket to create a rock ramp to the breach for the placement of the temporary dam. NWP MOW crews will be on scene Sunday will use there hi-rail dump truck to haul staged rock at Schellville to begin to fill the 65 foot gap. It will take another two days to set the sub-grade and the replace the ballast washed away underneath the ties and track. The water has drained from  the Schellville Yard and there is no track damage. Since NWP returned to service in 2009, NWP MOW crews and the B &B  Supervisor, (An operating engineer) reconstructed the drainage in the yard so that when Lake Schelllville floods under heavy rain, the water rises and inundates the Yard but does not wash from west to east with such force as to scour out the ballast. The cars in the Yard have been moved twice out of the yard ahead of the flood. The three images taken today show the breach just north of the Nova to Creek trestle.  The original pilings can be seen underneath the ties and rail swinging in the air. The swift water from the levee easily eroded the most vulnerable spot at the north end of the fill.  Image two.  The excavator is leveling off the rocks for the makeshift road to place the temporary dam. Image three shows a dump truck placing rip-rap for the construction ramp.  Text and Photos by Mike Pechner

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Weather where'd they put the dam? They did a dam or maybe two of them when they did the Novato Creek bridge behind Rowland Drive.