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UP shuts down Modoc Northern Railroad

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Union Pacific Railroad has terminated short line Modoc Northern Railroad's lease on its northern California and southern Oregon branches. UP spokeswoman Zoe Richmond said the railroad appears to be defunct, and though its listed phone numbers are disconnected, one rail shipper told TRAINS that service continues.

Richmond said UP plans to conduct a safety inspection of Modoc Northern's track, and will assume service as soon as practicable. "We needed to make sure we were providing good quality customer service," she said. The Modoc Northern route is "vital to the state of Oregon; it's vital to the [UP] network in the western region as well."

According to Richmond, the railroad has been "apparently defunct for some time." However, an official at Cornerstone Industrial Minerals in Lakeview, Ore., said no interruption in service has occurred, and that he was expecting a delivery this afternoon. A recorded message tells callers to the railroad's Tulelake, Calif., headquarters that the numbers listed in the Pocket List of Railroad Officials have been disconnected.

Richmond said the decision to terminate came as UP received increasing information on Modoc Northern's failing financial condition. She said it was done to ensure UP's customers were able to receive continued service.

Modoc Northern operates the remains of the ex-Southern Pacific Modoc Line, plus the Lakeview branch, also of SP origin. It began leasing the McArthur, Calif.-Klamath Falls portion of the Modoc from UP in 2005, and added the Lake County Railroad to Lakeview in 2006.

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