Re: Reopen the Modoc Line??
Author: Jason Kuehn
Date: 03-19-2007 - 01:53
Such railfan talk. The cost of maintaining that much railroad just for a once in 5 years or less detour route is ridiculous. The talk of upgrading it to CTC - a multi-million dollar cost is crazy as well. Besides as a detour route, not only is it circuitous, bu you have steep grades out of Dunsmuir to Klamath, and a helper district on the Modoc as well, making it operationally a very costly detour route.
Heck, if railroads were so flush with cash they would immediately start replacing all their timber trestles, whether worn out or not, just in case they caught fire, that would be cheaper than replacing the Modoc line as a CTC detour route.
Scrapping the Modoc, as sad as it may have been for railfans, was a sound business decision by the UP. Especially with the preferred route out of Oregon being the UP through Hinkle. The SP probably should never have reopened the Modoc once it was closed.
Jason Kuehn