Five months after a breakthrough that appeared to lowered the temperature on an effort to bring the historic No. 9 locomotive back to Mill Valley in the future, with a proposed a 5-year agreement to place the historic locomotive “Engine No. 9” in front of City Hall in Downtown Mill Valley, that accordance appears to have fallen apart.
City Manager Todd Cusimano announced Wednesday that city officials have determined that the placement of historic locomotive “Engine No. 9” in a temporary location at City Hall is not feasible. Cusimano said the decision was made in consultation with Mayor Jim Wickham and Councilmember Caroline Joachim, who were appointed by Council in June to assess the proposal before executing a 5-year lease agreement.
“We are immensely grateful to the members of The Friends of Engine No. 9 for their commitment to preserving the rich history of Mill Valley,” Wickham said. “However, following a thorough examination of the proposal, we have reached the conclusion that it is not a viable match for the intended location.
The proposed short-term home for the steam engine was first announced in April 2023 by Mayor Wickham in collaboration with the Friends of No. 9. At their June 2023 meeting, Council authorized the City Manager to further evaluate the proposal.
“We recognize the historical significance of Engine No. 9 and extend our gratitude to the Friends of Engine No. 9 for their diligent work and commitment to preserve the locomotive and share it with the community,” Joachim said. “We will continue to support the effort to find an appropriate location for the locomotive.”
Fred Runner, among the driving forces behind the effort to get the No. 9 relocated to Mill Valley, said that the Friends of No. 9 organization is disappointed with the decision but remains vigilant in its efforts to connect the train’s incredible history with the Mill Valley community. “The community support we have received through this effort has brought us enough finding to drive the restoration effort forward,” he says. “The railway has absolutely put Mill Valley and Marin County on the map – there’s no disputing that. There’s no other town in northern California that has anything close to this. It’s a central part of Marin’s history. The No. 9 is a mountain-climbing steam engine, the last piece of rolling stock and the last piece on earth of Mill Valley’s Scenic Railway. Trains pushed passenger cars up the Mt. Tamalpais and towed gravity cars — all at the same time—from 1896 to 1929 and carried over 1,000,000 passengers without ever disrupting day to day life in Mill Valley.”
Wickham and Joachim were tasked with reviewing the feasibility of the proposed location, considering the following: Space requirements and weight distribution; Accessibility and safety measures; Impacts to landscaping; Preservation and maintenance; Historical/cultural significance; Public opinion and engagement; Insurance coverage and legal liability.
In August, they brought in Urban Forestry, an arborist firm, to provide an assessment of the site’s prominent Deodar Cedar and to evaluate the potential impacts on the health and stability of the tree resulting from the proposed locomotive installation. The firm determined that the mature Deodar Cedar had outgrown and overtaken the City Hall site as branches engulfed the City Flagpole and obscured the view of the City Hall building. Staff was given recommendations to improve the trees’ health and pruning opportunities. At the same time, the arborist noted the Catalina Island Cherry near the City Hall parking lot was diseased and in declining health. After additional consultation and second opinion, it was determined the tree’s health posed a potential safety risk due to its deteriorating state and it was ultimately removed.
“On September 5th, the City hired TreeMasters to prune the Deodar Cedar and to remove the diseased Cherry tree,” Cusimano said. “This work understandably raised questions and concerns that the Cherry tree was removed in preparation for the installation of Engine No. 9. I want to emphasize this is not the case. I also want to take responsibility for not better communicating staff’s analysis and efforts related to the removal of the Cherry tree and landscape plan.”
“Over the past two weeks, community members have voiced concerns about the scope, size and location of the Engine No. 9 project,” Cusimano added. “City staff and Councilmembers have received a petition, emails, phone calls, and records request on the project. Due to the public’s growing concerns, we expedited staff’s evaluation and feasibility of the Engine No. 9 proposal with the assistance of Mayor Wickham and Councilmember Joachim.”
Ultimately, staff and the two councilmembers “determined that the proposed location at City Hall is not feasible,” Cusimano said. “The size and scale of the locomotive is too massive for the location, and staff is concerned about the impact of the locomotive’s weight on the roots of the Deodar Cedar. There are additional concerns regarding accessibility, safety measures, insurance coverage and legal liability.”
City staff and councilmembers Joachim and Wickham agreed that the proposal at the City Hall location is not viable and they ended the feasibility analysis.
City staff will continue to work with the Friends of No. 9 to support their efforts in finding an appropriate setting for the locomotive. Unless councilmembers desire additional discussion on the matter, there is no need to bring the item to an additional public meeting regarding the placement of the locomotive at City Hall.
Since the outset of the discussions around the No. 9, there has been feverish public debate on both sides.
Friends of No. 9 bought the locomotive from the Scotia Community Services District in 2018, and restoration efforts have been underway ever since. Locomotive No. 9 was used for logging in Siskiyou and Humboldt Counties, although it never worked in Pacific Lumber Company woods. Pacific Lumber did put the locomotive on display in Scotia in the 1950s, where it remained until being purchased by Friends of No. 9.
The train is the only surviving piece of the rolling steam rail stock used to push gravity cars and passengers’ cars to the top of Mt. Tamalpais from 1896 to 1929, carrying over 1,000,000 visitors.
“No. 9 is the sole piece of remaining, original equipment of the historic Mount Tamalpais Railroad,” said Runner. “At the end of June, we remounted the restored I-beam frame members to the wheel trucks. A crane gently placed the newly painted and refurbished three-ton, V-twin steam engine into No. 9’s frame.”
The restoration has continued to the present, with Jeff and Don Millerick, lifelong metal workers and rail fans, having done much of the No. 9 restoration at their business in Sebastopol, according to the Times Standard.
Engine No. 9 is a key piece of transportation history, and opened up formerly inaccessible areas of Mount Tamalpais, inspiring conservation efforts that spurred the national environmental movement that continues today. The ride to the top of Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods lead to local and national leaders to establish the public lands we enjoy today, including the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods, State Parks and Marin Water open space. It all began in downtown Mill Valley, steps away from Engine No. 9’s now former proposed home.
Since the early outset of discussions about the train, including a lengthy debate about the possible relocation on the Depot Plaza, the locomotive has been subject to intense debate, most recently in a Nextdoor thread.
Stay tuned for additional updates. See photos below, courtesy Fred Runner, of the No. 9, mid-restoration.
The engine looks beautiful and I agree that it would be crowded if located in front of City Hall. Two beautiful structures too close together means neither of them have the space necessary to be fully appreciated. The Depot or the Community Center seem like good options to consider.
Too bad the City Hall location did not work out. Engine No.9’s original home is Mill Valley. There is no more of an appropriate place for it to be. Here, it can best tell its story, a story that is an important part of our local history. Let’s share and celebrate this history. Can we somehow work together to bring No.9 back home? I think the expanded Plaza area is large enough to aesthetically accommodate the engine. It also would complement the Gravity car currently located in that area. Thanks to everyone who has gotten No.9 this far.
Paul Moe
Personally I looked forward to No.9’s location to in front of City Hall.
I do believe both Caroline and Jim conducted a thorough objective study before coming to their decision and recommendation. I thank them both and further appreciate all of Paul Moe’s effort to relocate #9. Hopefully a more feasible location can be found for such an important piece of historical folklore!
Mill Valley and #9 are an essential pairing that should not be ignored by bureaucracy.
I guess I’m in the minority here- but what is Mr. Runner (novato) talking about? This engine 9 has not put MV on the map. The redwoods and MV Film Festival and amazing music at Sweetwater (old and new); the incredible history of famous musicians in this town, the mountain bike community in MV that became a national/international craze… the history of the Miwoks, our town’s namesake Chief Marin leader of the Miwoks- if that narrative was pushed as hard as engine9, if MV Historical Society had tribute to Miwoks on their front page, instead of Locomotive with link the friends of 9 website which is narrative to support ongoing fundraising, and if every newspaper article quoted talking points about Miwok history like they do for engine9- I’m sure there would be similar support. It’s mostly fabricated with cooperation of media.
Kathryn:
I am unclear on your issue. Mill Valley was put on the map in any real sense as a town, by the Mt Tamalpais Scenic Railroad whose existence pre-dated the incorporation of Mill Valley by four years and pre-dated the very important MV Film Festival, Sweetwater and mt bike craze by more than 50 years. I would welcome more publicity regarding the Miwoks in Mill Valley so that, for example, more people would know that Chief Marin’s birth name was Huicmuse and was nothing like “Marin”. Aside from Betty Goerke’s excellent book, can you provide references to other detailed descriptions of Mill Valley before its incorporation or, even better, could you contribute to history by writing your own book regarding Mill Valley history as has Mr Runner.
Has any consideration or evaluation been done for locating No. 9 in the median on Miller across from Safeway? Plenty of space and what a wonderful striking sight it would be greeting visitors and residents as they drive a main artery into town. (This idea was courtesy of a very good friend and local historian.)
The median Idea mentioned above occurred to me as well. Or what about placing it in Old Mill Park? Is it meant to be climbed on?