Bill K. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can tell you this much ... before the
> disagreement between CORP and Timber Products
> regarding freight fees, we were pulling 8 to 12
> cars of chips, laminate and peeler cores five days
> a week. Mondays would usually have more ...
> sometimes making it necessary to make two trips to
> Montague (too much weight for old #21 to make it
> up 'pump-house hill'). This was after Tunnel 13
> was reopened. The YW was working in the black
> then.
>
> If Court Hammond and Doug Morgan can be extricated
> from the YW, I feel Timber Products, in addition
> to the new Fruit Growers Box mill will use rail
> service again. Same thing goes for Roseberg
> Forest Products.


Amen brother Bill! If the current "management" at the YW can be removed from all aspects of the railroad and a respectable operator can be brought in, I honestly believe it would be a profitable railroad. Timber Products and FGS would be high volume (in YW terms anyway) shippers. Add in the occasional cars for Suburban Propane and maybe the possibility of Shasta Forest Products again and you would have a solid shipping base. I've heard that FGS had shown some interest in shipping by rail when they originally started construction. The new mill looks great too!

Than just maybe we could see excursion trains again as well! With the right advertising and PR strategies, the excursion trains could help pull in profits as well...or at least be breaking even. Back in the day there were 10,000 riders per year on the Blue Goose. You could not ask for a better location for a tourist train. Right off a busy Interstate 5 exit. It doesn't get much easier than that! Not only is it a boost for the railroad, but a huge tourism boost for Yreka, Montague, and Siskiyou County. Let's face it, unless you're an outdoorsman, there is not a whole lot of family oriented tourist activities in this area.

I loved my job on the Yreka Western. It's where I got my railroad career started and reinforced the idea that this was definitely what I wanted to do with my life. I have daily daydreams that something good will happen and I can go back to work there. Bill K, I will be right behind you in line for our jobs back!

Matt Starman