I don't have any info on the NCO line, like whether it can be used for a train to get between the 2 main lines. I'm also not the one to ask about local service on that line.

With regards to the up.com article, it doesn't show a new culvert, but it does show, very well, the scale of the washout; some of the equipment used in the repair; and early stages of the repair. In that regard, I give UP kudos. Based on someone else's post somewhere, and the sequence of up.com's announcements, I think the washout was somewhere between Quincy Jct. and Portola. Can anyone confirm that, & maybe be more specific as to where it was, like a milepost? And a photo of the finished repair would be nice.