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Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railroad
Legend
Ocean Shore Railroad to San Francisco End of current Santa Cruz Branch Davenport Cement Plant Davenport Majors Gordola Wilder Ocean Shore Railroad Wrigley Former San Vicente Mill spur Orby Ocean Shore Railroad SCBG to Felton Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk San Lorenzo River Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor Watsonville Slough End of active freight line Martinelli's Apple Juice Watsonville UP freight spur UP Coast Line to San Jose Pajaro/Watsonville Watsonville Junction UP Coast Line to San Luis Obispo
Key
Active trackage Inactive trackage Abandoned Union Pacific Railroad Sources
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The Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railroad (SCMB), or Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line (SCBRL), is a historic railway running through Santa Cruz County, California. It once ran operationally from Davenport to the Watsonville Junction where it connected to the Union Pacific Coast Line. Over the years it has had many splays and connections to other local railroads over, through, and around the Santa Cruz Mountains. The active line includes a connection with the Roaring Camp Railroads line that makes regular trips between Felton and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

History

The line was constructed as the Santa Cruz Railroad between 1873–1876 and was laid with narrow gauge rail. After foreclosure, it was sold to Southern Pacific (through a subsidiary Pacific Improvement Company) who converted the line to standard gauge and operated until the merger into Southern Pacific on May 14, 1888. The 3.7-mile (6.0 km) Aptos branch from Aptos to Loma Prieta was built as the Loma Prieta Railroad in 1883 and abandoned in 1928.

The line was extended to Davenport in 1905. Until 1940, the line connected in Santa Cruz with the former South Pacific Coast Railroad to San Jose, California as an alternative Southern Pacific Coast Line route north of Watsonville Junction. A cement kiln in Davenport provided one hundred carloads weekly of inbound coal and outbound cement. Inbound lumber and outbound refrigerator cars of locally grown Brussels sprouts, artichokes, and lettuce provided additional freight traffic. Suntan Special summer excursion trains carried 900 passengers per trip from San Francisco to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk from July 1947 to September 1959. There was a railway turntable and 5-stall roundhouse in Santa Cruz, but steam locomotives were replaced by EMD GP9s in 1955. Daily local freight service was replaced in 1982 by tri-weekly branch line trains operating at 20 mi (32 km) per hour including a caboose until 1986. The Pajaro River bridge was damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The line came under ownership of Union Pacific in 1996.

County ownership

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission purchased the rail corridor in 2012. At that time, freight operations were contracted out to Iowa Pacific Holdings, commencing service in November 2012. In 2018, Progressive Rail, Inc. was chosen as the replacement freight operator under a 10-year contract. The use the name St. Paul and Pacific for the operations. The Transportation Commission is studying the possibility of rehabilitating the rail line for a new commuter rail service or rebuilding the corridor for bus rapid transit. A demonstration streetcar operated over the branch in October 2021. The line sustained major damage in the 2022-2023 storms. in June 2024, the public was given a chance to weigh in on future passenger rail and a trail. The plan could include rerouted sections and an elevated portion at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Route

The right of way begins at Watsonville Junction, where it interchanges with Union Pacific's Coast Line. The line features street running sections in Watsonville and Santa Cruz where trains interact directly with roadway traffic. The Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway operates part of its heritage railway service along SCMB tracks from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to that railroad's main line east of the Beach Street roundabout, before turning onto its own tracks at the Santa Cruz Wye towards Felton on the former South Pacific Coast Railroad mainline. After leaving Santa Cruz, the line runs parallel to California State Route 1 until Davenport, where the tracks end.

References

1. "Rail Guide". rail.guide. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
2. "National Rail Network Map". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
3. "Maps". Santa Cruz Trains. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
4. "Maps". Retrieved February 18, 2022.
5. McCaleb, Charles S. (1975). "The Santa Cruz Railroad". The Western Railroader. 38 (324). Francis A. Guido: 1–12.
6. ^ Porter, Jon (1990). "Santa Cruz". CTC Board (166). Hyrail Productions: 26–31.
7. "SP and the Suntan Special" (PDF). History of in Santa Cruz County. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
8. ^ Pierce, Jacob (November 17, 2020). "Why a New Transit Plan Supports Santa Cruz Commuter Train". Good Times. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
9. Pierce, Jacob (June 19, 2018). "More to Learn on Rail Trail's Future". Good Times. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
10. Bratten, Erika (November 5, 2021). "Streetcar controversy with demoed electric light rail vehicle in Santa Cruz County". KION 5/46. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
11. Hattis, PK (February 2, 2023). "Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission digs in to storm damages". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
12. Chun, Max (June 10, 2024). "Carmageddon: Public gets chance to weigh in on future passenger rail trains, route". Lookout Santa Cruz. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
13. Kathan, Jesse (November 15, 2024). "Rail stations proposed for Live Oak, Capitola, Aptos, Rio Del Mar". Santa Cruz Local.

External links

• Rail Projects – Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission

• Rail lines in California