Re: the link from Flimsies below, and the Northern Counties Logging Interpretive Assn's plan to operate trains in the Eureka, CA area. Will this utilize former Northwestern Pacific trackage or the former Arcata & Mad River line? Does the latter even exist anymore?

http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127%257E2896%257E1180141,00.html
ryarger@rypn.org

> Re: the link from Flimsies below, and the
> Northern Counties Logging Interpretive
> Assn's plan to operate trains in the Eureka,
> CA area. Will this utilize former
> Northwestern Pacific trackage or the former
> Arcata & Mad River line? Does the latter
> even exist anymore?

NCLIA is proposing to use NWP tracks (Samoa- Arcata-Eureka, possibly south from there). The Arcata & Mad River was salvaged by the North Coast Railroad in November-December of 1997 (the company needed a large amount of cash quickly to meet payroll, and the A&MR rails were the only thing they could find that could be liquidated quickly enough to get the needed money). The North Coast Railroad Authority still owns the right-of-way and has stated plans in the past of re-building the railroad at some point in the future, but that will not likely happen. Lots of talk of turning the roadbed into a trail, but also lots of opposition from adjacent landowners.

The two shippers still active on the A&MR right-of-way do not ever expect to see direct service again (they may never see service to Eureka ever again either...).

jamoore@elko.net