Operational Concept Plan

My Ho scale “Redwood Empire Route” model railroad is based on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP).  I am depicting the NWP as it was in 1996 and if it continued to survive up until the present.  The majority of NWP locomotives are painted in a modified Southern Pacific “Black Widow” paint scheme.  Some locomotives are painted in the Southern Pacific Gray and Scarlet “Bloody Nose” paint scheme.

The NWP line stretches from Schellville in the south where it interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and the California Northern Railroad (CFNR) and goes to Eureka (Humboldt Bay) in the north where it connects to a newly constructed and expanding shipping port.  The NWP is independent from the large railroad corporations such as BNSF, CSX and UP.  The UP has trackage rights on NWP rails so their trains can reach the port facilities in Eureka.  Local passenger service is provided by Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART).  SMART runs three commuter trains in the morning between Cloverdale and San Rafael and three commuter trains in the evening from San Rafael to Santa Rosa.  Amtrak runs two passenger trains in the morning from Santa Rosa to Suisun and two passenger trains in the evening from Suisun to Santa Rosa.  Suisun is the transfer point where passengers can connect to other Amtrak trains.

The headquarters for the Central Division of the NWP is located in Santa Rosa.  Petaluma is the south end of the division while Cloverdale is the north end.  Cloverdale also serves as the crew change point for all trains going to and coming from Eureka.  The Santa Rosa yard has been expanded and improved.  A small engine service facility has also been built here to maintain and do light repairs on the locomotives assigned to the division.

Northwestern Pacific Operations

Santa Rosa Originations:

Yard/Local Job                                                                                                DAILY

Santa Rosa yard is worked by a refurbished SW1000 #145 painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme.  The crew goes on duty in the morning and gets their locomotive from the engine service track.  The crew completes any last minute switching needed to prepare the three morning freight trains that originate in Santa Rosa.  These trains include the Petaluma Turn, the Cloverdale Turn and the Schellville Manifest Freight Express.  When the yard work is done and the three freight trains have departed the yard, the crew then switches all of the local industries.  The switching duties are generally completed by noon.  After lunch, the crew returns to their engine and begins classifying arriving cars from various trains.  These trains include the Manifest Freight from Schellville, the Petaluma Turn and the Cloverdale Turn.  The final assignment for the crew is to classify freight cars and make up the three freight trains that depart the yard the following morning.

Petaluma Turn                                                                                                DAILY

The Petaluma Turn leaves the yard in the morning with NWP’s newest locomotive, SD40-2 #7007 (painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme), and SD9 with up to twenty freight cars.  If the Petaluma Turn is slated to have more than ten freight cars, then the addition of SD9 #4420 painted in the “SPSF Kodachrome” scheme is required.  The Petaluma Turn works all industries located at Todd Siding, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Penngrove and Petaluma.  The Crew of the Petaluma Turn will generally work all facing point spurs on the return trip to Santa Rosa.  Once the Petaluma Turn has returned to Santa Rosa, the crew uncouples from the train and heads back to the engine service tracks.
 

Cloverdale Turn                                                                                              DAILY

The Cloverdale Turn leaves the yard in the morning with two locomotives (GP7 #70 painted in NWP’s “Bloody Nose” scheme and “chop-nose” GP9 #3840 painted in “NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme) along with ten to twenty freight cars.  The Cloverdale Turn will always operate with two locomotives due to the grades between Santa Rosa and Cloverdale.  The Cloverdale Turn works all industries located at North Santa Rosa, Windsor, Healdsburg and Cloverdale.  The Cloverdale Turn will generally work all facing point spurs on the return trip to Santa Rosa.  Once the Cloverdale Turn has returned to Santa Rosa, the crew uncouples from the train and heads back to the engine service tracks.
 

Schellville Manifest Freight Express (SMFX)                                                DAILY

The Schellville Manifest Freight Express (SMFX) departs the yard in the evening. The SMFX is headed by GP9 #1922 painted in NWP’s “Bloody Nose” scheme and SD9 #4324 painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme along with fifteen to twenty-five freight cars.  The SMFX has priority over all other trains except Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) passenger trains, Amtrak passenger trains and Union Pacific (UP) freight trains.  The SMFX does not stop in any cities or at any industries to pick up or drop off freight cars.  The SMFX continues until it reaches Schellville Yard where it will interchange with the UP.  The crew of SMFX will leave the train in the yard overnight and return in the morning to take any new freight cars from the UP heading to Santa Rosa (SRMF – See Below).
 

Schellville Originations:

Santa Rosa Manifest Freight (SRMF)                                                             DAILY

The Santa Rosa Manifest Freight (SRMF) departs the yard in the morning.  The SRMF is headed by SD9 #4324 painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme and GP9 #122 painted in NWP’s “Bloody Nose” scheme along with fifteen to twenty-five freight cars.  The SRMF has priority over all other trains except Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) passenger trains, Amtrak passenger trains and Union Pacific (UP) freight trains.  The SRMF does not stop in any cities or at any industries to pick up or drop off freight cars.  The SRMF continues until it reaches Santa Rosa Yard.  The crew of SRMF will leave the train in the yard and pick-up any new freight cars heading to Schellville to interchange with the UP.  At that point, the SRMF will become the Schellville Manifest Freight Express (SMFX – See Above).
 

Schellville Eureka Manifest Freight (SEMF)                                                   M – W – F

The Schellville Eureka Manifest Freight (SEMF) starts its journey in Schellville and is headed by CFNR GP15-1 #112 and SD9 #4423 painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme with anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five freight cars.  On occasion, a third locomotive (either CFNR SD9 #200 or #201) will be added to the consist.  The SEMF has priority over trains designated as “turns” within their division.  The SEMF will arrive in Santa Rosa Yard some time before noon, but it will not stop unless ordered to take the siding for a passing higher priority train.  The SEMF will continue on to Cloverdale and park the train on one of the arrival tracks.  The crew will uncouple their engines from the train and head over to the engine service track. After the locomotives are serviced, the crew of SEMF will leave the train in the yard overnight and return in the morning for their next assignment – their return to Schellville as ESMF (See Below).
 

Garbage Train (GRBX) – Empty                                                                   M – Th

The Garbage Train (GRBX) starts its journey in Schellville and is headed by two SD9’s #5305 and #4327 painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme.  The GRBX is a through train that leaves Schellville with empty flatcars/garbage containers and travels to Empire Waste Management’s loading facility (Cloverdale).  The GRBX will remain there overnight as it is loaded with new trash containers for the return trip to Shellville the next day.
 

Cloverdale Originations:

Eureka Schellville Manifest Freight (ESMF)                                                   T – Th – S

The Eureka Schellville Manifest Freight (ESMF) comes into Cloverdale the previous night from Eureka headed by SD9 #4423 painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme and CFNR GP15-1 #112 and SD9 #4423 painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme.  On occasion, a third locomotive (either CFNR SD9 #200 or #201) will be added to the consist.  The ESMF will depart Cloverdale with anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five freight cars.  The ESMF is the counterpart to SEMF (See Above).  The crew of ESMF reports to Cloverdale Yard early in the morning and gets their locomotives then couple onto their train and head south toward Schellville.

The ESMF has priority over trains designated as “turns” within their division.  The ESMF will arrive in Santa Rosa Yard some time before noon, but it will not stop unless ordered to take the siding for a passing higher priority train.  The ESMF will continue on to Schellville Yard and park the train on one of the arrival tracks.  The crew will uncouple their engines from the train and head over to the engine storage track.  They will leave the train in the yard overnight and return in the morning for their next assignment – the crew of SEMF.

Garbage Train (GRBX) – Loaded                                                                  T – F

The Garbage Train (GRBX) starts its journey in Cloverdale and is headed by two SD9’s #4327 and #5305 painted in NWP’s “Black Widow” scheme.  The GRBX is a through train that leaves Empire Waste Management’s loading facility (Cloverdale) with modified flatcars carrying loaded garbage containers and travels to Schellville.  The GRBX will interchange the flatcars with UP, remain there overnight and return to Cloverdale the next day with empty flatcars/garbage containers.
 

Union Pacific Operations

As mentioned previously, UP has trackage rights over NWP from Schellville to Eureka.  All UP trains are through trains and will not make any stops to pick up or drop off freight cars along their route.  The UP trains are generally unit type trains including autoracks, intermodal, grain or tank (petroleum / chemical).  UP trains travel southbound with loaded cars from the Humboldt Bay port shipping facilities to Schellville and beyond.  UP trains travel northbound with empty cars from Schellville to the Humboldt Bay port shipping facilities.  All UP trains have priority over all other trains except Amtrak and SMART passenger trains.
 

Amtrak & SMART Operations
 

Both Amtrak and SMART share a coach yard and an engine service facility just north of Santa Rosa.  Train crews get their assigned trains from the departure tracks early in the morning and head out of the yard according to their schedules.  The Amtrak trains will begin their runs by picking up passengers at Santa Rosa station.  The only other station stops for Amtrak trains are at Petaluma station and Novato station.  The Amtrak trains will continue on till they reach Suisun.  The Amtrak trains will hold over in Suisun until the evening commute.