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Re: SP Monterey Local memory
Author: Carol L. Voss
Date: 07-22-2008 - 15:30
Freericks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Carol L. Voss Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >>
> > A Monterey and Santa Cruz "corridor" would run
> > from Davenport on the north thru Santa Cruz to
> > Watsonville and Castroville (on the UP main)
> and
> > out to the parking lot in Sand City.
> > Sigh.
> > C.
>
>
> I have no idea why you're not understanding me.
> I've read your posts for a long time and you're
> extremeley intelligent. So, it must be me - I
> must not be expaining myself. But let me try
> again.
>
> It would be a forked corridor (sort of like the
> VIA Corridor, which goes to Quebec
> City-Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto-Windsor, which
> involves a number of junctions, where some trains
> go one way and other trains go anther way).
>
> It would start in San Francisco and head south.
> At Watsonville Jct, the Santa Cruz trains would
> head west, while the Monterey trains would
> continue south. The old Monterey Branch would be
> rebuilt, to the station by Fisherman's Wharf. The
> Santa Cruz branch would also be rebuilt, and a
> couple hundred yards of the Santa Cruz and Big
> Trees would be used to get to the old freight
> station.
From Gilroy to Watsonville and Castroville, the trains would have to run on the UP main line which is going to be a very limiting factor in this plan. Not much room to do any double tracking between Watsonville and Castroville due to Elkhorn slough. Salinas commuters would have to go to Watsonville to get the train, which is better than the nothing they have now. I mentioned Davenport since the length of the Santa Cruz branch is Watsonville to Davenport and there are some people up there who think a dinner train would be nice, and it certainly would with that wonderful view up to Davenport.
>
> Regarding the Joint Powers Board, and the Union
> Pacific, and the lack of track to Monterey
> today... what does that have to do with the price
> of tea in China? I had said from the beginning
> that I thought it would be successful, not that it
> would be easy to build. There are all of those
> issues, and many others to tackle. But to say it
> can't happen is sort of like saying, we can't
> build a house there, there's no hole for the
> foundation.
>
> As to a Davenport to Sand City corridor... is that
> actually what you really thought I was saying?
> Seriously?
See above.
I don't know where you live or how long since you've visited Monterey, but in the 9 years we have lived here we have seen the city of Monterey buy up all of the businesses along Del Monte Avenue across from El Estero and raze them and open what they call "the window on the Bay", and of course that former ROW now rec trail is on the edge. It is beyond unlikely that trains of any sort will ever run down that way remotely near fisherman's wharf. Even if they were to run to Sand City, that land is so commercially valuable and built up that to turn it into a transportation hub (parking lot) isn't likely either. OTOH, maybe with the economic situation, all the big box stores will go bankrupt and the area will become a moonscape and someone can try to run a train down here after all. Even if no one has any money to ride it. :-)
It isn't that your plan couldn't be successful, you'd just have to shoot too many environmentalists along the ROW!!! :-) And we really can't say that someone should have done this years ago because there weren't enough people down here years ago. REcall that the Del Monte originated because all of the wealthy SF people who had vacation homes down here and/or came to stay at the resort Hotel Del Monte and Pebble Beach wanted to come by train. There is a wonderful true story about the little island/peninsula in Elkhorn slough through which the tracks run. It used to house a gun club for the SF big wigs who would come down on Friday nights to go hunting the next day and then return on the train. Or in some cases, their families were vacationing in Monterey or at the del Monte and they would stay the rest of the weekend with them. Turns out the gentlemen from SF and the peninsula frequently brought female companionship with them, not spousally related, and other guns were used besides the metal ones. Apparently the wives got wind of this and the whole gun club ended. They must have nuked it because there is absolutely no trace of if on that little island to this day. There is an Indian midden, but no gun club. And yes, it is a true story. :-)
C.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Carol L. Voss Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >>
> > A Monterey and Santa Cruz "corridor" would run
> > from Davenport on the north thru Santa Cruz to
> > Watsonville and Castroville (on the UP main)
> and
> > out to the parking lot in Sand City.
> > Sigh.
> > C.
>
>
> I have no idea why you're not understanding me.
> I've read your posts for a long time and you're
> extremeley intelligent. So, it must be me - I
> must not be expaining myself. But let me try
> again.
>
> It would be a forked corridor (sort of like the
> VIA Corridor, which goes to Quebec
> City-Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto-Windsor, which
> involves a number of junctions, where some trains
> go one way and other trains go anther way).
>
> It would start in San Francisco and head south.
> At Watsonville Jct, the Santa Cruz trains would
> head west, while the Monterey trains would
> continue south. The old Monterey Branch would be
> rebuilt, to the station by Fisherman's Wharf. The
> Santa Cruz branch would also be rebuilt, and a
> couple hundred yards of the Santa Cruz and Big
> Trees would be used to get to the old freight
> station.
From Gilroy to Watsonville and Castroville, the trains would have to run on the UP main line which is going to be a very limiting factor in this plan. Not much room to do any double tracking between Watsonville and Castroville due to Elkhorn slough. Salinas commuters would have to go to Watsonville to get the train, which is better than the nothing they have now. I mentioned Davenport since the length of the Santa Cruz branch is Watsonville to Davenport and there are some people up there who think a dinner train would be nice, and it certainly would with that wonderful view up to Davenport.
>
> Regarding the Joint Powers Board, and the Union
> Pacific, and the lack of track to Monterey
> today... what does that have to do with the price
> of tea in China? I had said from the beginning
> that I thought it would be successful, not that it
> would be easy to build. There are all of those
> issues, and many others to tackle. But to say it
> can't happen is sort of like saying, we can't
> build a house there, there's no hole for the
> foundation.
>
> As to a Davenport to Sand City corridor... is that
> actually what you really thought I was saying?
> Seriously?
See above.
I don't know where you live or how long since you've visited Monterey, but in the 9 years we have lived here we have seen the city of Monterey buy up all of the businesses along Del Monte Avenue across from El Estero and raze them and open what they call "the window on the Bay", and of course that former ROW now rec trail is on the edge. It is beyond unlikely that trains of any sort will ever run down that way remotely near fisherman's wharf. Even if they were to run to Sand City, that land is so commercially valuable and built up that to turn it into a transportation hub (parking lot) isn't likely either. OTOH, maybe with the economic situation, all the big box stores will go bankrupt and the area will become a moonscape and someone can try to run a train down here after all. Even if no one has any money to ride it. :-)
It isn't that your plan couldn't be successful, you'd just have to shoot too many environmentalists along the ROW!!! :-) And we really can't say that someone should have done this years ago because there weren't enough people down here years ago. REcall that the Del Monte originated because all of the wealthy SF people who had vacation homes down here and/or came to stay at the resort Hotel Del Monte and Pebble Beach wanted to come by train. There is a wonderful true story about the little island/peninsula in Elkhorn slough through which the tracks run. It used to house a gun club for the SF big wigs who would come down on Friday nights to go hunting the next day and then return on the train. Or in some cases, their families were vacationing in Monterey or at the del Monte and they would stay the rest of the weekend with them. Turns out the gentlemen from SF and the peninsula frequently brought female companionship with them, not spousally related, and other guns were used besides the metal ones. Apparently the wives got wind of this and the whole gun club ended. They must have nuked it because there is absolutely no trace of if on that little island to this day. There is an Indian midden, but no gun club. And yes, it is a true story. :-)
C.
