San Francisco and Northwestern Railway (SF&NW) was a Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...

 subsidiary formed in 1903 to connect Humboldt Bay to the Santa Fe rail system.

The Eel River and Eureka Railroad

Eel River and Eureka Railroad

The Eel River and Eureka Railroad company was organized on November 14, 1882 by a group of Eureka businessmen led by John M. Vance .-History:...

 had been built in 1884 to provide Humboldt Bay shipping access to lumber mills and farms of the lower Eel River

Eel River (California)

The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...

. Subsidiary California Midland Railroad was formed in 1902 to extend the line up the Van Duzen River

Van Duzen River

The Van Duzen River is a river on the north coast of California. It is a major tributary of the Eel River and drains , mostly in Humboldt County, with a small portion in Trinity County. The river travels from its headwaters on the west side of the North Coast Range to its confluence with the Eel...

 to Carlotta

Carlotta, California

Carlotta is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California. It is located southeast of Fortuna, at an elevation of 131 feet ....

.

In 1885, Pacific Lumber Company

Pacific Lumber Company

The Pacific Lumber Company, officially abbreviated PALCO, was one of California's major logging and sawmill operations, located south of Eureka and north of San Francisco. The once storied company and its historically positive relationship with conservationists begun in the 1920s was altered...

 built a rail connection from their Scotia

Scotia, California

Scotia is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located south-southeast of Fortuna, at an elevation of 194 feet . The ZIP Code is 95565. The population was 850 at the 2010 census....

 lumber mill to the Eel River and Eureka Railroad at Alton. Logging branches extended 8 miles up the Eel River by 1902.

The California and Northern Railway was formed in 1900 to build north from Eureka

Eureka, California

Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....

. Rails reached Arcata

Arcata, California

-Demographics:-2010 Census data:The 2010 United States Census reported that Arcata had a population of 17,231. The population density was 1,567.4 people per square mile...

 by 1903.

SF&NW acquired the Eel River and Eureka Railroad

Eel River and Eureka Railroad

The Eel River and Eureka Railroad company was organized on November 14, 1882 by a group of Eureka businessmen led by John M. Vance .-History:...

, its subsidiary California Midland, and the Pacific Lumber Company rail lines in 1903. Purchase of the California and Northern Railway in 1904 gave SF&NW a 50 miles (80.5 km) main line from Arcata to the Eel River upstream of Scotia. Santa Fe's distinctive circled cross herald appeared on the Eureka Depot.

Southern Pacific Railroad

Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

 had simultaneously secured control of the logging lines north of Arcata through their subsidiary Oregon and Eureka Railroad

Oregon and Eureka Railroad

Southern Pacific Transportation Company formed the Oregon and Eureka Railroad in 1903 in an agreement to use logging railroads as part of a line connecting Humboldt County sawmills with the national rail network. Northwestern Pacific Railroad offered service over the route from 1911 through 1933...

. Both Santa Fe and Southern Pacific had ambitions of building their own connections to Humboldt County

Humboldt County, California

Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...

 lumber mills; but SF&NW was merged into the jointly owned Northwestern Pacific Railroad

Northwestern Pacific Railroad

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...

 in 1907.

Locomotives

Number	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
1	Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...	4-4-0 4-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...	1883	7013	ex-Eel River and Eureka Railroad Eel River and Eureka Railroad The Eel River and Eureka Railroad company was organized on November 14, 1882 by a group of Eureka businessmen led by John M. Vance .-History:...  #1 became Northwestern Pacific Railroad Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...  #2
2	Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...	4-4-0	1884	7400	ex-Eel River and Eureka Railroad Eel River and Eureka Railroad The Eel River and Eureka Railroad company was organized on November 14, 1882 by a group of Eureka businessmen led by John M. Vance .-History:...  #2 became Northwestern Pacific Railroad Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...  #1
3	Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...	2-6-0 2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul...	1887	8776	ex-Eel River and Eureka Railroad Eel River and Eureka Railroad The Eel River and Eureka Railroad company was organized on November 14, 1882 by a group of Eureka businessmen led by John M. Vance .-History:...  #3 became Northwestern Pacific Railroad Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...  #151>#351
4	Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....	4-4-0	1886	1031	ex-Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....  #452 then Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Railroad #452 then Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route , was a railroad forming part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania across the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia...  #8298>#298>#343 then Pacific Lumber Company Pacific Lumber Company The Pacific Lumber Company, officially abbreviated PALCO, was one of California's major logging and sawmill operations, located south of Eureka and north of San Francisco. The once storied company and its historically positive relationship with conservationists begun in the 1920s was altered...  #3 then Eel River and Eureka Railroad Eel River and Eureka Railroad The Eel River and Eureka Railroad company was organized on November 14, 1882 by a group of Eureka businessmen led by John M. Vance .-History:... #4 became Northwestern Pacific Railroad Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...  #16
5	Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...	2-6-0	1886	8092	ex-Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad #65>#314 then Santa Fe Railroad #0179 became Northwestern Pacific Railroad Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...  #152>#352
6	Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...	4-4-0	1875	3831	ex-Santa Fe Railroad #45>#25>#07 became Northwestern Pacific Railroad Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...  #13
7	Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...	4-4-0	1878	4416	ex-New Mexico and Southern Pacific Railroad #203>#503 then Santa Fe Railroad #103>#049 became Northwestern Pacific Railroad Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California... #15