mook Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Spurs ... where?
>
> When I lived in the S.C. area in the late 1970s
> most of the spurs north (west) of Watsonville were
> either inactive or gone. It should be even worse
> now, because even those few industries have
> disappeared for the most part - whether because of
> activities of the Socialist Republic of Santa Cruz
> or simply the economy (housing and small
> commercial make more money per square foot). The
> trains seen on the branch at the time in the S.C.
> area were cement loads and coal empties out,
> cement empties and coal loads in, and very
> occasional other cars for the cement plant,
> Wrigley's, and a few other lumber yards and the
> like. Non-cement-plant traffic was very light even
> then.
>
> One thing discussed back then - very briefly - was
> building a garbage transfer station at the Buena
> Vista dump and sending it out (somewhere ...
> anywhere) on trains. Given the state of that
> industry and the fact that despite recycling S.C.
> residents still make garbage, Iowa Pacific might
> want to start talking to somebody about that
> again.
>

Mook,

I should have added that the MOW crew is doing this work in the western states they service. I never meant to imply this was being done on the Santa Cruz Branch Line. If I could edit my previous post I would have said.

“The MOW crew said they are very busy reestablishing rail spurs to businesses that were put out of service because the customers had switched to trucks in the western states they service. Now that it is becoming more cost effective to ship by rail the customers want their rail service restored.”