Engineer Jake Park pulled a lever and sent the sharp sound of a train whistle out over the railroad tracks of Santa Rosa.
It was a warning. The locomotive he was piloting weighed more than a quarter-million pounds. With five cars attached, at 25 mph, it would take more than a quarter-mile to stop.
On Monday, Santa Rosa police and firefighters got an onboard look at what that means for motorists and pedestrians as freight service resumes along the Northwestern Pacific Railroad after an absence of nearly 10 years.
A railyard inspection of NWP's two locomotives and a six-mile, out-an-back trip from Railroad Square in Santa Rosa produced one clear takeaway among the first responders: When a train is near, people need to stay away from the tracks.
"The train comes up on the crossings so quickly," said Santa Rosa Fire Captain Ron Batey. "You don't see the cars there. If you're in the way, there's nothing the engineer can do. You're toast."
The safety training was one of several recent sessions put on for law enforcement and fire officials in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties. They were organized by NWP Co., the railroad operator, and the two North Bay track owners, the North Coast Rail Authority and SMART, the Sonoma Marin rail commuter service.
Freight traffic resumed last month on about 62 miles of the line from Napa County to Windsor. NWP has been operating two to three round trips per week, with trains of up to 15 cars.
There are more than 50 signal crossings on the route, which bisects Novato, Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa. Under federal rules, the trains can reach speeds up to 40 mph, but they'll stick to 25 mph and go slower through crossings for the first few months as precaution, said Park, also NWP's general manager.
A nonprofit group, Operation Lifesaver, has been making presentations to North Bay schools and community groups about safety around railroad tracks.
Meanwhile, firefighters especially have been ramping up their training on what to do in the case of collisions at crossings or other incidents along the line.
Santa Rosa firefighters have studied the case history of accidents, train routing, load volumes and the force involved in train-vehicle collisions, said Jason Jenkins, an acting battalion chief.
"We're out here trying to be proactive," Jenkins said.
On Monday, rail representatives discussed emergency contact numbers and procedures, train equipment and safety issues with police and firefighters.
Pedestrian use of the rail right-of-way and homeless encampments along the route are two prominent problems. Both have become common in the decade-long absence of trains, rail officials said.
Trackside activity around high-density residential areas and major road crossings is also a concern, police and firefighters said.
Jon Waide, a safety consultant for the three rail outfits, repeated his message during the training: "This is now an active railroad. You don't want to be on the tracks and you don't want to let your kids play around the tracks."
As if on cue, two men walked down the line toward an approaching train and Railroad Square before they were hustled off by police officers.
One of them, Officer Stephen Bussell, shook his head. "There's going to be a learning curve," he said.
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