It's difficult for me to see a line I followed closely for 11 years get tossed around like a football. Back in 1990 when I was involved with the initial restoration of 2-8-0 SP2706 on a siding at Orby (Santa Cruz), the locomotive's owner was Rick Hamman. Even back then there was talk of SP considering dumping the line to someone else. (Rick, along with RB&BT RR were looking at acquiring the line. Roaring Camp has/had first right of refusal.)

At that time, according to Rick, as long as the cement plant in Davenport was in operation, SP was showing a modest profit for the entire 31-mile line. Now that the cement plant has shut down, customers like Wrigley Gum, Lipton Tea and others along the line have moved elsewhere, I can't see any private company turning a profit on that line, and who knows how much money needs to be spent on undoing deferred maintenance on bridges and other structures.

A line like this needs a large shipper to keep it profitable, and shippers like this are in very short supply. Also, given Santa Cruz county's anti-anything big company attitute, I can't see it happening. If only bean sprouts, tofu, drugs, 1960s posters and tie dyed T-shirts moved in boxcar lots, Santa Cruz would need a hump yard and distrubtion center.