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Re:Can't Get there !
Author: OldPoleBurner
Date: 09-03-2008 - 01:20
Some years ago, Amtrak paid for a CTC controlled (everything else in the area remained ABS) crossover between the SP Mococco line and the ATSF just west of the Port Chigaco depot site. They converted and straightened out an existing freight interchange track and signaled it. This of course greatly sped up crossing over from the SP (from the Cal-P at martinez) to the ATSF (to Stockton and south). Eight Amtrak San Juaquin trains still use it daily.
A few hundred yards east of the crossover, stood the old SP depot on the southwest quadrant of Main St and Waterfront Rd. Just across the SP tracks and Main St was the ATSF depot. And just south of that, across the ATSF tracks, was the SN stop. I'm told there was a depot there also, but i never saw any evidence of it on the ground (must of been too young). All in all - It was a grand place to watch the trains of four railroads all at once - and all on their own tracks too - and all from one settin' spot. I almost forgot to mention the Navy RR on the viaduct to the west. In the early forties, the US Navy took over the "Bay Point & Clayton Railway" and made it their own ("Bay Point" was the original name for Port Chicago).
Yes, the MPs from the base (just across waterfront road) questioned me now and then, but they were sensible fellas - didn't give me any hassle at all, even though we were technically at war. (but that was back in the late 60s- early 70s when most Americans still had common sense)
Not too long after the fancy new crossover was built (in the late 80s early 90s), the Concord Naval Weapons Base closed all public roads in the area. The crossovers are now inaccessible except by railroad maintainers and military people. You and I can't get within 3 miles of the place - and that stinks! Can't even get to the Avon depot site and wye north of Concord either (the county sold all the remaining public roads to the oil refinery there) - and that stinks too!
But then there's still Google Aerial Views - hehehe
Google View
But wait - It gets worse! Several miles of very scenic public road was also abandoned by the county between Martinez and Port Costa, ostensibly because of about a hundred feet of earthen slide they didn't want to fix. Too Bad! - it contained several very spectacular train watching sites along the Cal-P. (And this is the short list of closed or restricted roads! )
The only way to get in to this scenic area is to trespass on what is still public property. Yes, it's posted - go figure. But bicyclists commonly ignore those menacing signs, as there aren't any industrial or military guards to haul you to the brig - just the sheriff. All in all, about 15 - 20 miles of shoreline (and the railroads running along them) in Contra Costa County are completely inaccessible to the public. And that just plain stinks - sucks more than any hoover, actually!
OPB
A few hundred yards east of the crossover, stood the old SP depot on the southwest quadrant of Main St and Waterfront Rd. Just across the SP tracks and Main St was the ATSF depot. And just south of that, across the ATSF tracks, was the SN stop. I'm told there was a depot there also, but i never saw any evidence of it on the ground (must of been too young). All in all - It was a grand place to watch the trains of four railroads all at once - and all on their own tracks too - and all from one settin' spot. I almost forgot to mention the Navy RR on the viaduct to the west. In the early forties, the US Navy took over the "Bay Point & Clayton Railway" and made it their own ("Bay Point" was the original name for Port Chicago).
Yes, the MPs from the base (just across waterfront road) questioned me now and then, but they were sensible fellas - didn't give me any hassle at all, even though we were technically at war. (but that was back in the late 60s- early 70s when most Americans still had common sense)
Not too long after the fancy new crossover was built (in the late 80s early 90s), the Concord Naval Weapons Base closed all public roads in the area. The crossovers are now inaccessible except by railroad maintainers and military people. You and I can't get within 3 miles of the place - and that stinks! Can't even get to the Avon depot site and wye north of Concord either (the county sold all the remaining public roads to the oil refinery there) - and that stinks too!
But then there's still Google Aerial Views - hehehe
Google View
But wait - It gets worse! Several miles of very scenic public road was also abandoned by the county between Martinez and Port Costa, ostensibly because of about a hundred feet of earthen slide they didn't want to fix. Too Bad! - it contained several very spectacular train watching sites along the Cal-P. (And this is the short list of closed or restricted roads! )
The only way to get in to this scenic area is to trespass on what is still public property. Yes, it's posted - go figure. But bicyclists commonly ignore those menacing signs, as there aren't any industrial or military guards to haul you to the brig - just the sheriff. All in all, about 15 - 20 miles of shoreline (and the railroads running along them) in Contra Costa County are completely inaccessible to the public. And that just plain stinks - sucks more than any hoover, actually!
OPB
