Western Railroad Discussion > Santa Cruz branch shutdown

The local paper sez the Santa Cruz branch will be closed for a month for track repairs after two derailments in the past few weeks.This is good news,I've worried about the crews safety for years,thankfully a loco hasn't gone off over a bank yet,maybe they can do enough to make it safe again but they've got their work cut out for them,most of the line is in terrible shape and may not be worth fixing in todays short term horizon corporate schemes...dave

Link to story
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2002/December/13/local/stories/01local.htm

Better clean and surface the roadbed while you're at it.

Not a good image for Union Pacific to say the least. Hopefully infrastructure will be fixed (although a storm just arrived).

What can be done to make the locals happy UPRRPR?

stash wrote:
> What can be done to make the locals happy UPRRPR?
>
>

Re-build the tracks,build us a small local intermodal facility instead of a park at the old SP yard site,increase trains to daily schedule with corresponding increase in business,add commuter rail service from Santa Cruz to the silicon valley,give me a cab ride from the Jct. to davenport...that should do it...dave

>>What can be done to make the locals happy UPRRPR?

Tell the tree-hugging local hippie folks that there are plans to convert the cement plant from coal burning to spotted owl and hemp burning.

They'll demand the trains be returned at once, while standing downwind of the plant, maybe even demanding the return of "reefer" cars.

Oh yeah, and give stash a cab ride.

Garrett

Dave-

I've had a couple cab rides up that way. Sorry, you can't see much of the beach even from the cab :-(

SP 3773 out.

sp3773 wrote:
Dave-I've had a couple cab rides up that way. Sorry, you can't
> see much of the beach even from the cab :-(
> SP 3773 out.

Yes,I had some rides in cab and caboose to davenport and olympia but the last time was 1959,i'd like to do it again for old times sake....dave

From the 12/13/02 Santa Cruz Sentinel:

Track record derailed: Amid accidents, complaints, Union Pacific shuts down 31 miles of track
By JONDI GUMZ
Sentinel staff writer

APTOS — When the train derailed Nov. 18 behind their homes, Deb Snyder and Becky Burgin expected rail officials would be concerned about the poor condition of the track.

But repair crews for the biggest railroad in North America have come and gone, leaving loose spikes to hold the new track in place, along with a pile of asphalt debris. The new concrete crossing installed on Estates Drive is so high it ripped the exhaust pipe off a car. The new rocks along the rails are sharp enough to cut a dog’s paw.

Snyder contends the repairs haven’t solved the biggest problem — poor drainage that puts the railroad ties under water and warps the wood. Her phone calls to the railroad have gone unanswered.

"What irritates us most is the apathy," added Burgin, who has lived on Estates Drive since 1981.

Snyder and Burgin are not the only critics. Two derailments in the past month despite speed limits of 10 mph have prompted residents to ask for an investigation of track safety.

Chris Jones reported seeing spikes working their way loose along the track in Capitola.

"It is no surprise to me that trains have been derailing. What surprises me is that there is no follow-up, looking at the number of derailments," Jones said.

Union Pacific experienced 62 derailments in California in 2002 through September, including four in Santa Cruz County.

Aptos contractor Arlos Anderson said railroad bridges should get special scrutiny.

"Does anyone bother to be proactive and address these mechanical time bombs?" he asked. "I’m waiting for the entire bridge to collapse over the San Lorenzo (River)."

Local officials say they have called Union Pacific but were disappointed by the response.

Robin Musitelli, an aide to county Supervisor Ellen Pirie, said railroad officials blamed vandals when a crossing bar in Aptos woke up residents at night like a ringing alarm clock.

When they kept watch, and the bar came down with no one around, the railroad wouldn’t admit any problem, Musitelli added.

"We can’t even get them to clean up the graffiti on the bridges over Highway 1," she said.

When she inquired about having volunteers paint over the graffiti, she was told the railroad charged $1,000 for a permit.

The Sentinel has found that Union Pacific derailments are up dramatically in Santa Cruz County.

In addition to the incidents this month and last, derailments occurred in February and June this year. There were three last year.

The derailments cost Union Pacific more than $400,000 in damages, not counting the two recent ones, for which figures are not yet available.

The previous eight years were nearly accident-free in Santa Cruz County, with only one derailment, in January 1999.

Union Pacific spokesman Mike Furtney said the 31-mile rail line will be shut down for a month while the track is inspected and repairs made.

"Track gangs are out there now," Furtney said. "Anything that needs to get fixed, will get fixed."

He declined to say how much would be spent on upgrades locally, but pointed out the company has budgeted $2 billion for capital spending overall.

"For a company with $12 billion in revenue, that’s a significant amount," he said.

He also declined to comment on the increase in derailments, saying "each one is unique."

As for track maintenance, the Federal Railroad Administration requires annual inspections, and the usual procedure is to inspect tracks on a weekly basis, he said.

The shutdown is bad news for the cement plant in Davenport, which has 150 employees and customers from Sacramento to Bakersfield.

The plant, which relies on coal shipped by rail, has shifted to trucking via Highway 1 until the rail line is back in operation.

"It’s the only way to keep the plant running," said Satish Sheth, vice president of operations for RMC Materials, which is the only company using the rail line. "We can’t afford to shut down. Our customers need the product."

About 90 rail cars are backed up at the rail junction in Watsonville. RMC crews are unloading them by hand for the trip up Highway 1, which means higher operating costs.

Highway 1 commuters will see the end result.

Sheth estimated it will take 25 truckloads per day to get the raw materials to the cement plant because each rail car carries the equivalent of four truckloads.

"We rely on Union Pacific to do monitoring and maintenance," he said, "With two derailments, management got the message this is too much."

Warren Flatau of the Federal Railroad Administration in Washington, D.C., admitted track conditions in Santa Cruz County are "less than perfect" though he was unfamiliar with the local complaints.

"The railroad is aware of this situation and intends to undertake upgrades," he said. "If we go out and discover non-compliant conditions, defects or deficiencies, we have a variety of enforcement tools. Plenty of times we take enforcement action."

Flatau suggested complaints be directed to Union Pacific’s vice president of California operations and offered to help coordinate conversations between railroad executives and local officials.

"We of course would be more than happy to participate in any discussion or dialogue," he said.

Residents can send letters to the Federal Railroad Administration at 1120 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20590.
Derailments up
Union Pacific derailments have increased dramatically in Santa Cruz County in the past two years, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Damage estimates for the two recent incidents have yet to be filed.

Date Damage to equipment Damage to track Cars derailed

2002, Dec. 1 NA NA 9

2002, Nov. 18 NA NA 7

2002, June 19 $10,000 $143,223 3

2002, Feb. 20 $14,216 $100,796 5

2001, Nov. 5 $5,785 $2,000 7

2001, March 2 $4,415 $29,505 7

2001, Jan. 5 $3,221 $129,561 1

2000 None reported

1999, Jan. 18 $30,995 $198,732 4

1998 None reported

1997 None reported

1996 None reported

1995 None reported

1994 None reported

1993 None reported

1992, July 1 $95,800 $ 75,000 9

Source: Federal Railroad Administration

Agreed. Just bring your Dramamine...

ctxm wrote:

> sp3773 wrote:
> Dave-I've had a couple cab rides up that way. Sorry, you
> can't
> > see much of the beach even from the cab :-(
> > SP 3773 out.
>
> Yes,I had some rides in cab and caboose to davenport and
> olympia but the last time was 1959,i'd like to do it again for
> old times sake....dave
>
> [%sig%]

sp3773 wrote:
Agreed. Just bring your Dramamine...
>


For sure,I know the hazards of rough track,Back around 1960 when the line was still in good condition a couple of friends and I hopped the freight from watsonville home to SC,we hid in a load of lumber on a 40ft. flatcar till the train left the junction,then stood between the lumber piles watching the scenery till we got up near the latest wreck site,the track was pretty wobbly along there even in those days so the lumber piles started to rock and roll and fall apart on us,we decided to abandon ship and rode the rest of the way on the end ladder of the boxcar in front of us.as we approached capitola the train suddenly slowed..we thought the caboose had seen us since the spur there is facing point so they never stop going east,thus we decided to bail out on the outside of the big curve by new brighton beach,in our haste to get off we jumped right into a water filled trackside drainage ditch..soon the caboose came rolling by and the rear brakeman looked surprised to see three wet and muddy kids standing there glaring up at him....We followed the train on around the curve then found the section gang resuming work after letting the train thru....they couldn't stop laughing when we told them what had happened....thoroughly disgusted,we squished our way home about 3 miles along the ballast..(and surprisingly my mom was pretty cool when in answer to her question of how I got so muddy I told her I jumped off the train into a mud puddle..she just said "oh,ok,be carefull then") ....dave

One wonders how this might affect business on the Permanete side of things. How about a M-F local for starters? This will be intersting to watch…

At first I couldn't figure out why such an obscure branch line received so much railfan attention. Thanks to brianbergtold, I know now that it is a stunner for backyard scenery. Maybe now we will be able to keep everything on the rail and he can concentrate on those lush eucalyptus groves instead of derailed hoppers? Otherwise I was thinking he could expand his garden railroad out onto our right-of-way? :-)
JB

I like that garden railroad expansion plan, John. The Sunny Cove Pacific just took deivery of a Daylight trainset (seen on a capitola deli's RR), and I could use the room to add a few more coaches. Plus, foot long coal hoppers make less of an impact when they leave the rails.

Brian

---

brianbergtold wrote:

> The Sunny
> Cove Pacific just took deivery of a Daylight trainset

Well, looky here! It's a photo of those mysterious Daylight-painted F units. And could it be that the train is indeed the "Suntan Special"?

Someone wake Strapac...