SMART Starts Up

February 11, 2016. The new SMART dmu's wait at the shops for testing to be completed and service to begin in late 2017.

Gauntlet tracks like this are used to allow freight trains to bypass the tight clearances of the high level passenger platforms.

Northbound speed sign near Penn Grove. 79 mph is pretty impressive for the old NWP!

The new bridge over the Petaluma River at Haystack. This was a used bridge acquired from the Galveston, Texas area to replace the original NWP swing bridge at this location.

April 30, 2018. The crossing at Penn Grove is kind of an accident looking for a place to happen. There are multiple warning lights, flashing signs not to stop on the tracks, and the train slows from 79 mph to 49, but with the buildings obscuring vision, rush hour traffic backups from a busy intersection just the other side of the hill, and the tracks diagonally crossing a street intersection... even at 49 mph the appearance of the train is sudden.

The rather treacherous crossing in Penn Grove. Visibility of approaching trains is very limited by the buildings, and authorized speed across the crossing is 45 mph. In the early days of SMART flagmen guarded the crossing, but the last time I drove through there were no signs of flagmen.

December 1, 2017. A southbound train accelerates out of the Novato San Marin station.

May 9, 2018. Southbound approaching Civic Center station.

A southbound train through the trees in the Los Ranchitos area of San Rafael.

Los Ranchitos area, San Rafael.

December 1, 2017. An afternoon train rounds the bend on the big loop just north of the tunnel. The construction of a fence along a new bicycle path is obstructing some nice views of the track in this area.

December 1, 1017. In the early evening a northbound train waits at the San Rafael station for a southbound train to clear the main.