Engineering Innovations Bring an Electric Railroad to Marin
by Robert L. Harrison
At the turn of the 20th century there were two steam powered railroads in Marin. The North Pacific Coast (NPC) out of Sausalito and the California Northwestern (CNW) from Tiburon. The route of the CNW was along today’s Highway 101 corridor north to the Redwood Country. The NPC was a three foot gauge serving Mill Valley, the Ross Valley, West Marin and the timber country around the Russian River.
In 1902 the NPC was reorganized as the North Shore Railroad (NSR). The new owners, John Martin and Eugene de Sabla, Jr., elected to build an electric commuter railroad in Marin. To power a commuter railroad with electricity had not been attempted anywhere in North America. In the 1890s several major cities had lightweight electric trolley lines but there had not yet been a successful electric commuter railroad. To run a railroad on electricity would require a very large source of electric power. With a total population of just over 15,000 Marin County seemed an odd location to develop the first such railroad in the country
Martin and de Sabla were pioneers in the electric utility business. In 1895 they invested in the largest hydroelectric generating plant built to date and later were among the founders of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. The Colgate plant on the Yuba River above Sacramento was completed in 1899. It was named for the principal investor, Romulus Riggs Colgate, grandson of the founder of the Colgate Soap and Perfume Company.
Just two years after its completion, the three investors decided it would be feasible to deliver power from the Colgate plant to the Oakland Transit Company which at the time operated 126 miles of street railway. Their decision resulted in construction of the world’s longest transmission line, some 140 miles from Colgate to Oakland. Not only was the transmission line the longest yet built, it also was designed to transmit power at a remarkably high 60,000 volts. To ensure reliability two parallel lines were built, one of copper and one of aluminum. San Francisco’s Journal of Electricity on April 27, 1901 noted the delivery of power from the Sierras to the Bay Area as, “….the greatest electrical engineering triumph ever accomplished.”
In 1901 John Martin as president of the Central Light and Power Company directed the extension of transmission lines from the Eastbay around the north end of San Pablo Bay. On July 11, 1901 the San Francisco Examiner reported his description of the plan: “We are about to carry our operations into Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties and with this in view have made negotiations for the purchase of the existing gas and electric plants….” Martin went on to make the following questionable claim, “As to the franchise now pending in Marin county, I will say that I have no knowledge of an electrical railroad that has been reported in contemplation and no overtures for power have been made to us by anyone.”
Five days following the report of the interview with Martin, the Marin Board of Supervisors granted the Bay Counties Electric Company a franchise to erect electric power poles on county roads from the north county line to Sausalito. Martin indicated that, compared to current suppliers, his company would charge lower rates. As reported in the Marin Journal of May 8, 1901, “….his desire was to benefit the people by giving a low rate and doing a big business, rather than do a smaller business at higher rates.” The abundant hydro power would make electricity inexpensive and readily available for both residents and for the soon to be new owners of the NSR.
In 1897 Frank Julian Sprague invented a second engineering advance that enabled the development of Marin’s electric commuter railroad. The new innovation was known as “multiple unit control” (MUC). Prior to MUC a train of unpowered cars was pulled by a locomotive. The longer the train, the slower it could accelerate. To provide a high speed high capacity commuter rail service each car had to be individually powered. MUC equipped trains of any length could be operated at high speeds by a single motorman. Sprague also devised a new design for high efficiency electric motors that could be installed on the axles of each car. The MUC and the new motor design offered exactly what was needed on NSR commuter lines in Marin.
A third innovation was devised for Marin’s electric commuter railroad. The proposed high speed commuter railroad was to run along with the slower existing steam powered services. This combination and number of trains made a signal system mandatory. Prior to electrification there had been no signals on the NSR. Other steam railroads had used direct current in the tracks to power a block signal system. Direct current in the tracks to operate the signals would not be possible for an electric railroad using 600 volts of direct current to power its trains. The solution was to use a “third rail” transmitting direct current to the train while sending an alternating current down the tracks to power the signals. The third rail for energy transmission was selected instead of an overhead wire that might interfere with freight trains operating on the same tracks. The third rail ran adjacent to and slightly above the two running tracks enabling the train to pick up power using a “tongue” extended from each car. This system was quickly adopted by subways in New York and ultimately made high speed electric railways possible worldwide.
The January 9, 1902 Marin Journal reported Martin’s explanation of his plan for the NSR electric service: “We think we have bought a splendid piece of property and we shall spend vast sums to improve the road. We shall use electricity as our motive power. We shall run trains and ferry boats more often and do everything and try to induce people to come and to reside permanently in Marin county.”
The NSR electric railroad officially inaugurated service on August 20, 1903 running from the Sausalito ferry to Mill Valley. The electric trains eventually served commuters from central San Rafael, the Ross Valley and Mill Valley on their way to the ferries at Sausalito. The railroad also ran a school train from the Ross Valley to Tamalpais High School. This train frequently operated with as many as five passenger cars each with 99 seats.
Martin and de Sabla sold the NSR in 1904, just two and a half years after they had taken ownership. The innovators were gone but the electric trains ran on for nearly 40 years offering swift clean rail transit service in southern Marin County. The last day of electric rail service was February 28, 1941. Today most of the electric railroad rights-of-way have been covered with asphalt and used as city streets or bicycle paths. Southern Marin isn’t likely to see an electric, or any other, railroad again.
Recommended Reading:
Demoro, Harre W. Electric Railway Pioneer: Commuting on the Northwestern Pacific, 1903–1941. Glendale, CA: Interurban Press, [1983].
Originally published at https://annetkent.kontribune.com.
