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Northwestern Pacific Railroad

Northwestern Pacific Railroad

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad was a regional railroad serving the Redwood Empire of Northern California. The railroad ran from the Northern Bay Area at Sausalito to Eureka, California, primarily near the U.S. 101 corridor. While the railroad has an extensive and complex history, since 1960 it has been a "paper railroad" subsidiary of Southern Pacific. The NWP ran an electrified interurban in Marin County until the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 when commuters shifted from the train-ferry service to commuting by bus and car. The NWP was merged into the Southern Pacific in 1992, only four years before the Union Pacific/Southern Pacific merger.

History

The early history and predecessors of the NWP can be traced back to the dawning of rail service in the 1860's in Marin and Sonoma Counties and the redwood lumber railroads near Eureka.

Modern History

The line was prone to problems caused by mother nature and tunnel fires, making the railroad expensive to maintain. Keeping freight customers had to be a challenge also, as through service was frequently disrupted.
- July 1961 a tunnel fire north of San Rafael decapitated the line south into Marin County until it was finally repaired in 1967.
- December 1964, flooding washed out over 100 miles of the northern end of the line inside the Eel River Canyon.
- September 1978, a tunnel fire north of Island Mountain severed the line for a year.
- January 1980, flooding washed out the tracks at Schellville at NWP's interchange. In September 1983 the SP announced that it was shutting down the maintenance-intensive NWP line north of Willits. This led to a contentious court battle as the SP did not properly notify ICC of their intent to abandon the line. The line was ordered reopened by the U.S. Circuit Court in March 1984.

Eureka Southern Railroad saves the Willits - Eureka line from abandonment

On September 8 1983, investor Bryan R. Whipple came to rescue the line and his new railroad, the Eureka Southern Railroad, was incorporated. He purchased the line north of Willits from NWP for $4.95 million and on November 1 1984 the railroad commenced operations. The Eureka Southern operated the railroad with four EMD 2,000 horsepower locomotives it acquired from Conrail that were built in 1969. The Eureka Southern struggled to make money on the line and on December 15 1986 they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, however the railroad continued operations. The railroad tried operating excursion trains such as the North Coast Daylight. It should also be noted that during this period environmental concerns severely restricted logging. Logging was the primary commodity carried by the Eureka Southern. In September 1988 the ES purchased the 7 mile shortline Arcata & Mad River Railroad from Simpson Timber Company for $300,000. The A&MR had been closed for the two year period prior to its purchase by the Eureka Southern. The deathnell of the ES came on April 25 1992 when an earthquake and a related landslide at Scotia Bluff closed the line.

North Coast Railroad

The North Coast Railroad Authority purchased the Eureka Southern and leased the line to the(North Coast Railroad). The NCRRA is an authority created by state law to preserve the Northwestern Pacific line from future abandonment. Tne new NWP currently operates the from Eureka to Schellville over the length of the original route of the NWP.

References


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External Links


- [http://www.northcoastrailroad.org/ North Coast Railroad Authority] Current owner of the "new" Northwestern Pacific
- [http://www.nwprrhs.org/ Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society]
- [http://www.sunnyfortuna.com/railroad/ Railroads and the Redwood Empire] Lots of NWP Pictures
- List of U.S. Class I railroads Category:California railroads Category:Southern Pacific Railroad

Redwood Empire

The Redwood Empire (also Redwood Coast or North Coast) is a region of California that stretches from San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon coast. It is composed of eight counties, all but one of which front the Pacific Ocean or San Francisco Bay, and is named from the Coast Redwood (a different species to the Giant Sequoia) which only grows within 80 km (50 miles) of the coast and can be up to 112 m tall. There is some overlap between the Redwood Empire and California's Wine Country. The Redwood Empire is generally thought to consist of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties (Josephine County, Oregon is sometimes included). The region includes Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and Redwood National Park. Together these parks have more than 45 percent of all the old-growth redwood forest in California. Category:Geography of California

Northern California

Northern California (sometimes NorCal) refers to the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, roughly covering all of those counties except for the ten counties which make up Southern California. It is characterized by its beautiful coastline, mediterranean climate, relatively low population density (apart from the San Francisco Bay Area and metropolitan Sacramento), and redwood forests. Northern California's largest metropolitan area is San Jose and its Silicon Valley suburbs. Other major cities include San Francisco, Sacramento (the state capital), and Oakland.

Higher education


- California State University, Chico
- California State University, East Bay (formerly California State University, Hayward)
- California State University, Sacramento
- California State University, Monterey Bay
- Humboldt State University
- Saint Mary's College of California
- Santa Clara University
- San Francisco State University
- San José State University
- Sonoma State University
- Stanford University
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Davis
- University of California, Merced
- University of California, San Francisco
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- University of the Pacific
- University of San Francisco Northern California is also home to a number of seminaries including Fuller Theological Seminary (see also Fuller Northern California), and Western Seminary, each with campuses in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Sacramento.

NorCal Regions


- San Francisco Bay Area
  - North Bay (Marin, Sonoma, Solano, and Napa counties)
  - East Bay
  - South Bay (Santa Clara Valley, "Silicon Valley")
  - The Peninsula
- Wine Country
- Salinas Valley, including Salinas and King City
- Monterey, including Pacific Grove and carmel
- Gold Country
- Shasta Cascade
- Emerald Triangle
- Sacramento Valley
- San Joaquin Valley, with the exception of Kern County. Category:Geography of California

Bay area

:San Francisco Bay Area

Sausalito

Sausalito is a city located in Marin County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,330.

Geography

2000Sausalito is located at 37°51'28" North, 122°29'25" West (37.857708, -122.490266). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.8 km² (2.2 mi²). 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 15.18% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 7,330 people, 4,254 households, and 1,663 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,489.5/km² (3,852.9/mi²). There are 4,511 housing units at an average density of 916.7/km² (2,371.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 91.65% White, 0.65% African American, 0.29% Native American, 4.17% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. 3.33% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. Latino There are 4,254 households out of which 8.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.9% are married couples living together, 3.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 60.9% are non-families. 45.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.72 and the average family size is 2.34. In the city the population is spread out with 7.4% under the age of 18, 2.4% from 18 to 24, 39.5% from 25 to 44, 38.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 45 years. For every 100 females there are 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.8 males. The median income for a household in the city is $87,469, and the median income for a family is $123,467. Males have a median income of $90,680 versus $56,576 for females. The per capita income for the city is $81,040. 5.1% of the population and 2.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.1% of those under the age of 18 and 5.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Tourism

Lying at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, picturesque Sausalito receives a steady stream of visitors who both cycle over the bridge or use the ferry service from San Francisco. It retains one of the few ungated marinas in the Bay Area that attract visitors.

Education

Sausalito is served by the Sausalito Marin City School District for primary school and the Tamalpais Union High School District for secondary school. Grades K-6 attend Bayside Elementary School in Sausalito while high schoolers attend Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.

Trivia


- Sausalito was the setting mentioned by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper in their 1967 tune (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay. The city was also referred to in a 1980 roadtrip song by the Dutch band Diesel, titled Sausalito Summernights.
- Sausalito was home to the 20th-century philosopher Alan Watts, who lived on a converted ferry boat there.
- San Francisco-based rock band Santana had an instrumental song called "Samba de Sausalito" on their 1973 album Welcome

External links


- [http://ci.sausalito.ca.us City of Sausalito]
- [http://www.sausalito.org Sausalito Chamber of Commerce] Category:Marin County, California Category:Cities in California Category:San Francisco Bay Area

Eureka, California

Eureka is the county seat of Humboldt County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 26,128. Eureka was founded in 1856, and soon became an important port city for northern California's logging and commercial fishing industries. Located on Humboldt Bay, Eureka is part of the Redwood Empire. Because of its proximity to Redwood National Park and Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Eureka is a popular tourist stop with many restaurants and motels. Of particular interest in Eureka are its harbor; historic Old Town, with its ornate, Victorian-style architecture; and the Humboldt Botanical Garden. Eureka was voted as the #1 best small art town in John Villani’s book “The 100 Best Small Art Towns In America”. Every 1st Saturday night of the month, Eureka Old Town sponsors an “Arts’ Alive!” gala. More than 40 Eureka business as well as local galleries display local art to the public. Drinks and snacks are provided, as well as live music and performance art by musicians, jugglers and poets. Eureka is the midpoint stop in the three day long kinetic sculpture race, a zany, 42 mile long race of artistic, bicycle powered machines that must prove themselves able to traverse mud, water, sand, gravel, and pavement. The major newspapers servicing the Eureka area include the Times Standard, the Northcoast Journal, and the Eureka Reporter. Nearby institutions of higher learning include the College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University. Bayview, Cutten, Myrtletown, and Pine Hills are all census-designated areas within the Eureka metropolitan area.

Geography

Eureka is located at 40°47'24" North, 124°9'46" West (40.790022, -124.162752). Eureka is located on Humboldt Bay along California's northern coast.

Demographics

Humboldt Bay left According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.4 km² (14.4 mi²). 24.50 km² (9.4 mi²) of it is land and 12.9 km² (5.0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 34.60% water. As of the census2 of 2000, there are 26,128 people, 10,957 households, and 5,883 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,067.5/km² (2,764.5/mi²). There are 11,637 housing units at an average density of 475.5/km² (1,231.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 82.46% White, 1.63% Black or African American, 4.21% Native American, 3.55% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander, 2.71% from other races, and 5.10% from two or more races. 7.77% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 10,957 households out of which 25.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% are married couples living together, 14.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% are non-families. 35.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 2.93. In the city the population is spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the city is $25,849, and the median income for a family is $33,438. Males have a median income of $28,706 versus $22,038 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,174. 23.7% of the population and 15.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 29.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

History

The Wiyot and Yurok are the farthest-southwest people whose language has Algonquian roots. Their traditional homeland ranged from Mad River through Humboldt Bay (including the present cities of Eureka and Arcata) to the lower Eel river basin. Inland, their territory was heavily forested in ancient redwood. Their stretch of shoreland was mostly sandy, dunes and tidal marsh, not rocky cliffs, such as begin a bit further south. Indian Island, formerly called Duluwat Island, was and is the center of Wiyot world. On the island a ceremonial dance was held to start the new year. The ceremony was called the World Renewal ceremony. All people were welcomed, no one was turned away. The ceremony lasted seven to ten days. It was held at the village site of Tutulwat on the northern part of the island. Traditionally the men would leave the island and return the next day with the day's supplies. The elders, women and children were left to rest on the island along with a few men. They ate mostly clams and acorns and made long carved log canoes. Healers and ceremonial leaders were mostly women, who got their powers on mountain tops at night. The Indians of the Humboldt Bay region were among the last in the United States to be contacted by whites. Spanish missions extended only as far north as San Francisco Bay. The Russian fur traders, whose 18th-century invasion in search of the sea otter devastated the Pomo, were unintersted in their sandy shorelands, not a sea-otter habitat. Destruction came to them at last with the invasion of Americans following their victory in the Mexican war. Humboldt Bay was finally discovered by the seafaring exploration of Douglass Ottinger in 1850. White settlement followed immediately. A military post called Fort Humboldt was founded February 9, 1853. Among the miners, farmers, ranchers and loggers pouring into California, many settled at what is now Eureka. Relationships between the local whites and Indians became hostile, marked by raids and vigilante justice. On February 25, 1860, the Wiyot experienced a tragic massacre which not only devastated their numbers, but has remained a pervasive part of their cultural heritage and identity. World Renewal ceremonies were being held at the village of Tutulwat, on "Indian Island" about a mile and a half offshore from Eureka in Humboldt Bay. The leader of the Humboldt Bay Wiyots was Captain Jim. He organized and led the ceremony to start a new year. A group of Eureka men came to the island in the early morning after the ceremony was completed for the evening. They were armed with hatchets, clubs and knives. They left their guns behind so the noise of the slaughter would be only screams -- which don't carry far -- rather than gunshots. This was not the only massacre that took place that night. Two other village sites were raided, on the Eel River and on the South Spit. Reports of the number of Wiyots killed that night vary from 80 to 200. The 1860 massacre was well documented for history and was reported in San Francisco and New York because a young American writer who would later use the pen name Bret Harte was working as a printer's helper and assistant editor at a local newspaper at the time, and his boss was temporarily absent, leaving Harte in charge of the paper. Harte published a detailed account condemning the event, writing, "a more shocking and revolting spectacle never was exhibited to the eyes of a Christian and civilized people. Old women wrinkled and decrepit lay weltering in blood, their brains dashed out and dabbled with their long grey hair. Infants scarcely a span along, with their faces cloven with hatchets and their bodies ghastly with wounds." On the contrary, the Humboldt Times editorialized, "For the past four years we have advocated two—and only two—alternatives for ridding our country of Indians: either remove them to some reservation or kill them. The loss of life and destruction of property by the Indians for ten years past has not failed to convince every sensitive man that the two races cannot live together, and the recent desperate and bloody demonstrations on Indian Island and elsewhere is proof that the time has arrived that either the pale face or the savage must yield the ground." The Times apparently represented the mainstream opinion in the area at the time. An investigation failed to identify a single perpetrator, although those who did the killing were rumored to be well known. Harte quit his job one month later and moved to San Francisco, where an anonymous letter published in a city paper is attributed to him, describing widespread community approval of the massacre. The Wiyot people were decimated. They were corralled at Fort Humboldt. This was another California case of the Army protecting Indians from their own violent citizens. Survivors were herded mostly to Round Valley, establishd as an Indian ("reservation") within California.They kept escaping and returning to their homeland. By 1850, there were about 2000 Wiyot and Karok people living within this area. After 1860 there was an estimated 200 people left. By 1910 there were less than 100 full blood Wiyot people living within Wiyot territory. This rapid decline in population was due to disease, slavery, target practice, protection, being herded from place to place (survivors' descendants describe this as "death marches") , and massacres. In February 1886 around 300 Chinese were driven out of Eureka's now destroyed Chinatown when given 24 hours to leave town. Chinese were banned from Eureka and eventually purged from Humboldt county when racist fervor spread. In 1906 there were no Chinese in Humboldt County.[http://www.keet.org/community/commprojects.cfm?id=24] Eureka remained the center of a remote frontier area accessible only by sea and stagecoach until construction of a railroad to San Francisco in 1914. The Redwood Highway (U.S. 101) reached Eureka in 1920. In a step towards making amends for the 1860 massacre, in June of 2004 the Eureka City Council transferred 67 acres of Indian Island back to the Wiyot tribe. Tuluwat, the sacred Wiyot village of Indian Island, is currently being restored by the Wiyot tribe. Eureka businesses have stepped forward to donate supplies and trash barges, and the citizens of Eureka have donated to a Tuluwat restoration fund. It is hoped that soon the Wiyot will be able to once again perform their traditional world renewal ceremony upon the island, perhaps by 2007.[http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/20/MNGKTEQEFV1.DTL&hw=wiyot&sn=001&sc=1000 ]

Architecture

Fort Humboldt Because of its northern isolation, much of the post-war redevelopment and urban renewal that other cities experienced bypassed Eureka. As a result, Eureka is resplendent with examples of 19th and early 20th century architecture and historic districts. David Gebhard, Professor of architectural history of Santa Barbara has remarked that Eureka is a west coast Williamsburg, Virginia, preserving extensive Victorian, Colonial Revival and Greek Revival neighborhoods. Approximately 16% of the city contains important historical structures. 13 distinct districts have been identified which meet the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places. Among them are the 2nd Street District (10 buildings), 15th Street district (13 buildings) and the O Street district (43 buildings). Hillsdale Street, a popular and well-preserved district, contains 17 buildings of historic interest. In all, some 1,500 buildings have been recognized as qualifying for the National Register. The Eureka Heritage Society, a local architectural preservation group founded in 1973, has been instrumental in protecting and preserving many of Eureka’s fine Victorians.

Points of Interest


- Humboldt Botanical Garden
- Sequoia Park Zoo
- Morris Graves Art Museum

References


- "The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America", by John Villani; ISBN 1562614053
- "Eureka: An Architectural View", by The Eureka Heritage Society, Inc; ISBN 0-9615004-0-9

External links


- [http://www.eurekawebs.com/cityhall/ The City of Eureka — City Hall]
- [http://www.wiyot.com/Site_fund.htm Tuluwat Restoration Fund ]
- [http://www.redwoodmatrix.net/zoo/zoo.htm Sequoia Park and Zoo]
- [http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=665 Fort Humboldt State Park]
- [http://www.eurekawebs.com/cityhall/trails Eureka Eureka City Trails]
- [http://www.humboldtarts.org/index.htm Humboldt Arts Council and Morris Graves Museum Website]
- [http://www.thepalette.com/stories_04/eureka.html Arts Alive! Weblink and list of art galleries]
- [http://www.redwoodjazz.org/ Redwood Jazz Festival]
- [http://www.bluesbythebay.org/ Blues By The Bay Concerts]
- [http://www.oldtowneureka.com/ Old Town Eureka]
- [http://virtualguidebooks.com/NorthCalif/RedwoodHwyEureka/Eureka/ThirdAndLOldTownL.html Virtual tour of Old Town Eureka]
- [http://www.times-standard.com/ Eureka Times Standard newspaper]
- [http://www.northcoastjournal.com/Welcome.html North Coast Journal weekly paper]
- [http://www.eurekareporter.com/ The Eureka Reporter newspaper]
- [http://www.ontheradio.net/ShowMatchingStations.aspx List of Eureka radio stations zip 95501 ]
- [http://www.minortheatres.com/nowplaying.cfm Now Playing at local movie theaters ]
- [http://www.hta.org/ets/index.htm Humboldt Transit Authority bus routes ]
- [http://www.blueoxmill.com/ Blue Ox Millworks]
- [http://www.humboldthistory.org/ Humboldt County Historical Society]
- [http://www.redwoodvisitor.org/ Humboldt County Visitor’s Bureau]
- [http://www.eurekaheritage.org/ Eureka Heritage Society]
- [http://www.eurekacityschools.org/ Eureka City Schools] Category:Cities in California Category:Humboldt County, California Links to research about Eureka
- [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/20/MNGKTEQEFV1.DTL&hw=wiyot&sn=001&sc=1000 SF Chronicle article about Wiyot and Duluwat Island ]
- [http://www.keet.org/community/commprojects.cfm?id=24 1886 Chinese expulsion]

U.S. 101

:For the country-western band, see Highway 101 (band). U.S. Highway 101, or U.S. Route 101 (often just U.S. 101), is a north-south highway that is aligned along the Pacific West Coast of the United States. Its counterpart is U.S. Highway 1 (U.S. 1) aligned along the Atlantic East Coast of the United States (not to be confused with California State Highway 1 (CA/SR-1), also known as the "Pacific Coast Highway"). U.S. Route 101 is often referred to as the Oregon Coast Highway in Oregon, and as the Pacific Highway in parts of Washington and California. Colloquially, the highway is also referred to as The 101 by residents of Southern California or simply 101 by residents of Northern California and Oregon. U.S. Route 101 once was the major north-south link along the Pacific coast. It has been replaced in importance by the highways of the Interstate Highway System, specifically Interstate 5 (I-5), which are more modern in their physical design. Note that this highway is still in use as an alternative to the Interstates throughout its entire length. One of the notable exceptions is where the alignment of I-5 is on the alignment of U.S. Route 101 (that is, the pavement is the same but the route number changed to I-5 and U.S. Route 101 was decommissioned) beginning about one mile (1.6km) east of downtown Los Angeles and continuing south to San Diego. In Southern California, the highway is a heavily traveled commuter route serving the west side of the greater Los Angeles area. The route follows the Hollywood Freeway west from Downtown Los Angeles through the Cahuenga Pass before turning west onto the Ventura Freeway. Communities along the alignment include Hollywood and the southern edge of the San Fernando Valley, and the cities of Burbank, Thousand Oaks, and Agoura Hills. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it is one of the major commuter routes carrying residents of Marin County and San Mateo County (along with Interstate 280) into downtown San Francisco, as well as Silicon Valley. The route crosses the San Francisco Bay, from the city of San Francisco to Marin County, over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Route summary

California

Golden Gate Bridge The south terminus of U.S. Route 101 is in Los Angeles, about one mile east of downtown Los Angeles at the East Los Angeles Interchange, also known as the "Commuters' Complex." This southernmost portion is named the Santa Ana Freeway, inheriting that title as the northerly extension of the roadway now known as Interstate 5. After merging with westbound traffic from the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10), U.S. Route 101 then proceeds northwest via the Downtown Slot under the northern edge of Los Angeles' Civic Center to California State Highway 110 at the Four Level Interchange. Between this interchange and the junction with the California State Route 134 (CA/SR-134) and California State Route 170 (CA/SR-170), US-101 is known as the Hollywood Freeway. At the junction with CA/SR-134 and CA/SR-170 (known as the Hollywood Split) the alignment of U.S. 101 'shifts' to the alignment of CA/SR-134 (i.e. heading northbound, the road's alignment turns left, or westbound) and thereafter is referred to as the Ventura Freeway. Confusingly, the "Hollywood Freeway" name continues northward from this interchange on CA/SR-170, and the "Ventura Freeway" name continues eastward to CA/SR-134. From the Hollywood Split, U.S. 101 is an east-west highway until it reaches Gaviota State Park where it shifts back to a north-south alignment. The east-west geographical alignment of the Ventura Freeway and the north-south designation on freeway signs can be confusing to visitors; the same freeway entrance can often be signed as "101 North" and "101 West"; this is most common in the San Fernando Valley. Beginning at Ventura, the highway closely follows the Pacific coastline (generally no more than one to two miles from the shore) until Gaviota State Park about 23 miles (37 km) west of Goleta. North of Ventura the highway is an intermittent freeway (i.e. there is occasional cross traffic) but there are no traffic signals until one arrives at San Francisco (the last ones were removed in the early 1990s when the section through downtown Santa Barbara were constructed.) Communities and cities along the alignment north of Ventura include Santa Barbara, San Luís Obispo, Salinas, Gilroy, San Jose, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. The highway joins California State Route 46 (CA/SR-46) for about three miles through Paso Robles. The highway also passes through the Gaviota Tunnel 1 mile north of the point where the road heads due north. See the page for the California State Route 1 (CA/SR-1) "Pacific Coast Highway", that runs along the Pacific coastline in California, parallel, and to the west of, U.S. Route 101, for more information. California State Route 1 From at least Gilroy to South San Jose the freeway is called the South Valley Freeway. From San Jose to San Francisco, Highway 101 is also known as the Bayshore Freeway. This segment most likely took its name from the 101A bypass that ran along this path. From the San Francisco county/city line until the junction with Interstate 80 it is named the James Lick Freeway. After that Highway 101 is briefly named Central Freeway before the divided highway ends and traffic follows city streets. Northbound US-101 runs north on Van Ness Avenue and then turns left at Lombard Street (turning right on Lombard leads one to the Crookedest Street in the World). From Lombard Street, northbound US-101 traffic is shifted to Richardson, entering The Presidio, where it becomes a divided highway again, joining California State Highway 1 to cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County, where it is known as the Redwood Highway. From there to the Oregon border, Highway 101 is in some places a freeway and in others a two-lane road. A scenic portion of the route is just north of the Golden Gate Bridge and through the Waldo Tunnel, the first of its kind in 300 miles (the other being the Gaviota Tunnel in Santa Barbara County. In Sonoma County, it is a heavily-traveled, four lane freeway, which will be upgraded to six lanes by 2010. The interchange with California State Route 12 is named the Grape Crush Interchange; like the Orange Crush Interchange in Southern California, it handles major traffic loads, which makes for traffic jams from 6:00 AM through to 8:00 PM. Another scenic portion of Highway 101 within California is in Humboldt County, where it travels through Humboldt Redwoods State Park and a portion of the highway is known as the Avenue of the Giants for the huge, centuries-old redwood trees that can be found there. Shortly north of Crescent City 101 intersects with U.S. Highway 199, which heads northeast as the Redwood Highway, terminating in Grants Pass, Oregon. Highway 101 (no longer called the "Redwood Highway" at this point) continues north along the California coast until it reaches the Oregon border. ----

Oregon

Main article: U.S. Highway 101 (Oregon) Highway 101 enters Oregon four miles south of Brookings, and is seldom out of sight of the Pacific Ocean until it reaches Astoria; the major exception being a significant inland stretch south of Tillamook, Oregon. The stretch between Florence and Yachats is considered one of the more attractive segments of this highway, although there are an abundance of Oregon state parks along the Pacific coast. Because Highway 101 forms the main street of almost all of the coastal towns in Oregon (with the exception of Cannon Beach and others), it is frequently congested and slow. The highway crosses the mouth of the Columbia River over the 4-mile-long Astoria-Megler Bridge at Astoria into Washington, and follows the Columbia downstream to Ilwaco. Ilwaco.]]

Washington

From Ilwaco, Highway 101 follows the Pacific coastline as far as Raymond, from which it proceeds directly north to Aberdeen, offering access from this city into the Olympic National Park. While the AAA has designated this segment north and then east to Port Angeles and Sequim as a scenic byway, some clear-cut logging in the early 1990s has diminished the scenic value of the highway where it crosses the Quinault Indian Reservation. An expressway (super 2) goes through Sequim. East of Port Angeles Highway 101 turns southward, leading to Shelton and its northern terminus in Olympia, the state capital. After going through Shelton US 101 turns into a freeway, merging with Washington State Route 8 and finally ending at Interstate 5.

Historic Route(s)

Parts of Historic Route 101 can still be found in San Diego County between Oceanside and La Jolla under different names, including Interstate 5, Pacific Highway, Camino Del Mar, and Torrey Pines Road. All have been decommissioned, but the roadways still exist and are occasionally signed as Historic 101. Most of Historic 101 between Gilroy and San Francisco is still active, either signed as Business 101 or as Highway 82. The 101A bypass, however, is mostly discontinuous and is paralled by the actual freeway, in some cases serving as an access road to the freeway.

Termini

As of 2004, the highway's "northern" terminus is in Olympia, Washington at an intersection with Interstate 5. Roughly east of the interchange with Washington State Route 112, US-101 is signed east/west, and roughly south of the interchange with Washington State Route 20, US-101 is signed north/ south but having turned around 180 degrees. The direct route between the towns of Aberdeen and Olympia is US 12 and Washington State Route 8. Its southern terminus is in Los Angeles, California at the East Los Angeles Interchange, the world's busiest freeway interchange.[http://www.scvresources.com/highways/east_los_angeles_interchange.htm]

States traversed

The highway passes through the following states (north to south):
- Washington
- Oregon
- California

Related U.S. routes


- U.S. Highway 1 (not actually the "parent" of US 101)
- U.S. Highway 99
- Alternate U.S. Highway 101 (since 1964 replaced with California State Route 1)
- Bypass U.S. Highway 101 (all segments eliminated by 1965)
- List of U.S. Highways

Trivia

Mentioned in the Phantom Planet song "California", the Jackson Browne song "Running on Empty", the Social Distortion song "Highway 101", and the Hayley and the Vibe song "101." Lewis Black also mentions the freeway on his "Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues," which was recorded in Santa Rosa, California. In the video game Sonic Adventure 2, there are two racing levels: "Route 101" (named after US Highway 101) and "Route 280" (named after Interstate 280 (California)). Both highways run through San Francisco, California. San Francisco is also the home of the North American headquarters of Sega, the company that produces the Sonic the Hedgehog video games. The highway is also featured in Cruis'n USA, a racing game in which players drive across the country.

See also


- United States highway

External links


- [http://www.gbcnet.com/ushighways/US101/US101.html Historic California US Highways]
- [http://www.scvresources.com/highways/east_los_angeles_interchange.htm East Los Angeles Interchange Complex]
- [http://www.geocities.com/usend0009/End101/end101.htm Endpoints of US highways]
- [http://www.milebymile.com/main/United_States/California/United_States_101_1/United_States_California_road_map_travel_guides.html Mile By Mile: US 101 Highway Travel Guide: Junction Highway 1 to Oregon Border]
- [http://www.milebymile.com/main/United_States/California/United_States_101_2/United_States_California_road_map_travel_guides.html Mile By Mile: US 101 Highway Travel Guide: Oxnard to Las Croces, Junction of Highway 1] Category:Oregon Coast 101 101 101 101

Paper railroad

A paper railroad is a railroad on paper only and does not own any locomotives or rolling stock. Frequently paper railroads were legal corporations set up by larger parent railroads of which the paper railroad was a subsidiary. Paper railroads were also known as non-operating subsidiary railroads of the parent railroad.

Subsidiary

In business, a subsidiary is a company controlled by another company or corporation. When control or ownership is not shared, it is termed a wholly owned subsidiary. Multinational holding companies such as Berkshire Hathaway[http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/subs/sublinks.html], Time Warner, or Citigroup usually organize all holdings into subsidiaries, sometimes with multiple levels of containment. Subsidiaries are separate, distinct legal entities for the purposes of taxation and regulation. They are distinct from divisions, which are entities fully integrated within the main company, and not legally or otherwise distinct from it.

See also

Business models which feature elements similar to subsidiaries:
- Conglomerate (company)
- Zaibatsu
- Keiretsu
- Chaebol Category:Legal entities Category:Business Category:Types of companies

Interurban streetcar

An interurban streetcar line or interurban, also called a radial railway in Canada, is a streetcar line running between urban areas. The lines were mainly electric in an era when steam railroads had not yet adopted electricity to any large degree. Most were short-lived, coming about around 1900 and dying by the 1930s with the growth of the private automobile and the Great Depression. An interurban typically ran along its own private right-of-way, either cross-country or next to a public highway, between cities, and along the tracks of existing streetcar lines in cities. Occasionally interurbans were operated along mainline steam railroads. Fares were cheaper than steam railroads and service was more frequent but typically slower. Due to the characteristics of the electric motor, interurbans could operate on steeper grades, going where steam engines could not. With the demise of the interurban, many routes were taken over by intercity bus services. Most local intercity services have since been discontinued; buses now typically run express between cities. A few interurbans, built to rather high standards, have survived, as have several that still operate only freight service, but the vast majority are long abandoned.

United States

In the late 1890s, electric traction systems called streetcars, which had been developed by Frank Sprague, expanded rapidly. By 1900, just over 2,100 miles of track had been laid, and by 1916, at their peak, over 15,500 miles were in service. Most of the interurban track that had been laid was located in Ohio and Indiana; both states had 3,000 miles of track. In Michigan and Illinois there was another 2,000 miles of track which was interconnected. In Texas and in California thousands of miles of additional track was also laid down by different companies. In the early 1900s, interurban transportation was very popular in both rural areas and cities. Although slower in speed than than steam driven passenger trains, the interurban system made up for speed by increased frequency of service. After 1910, the popularity of the Ford Model T automobile began to diminish the interurban passenger load, and during the 1920s, many interurban systems were declared bankrupt. As a result of this shift in transportation methods, the small and unprofitable lines were discontinued. By the 1930s, the interurbans began to disappear, although some of their rail lines were taken over for the use of freight drawn by steam engines. By the 1960s, very few lines remained; the Pacific Electric Railway in California was abandoned in 1961, and the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad near Chicago in 1963.

Remaining lines

Only two "pure" interurban lines are still operated in their original form. The Philadelphia and Western Railroad is now SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line, and has many characteristics of a rapid transit system, including full grade separation and high platforms. The Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad is now NICTD's South Shore Line, and still includes a street running section in Michigan City, Indiana, but has many characteristics of a commuter rail operation, including sharing the trackage of the Metra Electric Line (formerly the Illinois Central Railroad) into downtown Chicago. Other lines that have some characteristics of an interurban include:
- The Green Line "D" Branch in Boston, a streetcar line on a grade-separated right-of-way formerly belonging to the Boston and Albany Railroad, a steam railroad
- The Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line in Boston, a streetcar line on a right-of-way formerly belonging to the Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad, a steam railroad
- The IRT Dyre Avenue Line in New York City, a rapid transit line on a section of the former New York, Westchester and Boston Railway, an interurban The Iowa Traction Railroad (former Mason City and Clear Lake Railway) still operates electric freight service, and the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway now operates diesel freight. The Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad operates freight service along the passenger South Shore Line.

See also


- Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway - Speed in excess of 65 miles per hour on a regular schedule.
- Ohio Electric Railway
- Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad
- Union Traction Company of Indiana
- Indiana Railroad
- Northern Indiana Railway
- Northern Texas Traction Company - linked Dallas and Fort Worth in 1902
- Public Service Railroad (New Jersey)

Canada

In Southern Ontario, intercity streetcar lines were called radial railways, because their routes generally radiated from a central city. The longest routes from Toronto included one running to Lake Simcoe and another to Guelph. A portion of one of these lines is preserved and plays host to a working museum of streetcars and other transit vehicles at the Halton County Radial Railway in Rockwood. A notable feature of Toronto's radial railways was that because the city streetcar tracks of the Toronto Railway Company (later taken over by the Toronto Transportation Commission) were built to a wider gauge (which is still used to this day), radial cars from the outlying areas could not pass the city limits, requiring passengers to change trains. Some of the closer sections of Toronto's radial railways were assimilated into the city's streetcar network, and with the city's expansion, some communities once linked by radial railway now have relatively central stations on the Toronto subway. On a regional level, GO Transit's commuter railway network is designed on a similar radial principle, though it uses much heavier-capacity mainline trains. There were also significant radial systems operating from Hamilton, St. Catharines, Windsor, and throughout the Grand River Valley, the last of which may see a revival should Grand River Transit obtain funding to build a light railway between Waterloo, Kitchener, and eventually Cambridge, running partially on the tracks of the former Grand River Railway.

See also


- Toronto Suburban Railway
- Toronto and York Radial Railway

Europe

See tram-train for information about modern European systems.

See also


- Vicinal
- Silesian Interurbans

External links


- [http://www.du.edu/~jcalvert/railway/trolley.htm Interurbans: The technology of economical local transport in the United States]
- [http://206.103.49.193/index.html Dave's Electric Railroads], a collection of electric railroad, interurban, and streetcar photography from many eras
- [http://members.tripod.com/~kinser_11/utc.html Principle (sic) Interurban Car builders of the U.S]
- [http://www.bera.org/pnaerc.html Roster of Preserved North American Electric Railway Cars]
- [http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/transit/last-interurbans.html The Last Interurbans] ja:インターアーバン

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening into the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. It connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and a portion of the south-facing Marin County headlands near the small bayside town of Sausalito, and is located at . The entire bridge including the approach spans is 1.7 miles (2,727 m) long; the distance between the towers ("main span") is 4200 feet (1280 m), and the clearance below the bridge is 220 ft (67 m) at mean higher high water. The two towers rise 746 feet (230 m) above the water. The diameter of the main suspension cables is 36 inches.

History

The bridge was the brainchild of Joseph Strauss, an engineer responsible for over 400 drawbridges, though they were far smaller than this project and mostly inland. Strauss spent over a decade drumming up support in Northern California. Strauss's initial proposal for this location was not at all pretty[http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/exhibits/bridge/up028.html], comprising a massive cantilever on each side connected with a central suspension segment. Other key figures in the bridge's construction include architect Irving Morrow, responsible for the Art Deco touches and the choice of color, and engineer Charles Alton Ellis and bridge designer Leon Moisseiff, who collaborated on the complicated mathematics involved. Construction began on January 5, 1933. Voters within the District funded the project through a special bond issue that put their homes, farms and business properties up as collateral. This bond issue raised the initial $35 million to finance the building of the Bridge. The last of the construction bonds were retired in 1971, with $35 million in principal and nearly $39 million in interest being financed entirely from tolls. Strauss, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, placed a brick from his alma mater's demolished McMicken Hall in the south anchorage before the concrete was poured. The bridge was completed in April 1937 and opened to pedestrians on May 27 of that year. The next day, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, DC signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge. A unique aspect of the bridge's construction was the safety net set up beneath it, significantly reducing the expected number of deaths for such a project. 11 men were killed from falls during construction, and approximately 19 men were saved by the safety net. 10 of the deaths occurred near completion, when the net itself failed under the stress of a scaffold fall. The 19 workers whose lives were saved by the safety nets became proud members of the (informal) Halfway to Hell Club. Washington, DC The center span was the longest among suspension bridges until 1964 when the Verrazano Narrows Bridge was erected between the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. The Golden Gate Bridge also had the world's tallest suspension towers at the time of construction, and retained that record until more recently. In 1957, Michigan's Mackinac Bridge surpassed the Golden Gate Bridge's length between anchorages to become the world's longest suspension bridge in total length. The longest center suspension span in the world is currently the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan. As the only road to exit San Francisco to the north, the bridge is part of both United States Highway 101 and California State Route 1. The bridge has six total lanes of vehicle traffic, and walkways on both sides of the bridge. The median markers between the lanes are moved to conform to traffic patterns. On weekday mornings, traffic flows mostly southbound into the city, so four of the six lanes run southbound. Conversely, on weekday afternoons, three lanes run northbound. While there has been discussion concerning the installation of a movable barrier since the 1980s, the Bridge Board of Directors, in March 2005, committed to finding funding to complete the $2 million study required prior to the installation of a moveable median barrier. The eastern walkway is for pedestrians and bicycles during the weekdays and during daylight hours only, and the western walkway is open to bicycles on weekends. On September 1, 2002, the toll for Southbound motor vehicles was raised from $3.00 to $5.00. Northbound motor vehicle traffic, cycling, and pedestrian traffic remain toll free.
motor vehicle, and to the left of that, Tiburon, California, mostly obscuring the East Bay hills.]] East Bay

Aesthetics

The color of the bridge is orange vermilion, deemed International Orange. The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it blends well with the natural surroundings yet enhances the bridge's visibility in fog. The bridge is indeed constantly being painted this International Orange color, due to the fact that the paint begins to fade in about a year. International Orange The bridge is widely considered one of the most beautiful examples of bridge engineering, both as a structural design challenge and for its aesthetic appeal. It was declared one of the modern Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. According to Frommer's travel guide, the Golden Gate Bridge is "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." [http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanfrancisco/A25170.html] (although Frommers also bestows the "most photographed" honor on Tower Bridge [http://www.frommers.com/destinations/london/A29870.html])

Suicides

The official suicide count ended in 1995 when the number approached 1,000. Through the five years ending 2003, on average there was one suicide jump every two weeks, which brought the unofficial total to over 1,300 suicides. The 220-foot (67 m) fall takes four seconds and jumpers hit the water at 75 miles per hour (120 km/h). As of 2003, only 26 people have survived the jump. The survivors, many of whom report that they regretted the decision in mid-air, all struck the water feet first and most suffered multiple internal injuries and broken bones. One young man who jumped off the bridge in the 1980s swam ashore and walked up on the beach. The doctor who examined him said that the man was in the best shape of anyone he had ever seen. In January 2005, an excerpt from the script of Jenni Olson's film, The Joy of Life (2005), in part a history of suicide and the Golden Gate Bridge, appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. The following week Phil Matier of the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that documentarian Eric Steel had misrepresented the intent of his film to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area when he filed his film permit application with them. He stated that he was making a film about the wonders and beauty of the Bridge as a famous landmark, but instead captured 19 suicides on tape. Several attempts to introduce a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge have been thwarted by engineering difficulties, high costs, and public opposition. On January 27th, Bridge District staff re-introduced for the eighth time the topic of a suicide barrier to the Bridge’s Building and Operations committee, citing “the high profile of this issue in recent press and community conversations.” On March 11, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge voted 15-1 to approve a two-year, $2 million plan to explore the feasibility of a barrier. Proponents of the barrier cite the example of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower where suicides dropped to zero after a barrier was put up. Those against the barrier argue that a barrier would be unsightly, too costly, and would simply move suicides elsewhere. Jump for Life, a creative alternative to a suicide barrier, was introduced in late 2005.

In fiction and film

Film
- Bicentennial Man - takes place in San Francisco, the bridge is seen several times across the future, including a view in which it has a double deck structure.
- The Core - deadly microwaves from the sun break through the magnetic field and melt the bridge before frying the rest of San Francisco.
- Dirty Harry - "Scorpio" hijacks a school bus full of children and forces the driver to head North across the bridge.
- George of the Jungle - George climbs and strolls on the bridge as if it were his beloved jungle, and rescues a stranded worker.
- Hulk - Hulk jumps off the bridge to save a fighter jet.
- The Joy of Life - this Jenni Olson's film offers a history of suicide and the Golden Gate Bridge and features gorgeously shot images of the bridge as well as a personal reflection on the production history of Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo (1958).
- Mothra - In this Japanese science fiction film, the bridge is destroyed by the collision of a large nuclear mutant monster.
- The Rock - bridge can be regularly see in the background as film was shot near Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay.
- So I Married an Axe Murderer - newly married couple travel over the bridge en route to their honeymoon.
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - the Klingon bird-of-prey used by the crew of the Starship Enterprise flies under the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to crashing into the Bay.
- Superman - Superman saves a school bus about to fall from the bridge.
- Vertigo - In this Alfred Hitchcock film, the bridge is a prominent backdrop in in a scene set just east (bayside) of Fort Point.
- A View to a Kill - In this [James Bond]] film, the bridge plays a significant role in the climactic scene.
- X3 - the bridge is used in a prison break sequence from Alcatraz. Television
- 10.5 - bridge collapses during an earthquake.
- Charmed - scenes of the bridge can regularly be seen.
- Full House - seen in the opening credits being traveled by a car full of the program's main characters.
- Love is a Many Splendored Thing - bridge is seen prominently in the opening sequence of the soap opera , which was set in San Francisco.
- "Sliders" - in one of the alternate timelines the bridge is an electric blue, the sole factor distinguishing that San Francisco from ours.
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - bridge is destroyed during the Dominion War in an attack by the Breen.
- Star Trek: Enterprise - the original location of Starfleet Command is located NE of the bridge. Instead of a direct view of traffic lanes and whatever transportation technology is employed, there is an obscuring weatherproof glass arch cover.
- The Ted Knight Show - bridge is seen in the opening credits
- Too Close for Comfort - bridge is seen in the opening credits
- The West Wing - a terrorist attempt to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge sparks a plot line involving the US assassination of the Qumari intelligence minister (who masterminded the plot to blow up the bridge). Books
- The Golden Gate - Alistair MacLean's novel is a kidnapping story set almost exclusively on the bridge. Games
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - a model of this bridge is featured in the city San Fierro, San Andreas. It is called Gant Bridge in the game. Other
- Star Trek universe - in both the 23rd and 24th Centuries, Starfleet Headquarters and Starfleet Academy are located in San Francisco's Presidio, with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
- Voyager Golden Record - the bridge appears as one of the pictures on the record.

External links


- [http://www.goldengate.org/ The Official website of the Golden Gate Bridge]
- [http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0000029 Structurae: Golden Gate Bridge]
- [http://www.sfmuseum.net/ The Museum of San Francisco]'s [http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist10/ggbridging.html Story Behind the Construction of the Span]
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/index.html PBS American Experience]
- [http://www.virtuar.com/ysf2/golden_gate_bridge.htm Golden Gate Bridge Virtual Tour]
- [http://www.cbsforum.com/cgi-bin/articles/partners/cbs/search.cgi?template=display&dbname=cbsarticles&key2=golden&action=searchdbdisplay The story of Golden Gate Bridge] - by [http://www.cbsforum.com/ CBS Forum]
- [http://www.lodgephoto.com/galleries/usa/goldengatebridge/ Photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge]
- [http://www.terragalleria.com/california/california.sf-golden-gate-bridge.html Photos of the Golden Gate Bridge]
- [http://www.googleearthhacks.com/dlfile71/Golden-Gate-Bridge---3d.htm 3D plug-in of the Golden Gate Bridge for Google Earth]

References


- Tad Friend: Jumpers: The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge, The New Yorker, Oct 13, 2003 v79 i30 page 48 Category:Historic civil engineering landmarks Category:San Francisco landmarks Category:Suspension bridges Category:Toll bridges in California Category:Bridges completed in 1937 Category:Art Deco Category:Works Progress Administration ja:ゴールデンゲートブリッジ

Ferry

A ferry is a boat or a ship carrying passengers, and sometimes their vehicles, on scheduled services. Ferries have also been used to transport railroad cars and were once common in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels. A foot-passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, is sometimes called a waterbus or water taxi.

Notable ferry services

water taxi]] Longer-run ferries connect coastal islands with the mainland. A route of this type connects Great Britain with the rest of Europe across the English Channel, connecting mainly to French ports, such as Calais, Cherbourg and Le Havre. Large ferries also sail in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden. In many ways, these ferries are like cruise ships, but they can also carry hundreds of cars on car decks. In Britain, car-carrying ferries are sometimes referred to as RORO - "roll-on, roll-off" - for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave. In Australia, three Spirit of Tasmania ferries carry passengers and vehicles 300 km across the Bass Strait, which separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland. These run overnight but also include additional day crossings in peak time. All three ferries are based in the northern Tasmanian port city of Devonport; two ferries travel the route to Melbourne, Victoria, and the third to Sydney, New South Wales. Hong Kong has the Star Ferry and the First Ferry. Due to the numbers of large freshwater lakes and length of shoreline in Canada, many provinces and territories have ferry services. BC Ferries, British Columbia, carries travellers between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland. It also services other islands including the Gulf Islands and the Queen Charlotte Islands. In Ontario, a popular ferry service that transports the public, as well as goods and services, is the Chi-Cheemaun. Toronto also has a ferry service that shuttles beach-goers, tourists and aircraft passengers between the downtown core and Toronto Island beach and airport. The island province of Newfoundland is accessible only by air or by Marine Atlantic ferries; Prince Edward Island was only connected to the mainland by ferries until the opening of the Confederation Bridge) in 1997. In the United States, Washington State Ferries operates the largest ferry system in the US with ten routes on Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca serving terminals in Washington and Vancouver Island. In fiscal year 1999, Washington State Ferries carried 11 million vehicles and 26 million passengers.

Types of ferries

1999 Ferry designs depend on the length of the route, the passenger or vehicle capacity required, speed requirements and the water conditions the craft must deal with.

Hydrofoil

Hydrofoils have the advantage of higher cruising speeds, succeeding hovercraft on the some English Channel routes, where the ferries now compete against the Eurotunnel and Eurostar trains that use the Channel Tunnel. Hydrofoils also proved a practical, fast and relatively economical solution in the Canary Islands - their replacement by high-speed car ferries is seen by critics as a retrograde step given that the new vessels use much more fuel and foster the inappropriate use of cars [http://www.atan.org/en/costas/fast/milenium.htm 1] in islands already suffering from the impact of mass tourism.

Catamaran

Catamarans are normally associated with high-speed ferry services. Stena Line operates the largest catamarans in the world, the Stena HSS class, between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. These waterjet powered vessels, displacing 19,638 tonnes, are larger than most catamarans and can accommodate 375 passenger cars and 1,500 passengers.

Ro-ro

Roll on-roll off ferries (RORO) are large, conventional ferries named for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave.

Cable ferry

Roll on-roll off Very short distances may be operated by a cable ferry, where the ferry is propelled and steered by cables connected to each shore. Sometimes the cable ferry is human powered by someone on the boat. Reaction ferries are cable ferries that use the perpendicular force of the current as a source of power. Chain ferries may be used in fast-flowing rivers across short distances. This type of ferry is also widely referred to in Australia as a 'punt'. Free ferries operate in some parts of the world, such as at Woolwich in London, England (across the River Thames), in Amsterdam, Netherlands (across the IJ waterway), and in New York Harbor, connecting Manhattan to Staten Island.

Docking

Ferry boats often dock at specialized facilities designed to position the boat for loading and unloading, called a ferry slip. If the ferry transports road vehicles or railcars there will usually be an adjustable ramp called an apron that is part of the slip. In other cases, the apron ramp will be a part of the ferry itself, acting as a wave guard when elevated and lowered to meet a fixed ramp at the terminus - a road segment that extends partially underwater.

First, shortest, largest

On 11 October 1811 inventor John Stevens' ship the Juliana, began operation as the first steam-powered ferry (service was between New York, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey). Reputedly, the world's shortest regular ferry route runs 121 m across a shipping channel, connecting Toronto City Centre Airport to the mainland. The ferry between Bygdøy and Lille Herbern in Oslo is significantly shorter, but operates only between April and October. Oslo The oldest ferry service in continuous operation may be the Sundbåt ("Sound/Strait Boat") shuttle in Kristiansund. Started in 1876, the small motor ferry crosses the harbour from Kirklandet to Innlandet, then Nordlandet, Gomalandet, and back to Kirklandet, repeating the round trip in half-hour intervals morning to evening on weekdays. Another contender is the Mersey Ferries from Liverpool to Birkenhead. There is evidence that there has been a ferry service over the river for over 800 years. Liverpool's city charter in 1207 specifies rights of passage across the river payable by a toll. Two of the world's largest ferry systems are located in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada, and Puget Sound, Washington, United States of America. The BC Ferries operates 35 vessels, visiting 47 ports of call, while Washington State Ferries owns 28 vessels, travelling to 20 ports of call around Puget Sound. The Sydney Ferries Corporation operates 31 passenger ferries around locations on Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour). It operates catamarans and other types of ferries on these routes, with the most famous likely being the Circular Quay-Manly route. This route, between 1938 and 1974, operated the South Steyne, billed at the time as the largest and fastest ferry of its type ever constructed until that date, even though the claim to speed was false. Metrolink Queensland operates 21 passenger ferries on behalf of Brisbane City Council, 12 being single-hulled ferries and 9 CityCats (catamarans), along the Brisbane River, from the University of Queensland through the city to Brett's Wharf.

Ferries in Antiquity

University of Queensland Crossing a river as a metaphor for transition is very old. The profession of the ferryman is embodied in Greek mythology as Charon. Speculation that a pair of oxen propelled a ship having a water wheel can be found in 4th century Roman literature “Anonymus De Rebus Bellicis”. Though impractical, there is no reason why it could not work and such a ferry, modified by using horses, was used in Lake Champlain in 19th century America. See, “When Horses Walked on Water: Horse-Powered Ferries in Nineteenth-Century America" (Smithsonian Institution Press;Kevin Crisman, co-authored with Arthur Cohn, Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum).

See also


- Cable ferry
- RORO, "Roll On/Roll Off" a ferry that carries wheeled cargo
- Train ferry
- Water taxi Water taxi

List of ferry operators


- Alaska Marine Highway System (northwest US to Alaska)
- Bay Ferries (eastern Canada)
- BC Ferries (western Canada)
- Black Ball Transport (Olympic Peninsula to Vancouver Island)
- Caledonian MacBrayne (Scotland)
- Irish Ferries, (the Irish Sea)
- Lake Champlain Transportation Company (on Lake Champlain in the United States)
- Marine Atlantic (eastern Canada)
- MBTA boat (Boston)
- Northumberland Ferries (eastern Canada)
- NY Waterway (New York City)
- Oslo Sporveier (Oslo, Norway)
- P&O Ferries (London, United Kingdom)
- Penang Port Commission (Penang, Malaysia)
- Polferries (the Baltic Sea)
- Silja Line (the Baltic Sea)
- Smyril Blue Water (North Sea)
- SSTH Ocean Arrow
- Star Ferry (Victoria Harbour,Hong Kong)
- Staten Island Ferry (New York City)
- Stena Line (North Sea, Irish Sea, Baltic Sea)
- Superfast Ferries (Athens; Adriatic-, Baltic- and North Sea)
- Sydney Ferries (Sydney, Australia)
- Thames Clipper (London, United Kingdom)
- Tallink (the Baltic Sea)
- Toronto Island Ferry Services
- Viking Line (the Baltic Sea)
- Washington State Ferries (northwest US)

External links


- [http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/index.html Alaska Marine Highway System]
- [http://www.dover-to-calais.com. Ferry to France]
- [http://www.greekferries.gr Greek ferries]
- [http://www.interislander.co.nz/ Interislander: New Zealand's Ferries]
- [http://www.sydneyferries.info Sydney Ferries]
- [http://wsdot.wa.gov/ferries Washington State Ferry] Category:Boat types Category:Ship types
- ms:Feri ja:フェリー

Merged

The phrase mergers and acquisitions or M&A refers to the aspect of corporate finance strategy and management dealing with the merging and acquiring of different companies as well as other assets. Usually mergers occur in a friendly setting where executives from the respective companies participate in a due diligence process to ensure a successful combination of all parts. Historically, though, mergers have often failed to add significantly to shareholder value. On other occasions, acquisitions can happen through hostile takeover by purchasing the majority of outstanding shares of a company in the open stock market. In the United States, business laws vary from state to state whereby some companies have limited protection against hostile takeover. One form of protection against hostile takeover is the so-called "poison pill". See Delaware corporations.

Financing M&A

Technically, what differentiates a merger from an acquisition is how it is financed. Various methods of financing an M&A deal exist:

Merger

A "merger" or "merger of equals" is often financed by an all stock deal (a stock swap). An all stock deal occurs when all of the owners of stocks of either company get the same amount of stock in the new combined company. The term "demerger" is sometimes used to indicate the effective opposite of a merger, where one company splits into two, the second often being a separately listed stock company if the parent was a stock company.

Acquisition

An acquisition (of un-equals, one large buying one small) can involve a cash and debt combination, or just cash, or a combination of cash and stock of the purchasing entity, or just stock. The Sears-Kmart acquisition is an example of a cash deal. In addition, the acquisition can take the form of a purchase of the stock or other equity interests of the target entity, or the acquisition of all or substantially all of its assets.

High-yield

In some cases, a company may acquire another company by issuing high-yield debt (high interest yield, "junk" rated bonds) to raise funds (often referred to as a leveraged buyout). The reason the debt carry a high yield is the risk involved. The owner can not or does not want to risk his own money in the deal, but third party companies are willing to finance the deal for a high cost of capital (a high interest yield). The combined company will be the borrower of the high-yield debt and it will be on its balance sheet. This may result in the combined company having a low shareholders' equity to loan capital ratio (equity ratio).

Examples

In a 1985 merger between Pantry Pride and Revlon, Pantry Pride had to issue 2.1 billion dollars of high-yield debt to buy Revlon. The target Revlon was worth 5 times the acquirer.

Motives behind M&A

These motives are considered to add shareholder value:
- Economies of scale: This refers to the fact that the combined company can often reduce duplicate departments or operations, lowering the costs of the company relative to theoretically the same revenue stream, thus increasing profit.
- Increased revenue/Increased Market Share: This motive assumes that the company will be absorbing a major competitor and increasing its power (by capturing increased market share) to set prices.
- Cross Selling: For example, a bank buying a stock broker could then sell its banking products to the stock broker's customers, while the broker can sign up the bank's customers for brokerage accounts. Or, a manufacturer can acquire and sell complementary products.
- Synergy: Better use of complementary resources.
- Taxes: A profitable company can buy a loss maker to use the target's tax write-offs.
- Geographical or other diversification: This is designed to smooth the earnings results of a company, which over the long term smooths the stock price of a company, giving conservative investors more confidence in investing in the company. However, this does not always deliver value to shareholders (see below). These motives are considered to not add shareholder value:
- Diversification: While this may hedge a company against an downturn in an individual industry it fails to deliver value, since it is possible for individual shareholders to acchieve the same hedge by diversifying their portfolios at a much lower cost than those associated with a merger.
- Overextension: Tend to make the organization fuzzy and unmanageable.
- Manager's hubris: Oftentimes the executives of a company will just buy others because doing so is newsworthy and increases the profile of the company.
- Empire Building: Managers have larger companies to manage and hence more power
- Manager's Compensation: In the past, certain executive management teams had their payout based on the total amount of profit of the company, instead of the profit per share, which would give the team a perverse incentive to buy companies to increase the total profit while decreasing the profit per share (which hurts the owners of the company, the shareholders); although some empirical studies show that compensation is rather linked to profitablity and not mere profits of the company.
- Bootstrapping: Example: how ITT executed its merger.

M&A and Investment Banking

Historically, Investment Banks (intermediaries which assist companies in selling ownership of themselves as stock or borrowing money directly from investors in the form of bonds) have been closely associated with merger and acquisition activity since a merger or acquisition is a sales opportunity for the Investment Bank. If the company wants to merge with another, it must attain a fair market value for its shares to be swapped which would involve an investment bank. If it wants to buy the other company with borrowed money, it would most likely borrow directly from investors in the form of bonds through a private placement, engineered by the investment bank. Thus, Investment Banks position themselves to act as advisors on mergers and aqusitions and usually charge large fees for doing so. This system however, gives an incentive to Investment Banks to try to stimulate as much M&A activity as possible, even though the result might not be good for the shareholders of the acquiring company, possibly a conflict of interest. The amount of influence this has is unclear since this activity is usually secret and since the majority of merger proposals do not go through.

M&A marketplace difficulties

No marketplace currently exists for the mergers and acquisitions of privately-owned small to mid-sized companies. Market participants often wish to maintain a level of secrecy about their efforts to buy or sell such companies. Their concern for secrecy usually arises from the possible negative reactions a company's employees, bankers, suppliers, customers and others might have if the effort or interest to seek a transaction were to become known. This need for secrecy has thus far thwarted the emergence of a public forum or marketplace to serve as a clearinghouse for this large volume of business. At present, the process by which a company is bought or sold can prove difficult, slow and expensive. A transaction typically requires six to nine months and involves many steps. Locating parties with whom to conduct a transaction forms one step in the overall process and perhaps the most difficult one. Qualified and interested buyers of multimillion dollar corporations are hard to find. Even more difficulties attend bringing a number of potential buyers forward simultaneously during negotiations. Potential acquirers in industry simply cannot effectively "monitor" the economy at large for acquisition opportunities even though some may fit well within their company's operations or plans. An industry of professional "middlemen" (known variously as intermediaries, business brokers, and investment bankers) exists to facilitate M&A transactions. These professionals do not provide their services cheaply and generally resort to previously-established personal contacts, direct-calling campaigns, and placing advertisements in various media. In servicing their clients they attempt to create a one-time market for a one-time transaction. Many but not all transactions use intermediaries on one or both sides. Despite best intentions, intermediaries can operate inefficiently because of the slow and limiting nature of having to rely heavily on telephone communications. Many phone calls fail to contact with the intended party. Busy executives tend to be impatient when dealing with sales calls concerning opportunities in which they have no interest. These marketing problems typify any private negotiated markets. The market inefficiencies can prove detrimental for this important sector of the economy. Beyond the intermediaries' high fees, the current process for mergers and acquisitions has the effect of causing private companies to initially sell their shares at a significant discount relative to what the same company might sell for were it already publicly traded. An important and large sector of the entire economy is held back by the difficulty in conducting corporate M&A (and also in raising equity or debt capital). Furthermore, it is likely that since privately-held companies are so difficult to sell they are not sold as often as they might or should be. Previous attempts to streamline the M&A process through computers have failed to succeed on a large scale because they have provided mere "bulletin boards" - static information that advertises one firm's opportunities. Users must still seek other sources for opportunities just as if the bulletin board were not electronic. A multiple listings service concept has not been applicable to M&A due to the need for confidentiality. Consequently, there is a need for a method and apparatus for efficiently executing M&A transactions without compromising the confidentiality of parties involved and without the unauthorized release of information. One part of the M&A process which can be improved significantly using networked computers is the improved access to "data rooms" during the due diligence process.

Levels and flows

Worldwide Completed Mergers & Acquisitions reported by Thomson Financial ([http://www.thomson.com/financial/investbank/fi_investbank_league_tablearchive_mergers.jsp]) ($ trillion)
- 2004: 1.516 (Q4 2004 report)
- 2003: 1.149 (Q4 2003 report)
- 2002: 1.337 (Q4 2003 report) 1.316 (Q4 2002 report)
- 2001: 2.186 (Q4 2002 report) Worldwide Announced Mergers & Acquisitions
- 2004: 1.949 (Q4 2004 report)
- 2003: 1.333 (Q4 2003 report)
- 2002: 1.207 (Q4 2003 report) 1.230 (Q4 2002 report)
- 2001: 1.701 (Q4 2002 report)

Merger

In business or economics a merger is a combination of two companies into one larger company. Such actions are commonly voluntary and involve stock swap or cash payment to the target. Stock swap is often used as it allows the shareholders of the two companies to share the risk involved in the deal. A merger can resemble a takeover but result in a new company name (often combining the names of the original companies) and in new branding; in some cases, terming the combination a "merger" rather than an acquisition is done purely for political or marketing reasons.

Classifications of mergers


- Horizontal mergers take place where the two merging companies produce similar product in the same