Northcoast Journal

"...First, the new train operators propose to open and greatly expand a long-dormant gravel quarry halfway down the Eel River Canyon, behind Island Mountain, in Trinity County. One of the partners in NWP, Inc. — Evergreen Natural Resources, of Oroville, Calif. — is in the process of applying for a permit from Trinity County that would allow it to mine up to 4 million cubic yards of gravel per year, which would make the operation one of the largest, if not the largest, gravel mines in Northern California. As explained in the NCRA's progress report, that quantity of gravel translates to 40,000 rail cars full of gravel every year —- an average of 110 cars per day."

"...The other main source of projected revenue for the line would come from a staggering expansion of the shipping industry on Humboldt Bay. The report projects that the development of port facilities to move containerized cargo (goods package in the truck-sized "container" boxes, which have long been the standard in international freight) could result in up to 1,000 containers being shipped down the railroad line each day. That would mean up to 20 trains per day coming and going through Eureka and Arcata, each towing 50 or so flat cars."

"...Though the numbers projected for both the gravel and the shipping plans may seem unduly optimistic, given the current, dilapidated state of both the railroad and the port, NCRA Executive Director Mitch Stogner insisted on Monday that they were, in fact, viable.

"The projections are just that — projections," he said. "I think the projections we make are the based on the best facts we have at the moment. There are some imponderables there, but I think they're realistic.""