Passenger Trains > San Francisco - San Jose CalTrain Will Not Be Running For a While

High winds and rain all day in the San Francisco area today.
Two big trees came down on Cal Train tracks in Burlingame around noon
and brought the soon to be used electrifaction wires down also!
Regards, Jim Evans  .
 

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Minor problem now - wait until these trees start falling on the energize lines when the electrics are operating.  TomE

How often does this happen..once every 20 or 30 years?    Doesnt look like a big clean up job.

It's looking more likely now some advocates will be pushing to cut down all such trees (eucalyptus) along the line.

So many people in Burlingame would protest cutting down all those trees just because of the train - those trees were there long before the electrification infrastructure and loads of people would find it unethical. Now, they may have to do this when Caltrain constructs a new grade separation for Broadway, but unless those trees are all dead, it would be a hard sell to the City of Burlingame.

pdt Wrote:
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> How often does this happen..once every 20 or 30
> years?    Doesnt look like a big clean up job.

Every 4 to 5 years

Posted from Android

Eucalyptus are a non-native tree introduced and planted throughout the Bay Area, and a bad idea. They were planted... some say the wrong variety was brought here... because they are fast growing. But their wood is brittle and their roots are shallow. One fell on a historic building in Stern Grove in San Francisco last week, causing major structural damage. In San Anselmo some years back, a limb broke off a eucalyptus without warning and fell on a woman walking her dog, killing her instantly. At Sonoma State University an entire grove of eucalyptus was cut down because of the danger they posed to those walking under them. SMART has also had eucalyptus fall on the tracks from where they were planted by a contiguous landowner. Eucalyptus were a bad choice then and retaining them now is fraught with risk and liability.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/23 01:05 by GenePoon.

Add to that their leaves are very oily, and when they coat the tracks, the trains just start sliding along!  When braking!

They wood grows in a "twisted" manner, which makes it almost impossible to split when dry.  You MUST split the wood when wet.

Good things:
--eucalyptus burns hot
--there's lots of it for firewood
--it smells great
--the scent in the leaves is a natural insect repellent.

As implied in several of the above posts, eucalyptus are highly flammable and burn very hot. The story I heard many years ago was that after the great Berkeley fire a century ago, the hills were replanted with fast growing eucalyptus tress. Of course that was a bad choice of tree from a fire prevention perspective.

WP17



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/23 08:31 by WP17.

4-5 fell across both mains on the Niles sub today as well. This was just before 12 noon as the wind event was at its peak. All fallen trees were eucalyptus between Shinn and Niles Junction. Trains started rolling on 1 track just after 17:00.

Rob in Fremont

Steamman Wrote:
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> Minor problem now - wait until these trees start
> falling on the energize lines when the electrics
> are operating.  TomE

Just cut them down like we do in SoCal ! They are messy anyway.

Posted from iPhone

There was an arc of them along the SP Coast line between Chatsworth and Tunnel 28, planted on the property line.
When Metrolink took over and we started to have them fall onto adjoining horse barns and just miss houses they had to go.
The residents were a little sad, but nobody said "no".

Guys hate trees. I dont get it.

Im trying to find someone who will plant more trees on our property

Caltrain Service.On Tuesday, more than 15 trees or branches fell near Burlingame Station, blocking tracks and causing major delays in both directions. Crews worked into the night to clear the trees and restore service.Updated: 11:04 PM, 3/14/2023

A euch fell in Grover Beach yesterday across the coast line.

The Eucalytpus trees were also a factor in the Oakland hills fire back in '91.  Regardless of what trees grow along the CalTrain corridor, they'll have to plan on fixing down trees and wires going forward.

Nathan

pdt Wrote:
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> Guys hate trees. I dont get it.

Gotta love the unfounded and untrue generalization.

Of course you don't get it. Here, let me try. Not every type of tree is good for every location.

Don't remove the beautiful trees for the stupid electrification project.

They're not going to remove them for the electrification project. If they remove them it's going to be because they're a liability. They came down all over Burlingame yesterday due to extreme winds and saturated soils, causing property damage to homes, businesses, vehicles, and infrastructure. It's fortunate that no one was injured or killed as far as I'm aware. The city is removing these trees and replacing them with species that are more suitable and robust in these conditions and locations. Burlingame as a city, and myself as a homeowner here, love the trees in our community. That said, some need to be taken down and replaced, including the eucalyptus along ECR, California Drive, Burlingame Ave, Oak Grove, and probably some of the ones in Easton Addition.

Sean

SCspotter Wrote:
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> Don't remove the beautiful trees for the stupid
> electrification project.

pdt Wrote:
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> Guys hate trees. I dont get it.
>
???

Maybe you should familiarize with yourself the following poem written by a guy. George Morris Pope:

Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I'll protecttit now.
'Twas my forefather's hand
That placed it near his cot;
There, woodman, let it stand,
Thy axe shall harm it not.

Here's a link to the full poem:

https://internetpoem.com/george-pope-morris/woodman-spare-that-tree-poem/

As a guy, I certainly appreciate them for the shade and beauty the bring to our property and understand generally how trees increase the appeal of urban neighborhoods.  I don't know about the dudes with whom you associate, but I know of many guys (and gals) both in my community and around the country who believe that trees are neighborhood and city assets.

However, as a guy with some background in ecology, I also understand how non-native species whether they are eucalyptus trees or lantern flies can be highly problematic.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/23 15:05 by RuleG.