A little more reality here, first of all Little Lake Listener is RIGHT ON THE MONEY on the cost estimate of about 15 years ago, The cost has easily doubled or tripled. There is great irony here because the EEL is classified as a WILD AND SCENIC RIVER which has a few State and Federal stings attached to it. You must also consider that the railroad was there first and if the railroad were removed, the Canyon still has to be maintained to prevent spoils, mud slides, and other debris from contaminating the Eel and its fish population and water quality. I other words, all the culverts, ditches, retaining walls and bridges must be kept in original condition so that the drainage created by the construction of the railroad from 1911 to 1913 allows for natural run-off into the Eel. In order to do it, your rip out the tracks, replace it with a road so that the agency who is responsible to maintain the ROW has a year around access. In other words, the NCRA can't walk away from it and if they are determined to be the lead agency then California taxpayers are on the hook for the money to do the work! You may be looking at the most expensive rails to trails project on the planet! Oh, just a little about the bridges, the 3 main steel structures crossing the Eel at South Fork, Cain Rock and Island Mt. were almost totally rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen during the l964 flood and are in excellent condition. So even if you ABANDON the NWP. the someone has to restore it in order to end service. SP was aware of this and is one reason, I believe they allowed an underfunded Bryan Whipples' Eureka Southern to take over the North End in 1984. An no railroad option in the Eel would eventually cost taxpayers more money then an open and operating railroad that down the line, could make a profit! Go figure! I Didn't make this up, its a true and a matter of public record but you won't here this from FRIENDS OF THE RIVER!