Preserving the Heritage of Redwood Empire Railroading

A not for profit California corporation

Dedicated to preserving the rich and colorful heritage of Redwood Empire railroading.

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society (NWPRRHS) was founded over thirty years ago. It is dedicated to preserving the rich and colorful heritage of Redwood Empire railroading. We accomplish this through acquisition, preservation and display efforts as well as through gathering oral histories of people who have contributed to our regional history.

What we’ve accomplished.

  • Members and contributors to the Sonoma County Heritage Network
  • Involved with the City of Petaluma’s Leadership Program, providing locations, speakers and tours for History Day
  • The purchase of our new Library/Archives at 75 Magnolia
  • Selected as Grand Marshals for the Butter and Eggs Day Parade in 2016
  • Rescue and Restoration of  NWP #13, NWP #605, NWP #123 (C.P. 29), P&SR #1, P&SR #8

What we’re working on now

  • Santa Rosa Depot Room Restoration
  • Ongoing Car Restorations
  • Continuing to accept and accession Archival collections related to the NWP
  • Continuing with the Quarterly NWPRRHS Syposium Speaker Program. (See our Events Page)
  • In partnership with the Petaluma Museum curating and displaying the Local Ties exhibit.

Read all about it in the NWP Publications

Joining the NWP Society means getting to look forward to receiving the Bi-Monthly Headlight and the Quarterly Northwesterner. Full of informative articles, rare archival photography, histories, tales from the rails and more! The Headlight always has the latest Treasures from the Archives and updates from each Restoration project, and of course the Northwesterner has amazing detailed articles including photo albums. Become a Member now for 2023.

Click the Our Publications Link below to see what we have available for a list of back issues.

NWP Southern Division Freight pulling through Novato, Ca in the 1960’s

The William R. Hogarty Library

The Northwestern Pacific Historical Society now has over 31 thousand items accessioned and stored at our Library and Archive facility.
Made possible by incredible donations, recorded and researched by our knowledgeable volunteer staff, our priceless collection of photographs, maps, drawings, tools and other related memorabilia are available for research, viewing and tours at our new site. For more information, please visit our Library page: