Railroad Extensions!!

[@maddennis55]

Curious, why the track shift by the platforms?

[@franksrailsphotographyllc]

That is the freight "bypass". S.M.A.R.T. is a High Level DMU operation and in order to get the freight cars past the platform with ease, they have to "shift" the freight out. It is called a gauntlet track, but consider it a mini-siding to get around the platform safely!

[@marshallpeterson1653]

please what is the name of the piano recording you used it is beautiful?

[@franksrailsphotographyllc]

I used several "Love Train" and "Midnight Train" in the audio portion!

[@mbirdsong420]

What year was the line from SR / North last active?

[@franksrailsphotographyllc]

The last official freight prior to the re-build was sometime in 1997 prior to the El Nino we had that year!

[@douglasashleigh4989]

Good shots. Will there be any chance for freight anywhere along the line?

[@princessofthecape2078]

@@douglasashleigh4989 unlikely. The tracks terminate north of downtown Willits, and it is unlikely that SMART will ever go that far (so they won't be refurbished). Even if they did, there is no business practically anywhere along the line. The old NWP served logging interests and then the Port of Humboldt Bay in Eureka. But when that was washed out, the railroad's purpose was really destroyed. And now California is turning the remnants north of Willits into a trail... so... so much for ever seeing the Port serviced by trains again.

[@franksrailsphotographyllc]

Thank you and as @princessofthecape2078 said, probably not too far North. We could (0.00000001% chance) see freight from Cloverdale, Healdsburg and Windsor if SMART decided to re-install the proper spurs and get the traffic back. SMART now owns the "newer" NWP that was running, so they have full control of both the FREIGHT and PASSENGER interests on the line.

[@franksrailsphotographyllc]

I don't think they fully terminate but nothing will ever run North of Willits anymore anyway! Just the sad state of affairs. Plus SMART is Sonoma-Marin so going into Mendocino County would require a lot of new ballot voting!