Gary Hunter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Enter 4294. She should be the rightful flagship of such a grand proposal.

> My favorite fantasy would be for UP and the State of CA sit down and work out some areas
> where a cooperative arrangement similar to Metrolink for the state to purchase track and
> create common-carrier corridors. Where the state owns the ROW, they can be self-insured,
> making steam operations more economically feasible and subject to public operation.

> I would like to see UP sell the rights to SP title and identity to CA for use on tracks
> owned by the state. A lot of CA history is embedded in the SP name. The global theme in > all of this is to promote rail solutions to transportation problems in our ever-> increasingly-overcrowded state. 4294 gets my vote to represent such an idea.

I would recommend moving the 4449 down to a newly rebuilt Bayshore Roundhouse, and run the '49 between 4th & King and San Jose (if not even further south).

That would probably be more of a symbol of the State of California. Not to mention significantly more likely, since the track is already in public ownership, already suitable for 70 MPH passenger operations...