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Back in the early 1980's, I was modeling in HOn3. My layout was loosely based upon the North Pacific Coast Railroad, and its subsequent incarnation as the North Shore Line. This line ran from Sausalito on the northern San Francisco Bay to the redwood mills on the Russian River. As I grew up in Marin County just north of Sausalito, this was my home turf, and the railroad history here fascinated me (and still does).
In its original form, the North Pacific Coast was a three-foot narrow gauge railroad like the D&RGW. Later, when it became the North Shore Line, a third rail was added to the primary commuter lanes from Sausalito into Marin County making those sections dual gauge. Additionally, these sections were electrified with the addition of an outside fourth rail, and the commuter trains were standard gauge electrified units similar to the Pacific Electric. The freight remained narrow gauge, along with all traffic north of Marin County. Eventually, the tracks were absorbed into the Northwestern Pacific, and the entire line was converted to standard gauge.