Cannery Row: Monterey Fish Products

Promotional brochure cover, c. 1930.
[Monterey Historical Association]

The history of the Monterey Fish Products Company is two-tiered. Begun as a standard sardine-fishing operation in 1915 by Frank Lucido, little is know about the early history of the company at its site on Cannery Row. However, everything changed in 1938 when Lucido partnered with experimental fisherman Max Schaefer and investor Houghton M. Roberts. They had the rather presumptuous notion that a reduction plant could be successful on its own, without the need for an attached packing plant or refinery. Schaefer had been experimenting with reduction techniques since 1927 out of a small facility in Seaside, turning out increasingly high-quality fertilizer and animal food. In early 1938, Schaefer's Seaside plant burned down and he proposed a merger with Lucido which would involve a total conversion of the former Monterey Fish Products cannery into a reduction plant. The property was located between the Sea Pride Packing Company and Ed "Doc" Rocket's original lab (later the Del Vista Packing Company). Monterey Fish Products became the first reduction-only plant on the Row, and Schaefer proved the viability of such an operation, prompting many other local companies to expand to reflect the prospective profits in reduction.

For the first five years of its operation, the Monterey Fish Products reduction plant shipped all of its goods out via truck and had no warehouse facilities. But increased demand prompted by World War II encouraged them to expand, and they did so buy leveling Flora Woods' infamous bordello across the street. Operated from 1923 to 1941 as the Lone Star Cafe, the house of ill repute became famous in John Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday novels. War demands finally forced Woods out of business in 1941, and she died penniless in 1948. Monterey Fish Products likely purchased the property soon after Woods abandoned it, and by 1945 at latest a full modern cannery warehouse was built atop the former structure.

A man standing near the Monterey Fish Products warehouse (back right), c. 1950. [OnCell Tour]

The new warehouse was a square, blocky structure that lacked any of the art deco details of its 1930s neighbors. Industrial in design, the two-story building had high ceilings and was made largely of concrete rather than wood or corrugated steel. Unlike most other local warehouses, this one did not feature an elevated conveyor because it was built at an angle from the reduction plant. Instead, it had a long pipe that may have been used to transfer certain types of fish meal or fertilizer. The building did feature a large loading window on the front and back of the building to assist in loading and unloading material from the second floor. Access to the Southern Pacific Railroad's Monterey Branch was provided from the rear of the building via a southward-exiting spur that ran parallel to the branch line tracks and terminated just beside the warehouse. The spur's primary patron was the adjacent Del Mar Canning Company. The spur was extant as late as 1962 and was likely removed in the early 1970s.

Monterey Fish Products outlasted many of its rivals, but its small size likely contributed to its quick decline in the early 1950s. By 1953, the company closed and the warehouse was abandoned. Later in the decade, an auto body repair and spray painting show opened within the warehouse, making it one of the first former cannery structures to be repurposed for retail use. The reduction plant itself was sold to a rug cleaner after sitting vacant for a number of years. It may have burned down along with the Sea Pride Packing cannery in November 1980. If not, it was likely demolished in the mid-1990s during the Monterey Bay Aquarium's massive upgrade project of its south wing.

Street Address, Geo-Coordinates & Current Status:
799, 802 Cannery Row
36.614˚N, 121.899˚ W

Today, the former warehouse survives and is now home to Mackerel Jack's Trading Company, with office space reserved upstairs. The reduction plant itself, however, has been demolished and its site is now occupied by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit.

Citations & Credits:

• Architectural Resources Group and Architects, Planners & Conservators, Inc. "San Carlos Park". Primary Record. State of California – The Resources Agency. Department of Parks and Recreation. In Final Cannery Row Cultural Resources Survey Report Document, Monterey, CA, 2001.
• Thomas, Tim. The Abalone King of Monterey: "Pop" Ernest Doelter, Pioneering Japanese Fisherman and the Culinary Classic that Saved an Industry. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2014.

Cannery Row: Carmel Canning Company

Carmel Canning Company in the middle of Cannery Row, 1940s.

The Carmel Canning Company was somewhat unusual among the packing houses of Cannery Row in Monterey due to the fact that one of its warehouses was located south of the primary canning facility. Founded in January 1920 by Theodore H. Dean and his two sons, Ted E. and Marshall A., the cannery led a stereotypical existence throughout much of the mid-twentieth century, slowly being upgraded and expanded throughout the 1920s as revenue and demand increased. A gas explosion in 1946 followed by a disasterous fire on October 21, 1948, severely damaged the cannery complex, but it was rebuilt and outlasted most of its neighbors. In the 1940s, a reduction plant was partitioned off within the cannery, which was expanded to cover the entire jetty it occupied across from Hoffman Avenue.

Carmel Canning Company entrance after the 1946 gas explosion. [Historic Images]

The cannery boasted two warehouses along Cannery Row, the older of which sat at the corner of Ocean View and Hoffman Avenues. Built at the same time as the cannery, this structure was two-stories and was connected to the cannery via an elevated conveyor. Behind the warehouse, access was provided directly to the Southern Pacific Railroad's Monterey Branch tracks. A short siding was installed behind the warehouse to patronise the Carmel Canning Company and California Packing Corporation, which maintained an adjacent warehouse. In the 1940s, the siding was replaced with a northbound-exiting spur that ran directly behind the warehouse and along a covered platform. A second conveyor was also added around this time to connect to the primary cannery, with the older conveyor repurposed for use by a reduction plant This spur was still in place in 1962 and likely remained into the late 1970s when the railroad began to remove unused trackage in the area.

The Carmel Canning Company fire, Christmas Eve 1967. [Monterey Fire Department]

The cannery's second warehouse was constructed in the late 1920s. It was a straightforward, two-story rectangular structure covered entirely in corrugated steel. Like most of its neighbors, it boasted a decorated false-front at the roof-line, although the style was very simplistic. Since the warehouse could not use an elevated conveyor, it had two rather unusual features for local canneries: on one side of the structure the warehouse had a large loading dock to deliver and ship goods from, while on the street side a second-story hoist was installed allowing goods to be lifted directly into the warehouse from vehicles.

Carmel Canning Company fire, Christmas Eve 1967. [Monterey Fire Department]

View of Carmel Canning Company, Christmas Eve 1967.
[Monterey County Herald]

The Carmel Canning Company closed in 1962 when Ben Senderman retired and sold the complex to local investors. The packing house burned to the ground on Christmas Eve 1967, severely damaging the older warehouse at the same time. At some point in the late 1980s, the site of the cannery was cleared and El Torito Mexican Restaurant was built in its place. The older warehouse was rebuilt in 1971 as a three-story commercial complex under the architectural firm of Wurster, Bernardi, and Emmons. In the conversion process, most of the original structure was demolished, although the foundations remain as the base for the current structure. The older warehouse avoided the fire and continued to be used as a storage facility until it was purchased by Nichols Plumbing in the mid-1970s. It remains the only relatively untampered warehouse left on Cannery Row.

Street Address, Geo-Coordinates & Current Status:

Cannery Row Antique Mall, the former Carmel Canning Co.
warehouse #2. [Linda Hartong]

Cannery and Old Warehouse: 584-585 Cannery Row
New Warehouse: 471 Wave Street
36.614˚N, 121.899˚ W

Today, the scattered remains of the Carmel Canning Company can be found in three locations along Cannery Row and Wave Street. The cannery site itself is occupied by El Torito. The older warehouse structure now hosts Bay Bikes and office space. Meanwhile, the surviving warehouse on Wave Street has been home of the Cannery Row Antique Mall since June 1995, and has been only slightly modified since it ceased use as a packing house warehouse in 1962.

Citations & Credits:

• Architectural Resources Group and Architects, Planners & Conservators, Inc. "San Carlos Park". Primary Record. State of California – The Resources Agency. Department of Parks and Recreation. In Final Cannery Row Cultural Resources Survey Report Document, Monterey, CA, 2001.
• Hemp, Michael Kenneth. Cannery Row: The History of John Steinbeck's Old Ocean View Avenue. History Company, 2002.
• Stevens, Dorothy Dean. Dancing Through Life On the Monterey Peninsula and Beyond: The Memoirs of Dorothy Dean Stevens. New York: iUniverse, 2009.
• Ventimiglia, Mark. Images of America: Monterey Fire Department. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2012.

Cannery Row: Sea Pride Packing Corporation

Tsunetaro Oda, co-owner
of Sea Pride Packing.
[Larry Oda family]

Of all the sardine-packing plants on Cannery Row, only the Sea Pride Packing Corporation was entirely owned and operated by Japanese-Americans, although a front company was eventually created to mask its ownership. For the first eight years of its existence, the Great Western Sardine Company operated just south of the Hovden cannery. It operated via a partnership between local Japanese fishermen K. Niino, Tsunetaro Oda. H.C. Suzukawa, and J.N Oda. On December 17, 1925, the company renamed itself Sea Pride under the presidency of Harry A. Irving to protect the identifies of the Japanese backers who were no longer legally allowed to own the company. Irving was also the president of the California Sardine Institute, which increased the visibility of Sea Pride. The company focused more on specialty products compared to its competition, with some of their top products being abalone and whale, as well as boneless filleted and kippered sardines, tuna, and mackerel. They were also one of the first local canneries to focus on reduction, turning discarded fish parts into powder for use as fertilizer and animal feed.

Like most of the businesses on Cannery Row, a fire severely damaged Sea Pride in July 1926 and a second fire leveled the facility in 1930, but it was rebuild and continued operating. During the rebuild, a two-story warehouse was erected across the street from the cannery for storage and access to the Southern Pacific Railroad's Monterey Branch tracks. Like many structures on cannery row, the warehouse was built with a tall street-front wood-panelled facade with a decorated rooftop, although the Sea Pride warehouse is fairly basic in comparison to its neighbors. An elevated conveyor ran between the cannery building and the warehouse to transport finished goods for storage and loading onto waiting trains. Behind the warehouse, a southbound-exiting spur ran parallel to the branch line tracks to cater to the cannery. This spur was in place before 1926 and the erection of the warehouse, which means crews originally had to shuttle goods across Ocean View Avenue to load them on the tracks. This spur was still in place in 1962, the date of the last Sanborn map of the area. This last map shows the presence of a short wooden platform behind the adjacent Hovden warehouse, but no similar platform appears behind the Sea Pride structure. The current structure does not have any evidence of a platform, suggesting that none existed and goods were directly loaded onto the trains from the ground using forklifts and other apparatus.

A view of the Sea Pride Packing Corp facility, 1939. Photograph by Ted McKay. [Pat Hathaway]

Sea Pride Packing Corporation, c. 1940. [Larry Oda]

Sea Pride was sold to the New York-based Atlantic Coast Fisheries on December 22, 1945 and they continued to operate the packing plant until at least 1951, although when it finally closed is uncertain. By 1962, the cannery and warehouse are simply listed as "Cannery Row Properties" and are vacant. In November 1980, the abandoned cannery burned to the ground like so many before it and its remains were removed. However, the warehouse between Ocean View Avenue and the tracks survived and remains on the site today as a commercial space.

Street Address, Geo-Coordinates & Current Status:
807-808 Cannery Row
36.617˚N, 121.902˚ W

The Sea Pride Canning Packing Corporation warehouse is now branded as the Cannery Row Trading Company, although its current tenants are unknown to this historian. The site of the cannery itself is now occupied by the south wing of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and is a completely new construction, the cannery having burned a few months prior to the aquarium's opening.

Citations & Credits:

• Architectural Resources Group and Architects, Planners & Conservators, Inc. "San Carlos Park". Primary Record. State of California – The Resources Agency. Department of Parks and Recreation. In Final Cannery Row Cultural Resources Survey Report Document, Monterey, CA, 2001.
• Hemp, Michael Kenneth. Cannery Row: The History of John Steinbeck's Old Ocean View Avenue. History Company, 2002.
• Thomas, Tim. The Abalone King of Monterey: "Pop" Ernest Doelter, Pioneering Japanese Fisherman and the Culinary Classic that Saved an Industry. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2014.
• Thomas, Tim. Images of America: The Japanese on the Monterey Peninsula. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.

Quarterly Bulletin – Vol. 2: No. 1 (Jan-Mar 2017)

Santa Cruz Trains Quarterly Bulletin

Vol. 2: No. 1 – January-March 2017

(Also available as a downloadable PDF)

Feature Article:

Measure D Passes – New Study to Assess Local Rail and Trail

By Barry Scott

After months of campaigning and endless bickering between proponents and opponents of the bill, Measure D has passed into law with the required supermajority in Santa Cruz County. But what does this comprehensive transportation funding plan mean for the Santa Cruz Branch Line and the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Trail? Quite a lot, actually.

Fourteen California counties floated transportation sales tax measures this year in a response to what has become a crisis in funding new construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure projects.  Santa Cruz with Measure D and Monterey with Measure X were two such counties. While many counties focused on maintenance and construction of roads and highways, Santa Cruz opted for an impressive blend of road and highway projects with support for Metro transit, bike and pedestrian trails, and a little—eight percent—for upkeep of the rail corridor and additional studies of transit on the Branch Line.

The rail component began at 15%, and it might even have been 20% and been able to fund actual passenger rail service but for the fact that sales tax measures of this type require a supermajority, 66.7% approval, in order to pass. Santa Cruz County civic leaders had the unenviable task of finding a distribution of revenue that would garner public support—not too much for Highway 1, not too much for the Branch Line or rail trail. A plan to dedicate $10 million to build a rail station at Pajaro was axed and more money was put into the Metro bucket in the aftermath of their service cuts. All in all, Measure D was a pretty balanced package, and one of the most alternative transportation-friendly measures ever produced in the state.

Hotly contested by one loud, but small local group, the measure passed by 67.46%, with more than 80,000 voters saying yes, more than the required two-thirds required. The votes for Measure X in Monterey County, with similar (though smaller) contributions to transit and trails, has yet to be called and stands at 67.12% approval. The Transportation Agency of Monterey County (TAMC), had the same challenge the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) had in presenting a balanced measure that could pass. Both organizations are partners in regional rail projects, and passage of Measure X is important to the success of local projects in both counties.

Measure D is great news for rail transit proponents for more reasons than the meager 8% allocated to the rail corridor. An additional 17% of funds are earmarked for the Monterey Bay Scenic Sanctuary Trail network, which will be expanded beyond the almost eleven miles of parallel track and trail that has already been funded through previous measures. As more of this parallel trail is built, it will become more difficult for anti-rail, trail-only advocates to remove the existing rail infrastructure. When considered together, 25% of Measure D is dedicated to the award-winning rail-and-trail project.

Source: Santa Cruz County RTC, “Measure D: 2016 Transportation Improvement Plan" <http://sccrtc.org/funding-planning/2016transportationballotmeasure> 27 November 2016.

Measure D funds additional studies necessary to pursue eventual rail transit, including environmental and economic analyses, and without this funding the project would be at full stop. The newly-commissioned Unified Corridors Investment Study will look at investments that can be made to the highway, Soquel Avenue and Soquel Drive, and the rail corridor in an integrated and sustainable manner. A request for proposals has been issued and a consultant will be selected to help develop four investment “themes” that the RTC will provide for evaluation. The consultant will score transportation investment proposals using performance metrics based on the Sustainable Transportation Analysis and Rating System (STARS) that shaped the goals and policies of the long-range Regional Transportation Plan. STARS ensures that economic, environmental, and equity needs are met in a balanced way.

Rail transit serves this goal very well and there is good reason to be optimistic about the future of the Branch Line. This coming year, look for updates from the RTC and attend hearings and stay current by signing up for updates at: http://sccrtc.org/about/esubscriptions.

Barry Scott is an Aptos resident and the California state program director for the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED).

Special Report:

Advice for aspiring rail explorers

By Brian Liddicoat

“I won’t tell you how to get there. That would ruin it for you. Finding it yourself is half the fun.”

That is what Professor Sandy Lydon told me over a decade ago when I asked him for help in finding the “lost tunnels” of the South Pacific Coast Railroad. In those days, there were very few websites that even mentioned the tunnels. There was no Google Maps. Exploring and finding the old right-of-way was a lot more work in those days, but that just made finding it that much more meaningful. Today, with two kids and a busy law practice, I really appreciate having websites that help me find just about any railroad site on the first try with my iPhone’s map app, but there’s something to be said for trying so many trails to find a tunnel portal that you begin dreaming about it at night.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself a few things about exploring abandoned railroads that might have saved me a lot of time and heartbreak:

First, start at the local library. All the answers you seek are there. That is still good advice for just about any research project. I wasted many weekends of hiking in the wrong place when a look through books on the local railroads would have pointed me in the right direction.

Another piece of advice: go now. If you wait a year, it may be gone. In the 1990s, I had no interest in exploring railroads. That is too bad because, in just a few short years, we lost both the Northwest Pacific Railroad, with its incredible series of tunnels and trestles, and then the vast, historic Norden complex near Donner Pass. A lot of short-line railroads have gone under in the same time period and are now lost forever. The Northwest Pacific could have kept a railroad explorer in business for years, with miles of gorgeous redwood-lined track. In the decade since its closure, the right-of-way has become so overgrown as to be largely impassable to all but the most dedicated. I am still hoping to visit Island Mountain (Google it), but it will have to be by helicopter. So, if you learn of something that interests you, don’t wait: go now!

Lastly, be safe and sensible. I should tell you to always take another person with you, but, the truth is, walking abandoned railroads is my “me” time. Still, railroad exploration means going into remote areas where dangerous conditions should be expected. At least tell someone where you are going and draw them a map if you can. Tell them to call law enforcement if you aren’t back by a given time. If you are confronted by property owners or railroad police, apologize profusely and leave. It is not about avoiding arrest. It is more about not making people so frustrated and angry that they put up fences and gates to keep out the rest of us. I have always been pleasantly shocked at how accommodating railroad crews are if you are polite and simply indicate that you want to photograph the line. Be nice.

So, get out there! Even if you don’t find your railroad or right-of-way, you are going to see some beautiful scenery and may even make some friends. An abandoned railroad is like a long, winding time machine. Walk carefully and pay attention. It is talking to you, telling you of great sacrifice and glory long sleeping, but it has not quite disappeared yet

Warning: The Santa Cruz Branch Line is a live rail line and not abandoned. For your safety, please do not trespass on the rail line. Violators may be prosecuted.

Railroading News:

Whaley releases new local trains book

It has been nearly two years since Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains first released, and sales have remained steady and interest in the book and the history of Santa Cruz County railroading is strong than ever before.

Thus, it is unsurprising that author and historian Derek R. Whaley has found time to release a short companion book to his historical tome. Entitled Santa Cruz Trains: Reflections on the Mountain Route, this 64-page coffee table book features 30 rare and unpublished photographs and postcards of sights and scenes associated with the Southern Pacific Railroad's former route through the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Accompanying these photographs are 31 quotations from local newspapers, railroad magazines, contemporary books, and famous authors of the nineteenth century proclaiming the wonders and visual splendor of the once-famous route through the redwoods.

This is a collection of photographs and quotes that will make one smile and reflect fondly on what was once perceived as a modern marvel and one of the most beautiful railroad routes in the world.

Santa Cruz Trains: Reflections on the Mountain Route is available now Create Space.com for $12.99. It will be available on Amazon in mid-December.

Silence over future of railroad museum

As the date of the election approached, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) decided to delay a final decision on the relocation of the Golden Gate Railroad Museum that was proposed over a year ago by the organization. Since the election, however, the first two meetings of the RTC have been cancelled leaving the museum move in doubt. Currently, the museum rolling stock is being stored at Niles Canyon awaiting transfer to a new venue.

If you wish for the museum to move to Santa Cruz, let the RTC know by emailing info@sccrtc.org.

Historian Brian Liddicoat gives talk

In what is becoming a rather common event in Santa Cruz County, Watsonville lawyer Brian Liddicoat recently gave a free talk at Loma Prieta School entitled "Trains and Lumbering in the Santa Cruz Mountains, 1800s". Held on October 20, this event was sponsored by the Loma Prieta Museum and the Loma Prieta Community Foundation. Liddicoat has discussed local railroad history throughout the Bay Area since 2009. He has given twenty presentations on the various aspects of the local railroads and the industries that utilized them. If you are interested in having Liddicoat speak at an event, contact him at (831) 594-4418.

Sustainable guided bus system proposed

At the October 6th meeting of the RTC, a proposal to replace the current tracks along the Santa Cruz Branch Line with a guided bus system was proposed by Stanley Sokolow, who included in his proposal many photographs and links to successful guided bus operations.

Sokolow’s primary argument is that, although a light rail train can carry more passengers than a bus, such a system is unsuitable for Santa Cruz County due to its restricted population size and the range of the right-of-way. He notes the flexibility of the system compared to trains, since the buses can go off the track when needed, and he recommends the local government look at cities like Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, which have recently adopted such a system. Implementation of this proposal would replace the current Santa Cruz Branch Line tracks.

Fiery Summer in the mountains

On September 28, Ian Applegate and his coworker, Jason Bunter, were working on the Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific Railroad in the morning when they smelled smoke in the woods nearby. They were doing right-of-way maintenance near the Garden of Eden footpath just south of the San Lorenzo River truss bridge and an illegal campfire has broken out of its pit and was beginning to spread to the surrounding trees. Although the fire was only about five feet in diameter when they called 911, it had grown to roughly sixty feet by the time they hung up. The only reason it was contained was because they happened to be working in the area. This was the third of three small fires that broke out along the right-of-way last summer.

“The End of the Line” article published

Derek R. Whaley recently published an article entitled "The End of the Line: The Abandonment of Passenger Services in Santa Cruz County, California" in Railroad History (No. 215 Fall-Winter 2016).

The article documents when the various rail services were set up in Santa Cruz County and then discusses the reasons why the passenger service industry collapsed in the county between 1930 and 1959.

The article is supplemented with nearly two dozen photographs, many of which have never been published before. Whaley has been working on this article since 2014. Single copies of the issue can be purchased for $15 at http://rlhs.org/Publications/History/rrhback.shtml.

Web Register:

Facebook Chatter (/groups/sctrains)

Continuous – Brian Bergtold and Howard Cohen have been sharing videos and photographs of the Santa Cruz Branch Line in action. In addition, Tom Clark, Bill Dawkins, Ralph Parks, Dale Phelps, Craig Polson, Lisa Robinson, and Derek Whaley have all posted wonderful historical photographs of the local lines.

Sept. 3 – Dawkins shared some information on the Nestldown miniature railroad, which operates at a private wedding venue on Old Santa Cruz Highway.

Sept. 4 – Ian Applegate posted photos of the Roaring Camp Beach Train relocating to the San Lorenzo River bridge to allow EMT access at the Boardwalk on Labor Day.

Sept. 22 – Phelps reposted an enlightening article about Alma originally posted on the San Jose History page.

Oct. 1 – Dawkins posted a lovely newspaper article from 1875 announcing the opening of the Felton & Santa Cruz Railroad.

Oct. 2 – Bergtold posted a video showing all four Roaring Camp steam locomotives operating during the Harvest Faire & Steam Festival.

Oct. 3 – Polson discovered two original South Pacific Coast Railroad passes for sale on eBay.

Original South Pacific Coast Railroad ride pass from 1887, the last year the railroad ran independently of Southern Pacific.

Oct. 10 – Janie Soto shared an intriguing Watsonville Register-Pajaronian article from 1995 discussing plans to restore passenger rail service to Santa Cruz County.

Oct. 16 – Whaley reposted Bruce Sawhill's letter to the Santa Cruz Sentinel extolling the virtues of restoring the Santa Cruz branch line to full service. Whaley also shared a source for free railroad journals on the web.

Nov. 3 – Trevor Park shared a video from his Treefrogflag Productions studio of the Roaring Camp trains during the Harvest Faire & Steam Festival.

Nov. 9 – Karl Rowley posted troubling news that Brian Peoples of "Trail Now!" has been spreading false propaganda about the fiscal and environmental costs of a restored Santa Cruz branch line.

Nov. 10 – Cohen posted a photograph showing repairs to a washout at La Selva Beach, as well as evidence of track repairs and upgrades in preparation for the Polar Express excursion train.

Nov. 12 – Bergtold posted a video of the Santa Cruz Lumber Company railroad operation on Pescadero Creek from 1953.

Nov. 18 – Gil Pennington revealed some excellent local stereoscopic images he found on ebay.

Nov. 20 – James Davey posted a video of a derailment at Aromas in November 2003.

Nov. 21 – Thomas Rivette expressed concern regarding the status of the railroad bridges on the Santa Cruz branch line. The answer can be found here. Cohen also reported that the Polar Express's gallery cars arrived, allowing the excursions to go forward.

Nov. 22-23 – Cohen showed photographs of a SC&MB locomotive leading repair work on the branch line.

Recent SantaCruzTrains.com articles:

SEPT. 2 – Curiosities: Skee-Roll at the Boardwalk

SEPT. 9 – Aeneas Sardine Products Co.

SEPT. 16 – American Can Co.

SEPT. 23 – San Carlos & E.B. Gross Canneries

SEPT. 30 – Monterey Canning Co.

OCT. 7 – Curiosities: The Hihn Railroad Grade

OCT. 14 – San Xavier Fish Packing Co.

OCT. 21 – Hovden Food Products Corp.

OCT. 28 – Enterprise Packing Co.

NOV. 4 – F.E. Booth and Edgewater Packing Co.

NOV. 11 – Curiosities: Casa del Rey Hotel

NOV. 18 – Del Mar Canning Co.

NOV. 25 – Pacific Fish Co. & California Packing Corp.

Monthly Timetable:

DECEMBER

Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad

Train Rides

Weekends 11:00am-3:00pm

Roundtrip from the Billy Jones Depot kiosk

Los Gatos Children's Holiday Parade

Dec. 3: 11:00am-1:00pm

Holiday Train

Dec. 8-11: 6:00pm-9:00pm

Dec. 15-23: 6:00pm-9:00pm

Monterey & Salinas Valley Railroad Museum

Open House

Dec. 2: 5:00pm–8:00pm

Dec. 3-4: 10:00am–4:00pm

Regional Transportation Commission (RTC)

Special RTC Meeting

Dec. 8: 9:00am @ Santa Cruz City Council Chambers

Transportation Policy Workshop

Dec. 15: 9:00am @ TBA

Roaring Camp Railroads

Train Rides

Dec. 1-2: 12:30 [Diesel #40]

Dec. 5-31 Daily: 12:30am [Steam only on weekends]

Dec. 25 No trains running

Roundtrip from Roaring Camp Station

Holiday Tree Walk

Dec. 3-4, 10-11: 12:30pm

View decorated Christmas trees atop Bear Mountain!

Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific Railway

Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train

Dec. 3, 11 19-22: 6:30pm

Dec. 4, 10, 18, 23: 5:00pm, 6:30pm

Dec. 17: 5:00pm, 6:30pm, 8:00pm

Roundtrip from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Chanukah Train

Dec. 29: 6:30pm

Roundtrip from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Santa Cruz & Monterey Bay Railway

The Polar Express™

Dec. 1, 7-8, 14-15: 5:30pm, 7:30pm

Dec. 2, 9, 16: 3:00pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm

Dec. 3-4, 10-11, 17-23: 1:00pm, 3:00pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm

Roundtrip from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Swanton Pacific Railroad

Work Day

Dec. 10-11

Come volunteer and ride the trains!

JANUARY

Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad

Train Rides

Weekends 11:00-3:00pm

Roundtrip from the Billy Jones Depot kiosk

Monterey & Salinas Valley Railroad Museum

Open House

Jan. 6: 5:00pm–8:00pm

Jan. 7-8: 10:00am–4:00pm

Regional Transportation Commission (RTC)

RTC Meeting

Jan. 5: 9:00am @ TBA

Transportation Policy Workshop

Jan. 19: 9:00am @ TBA

Roaring Camp Railroads

Train Rides

Jan. 1-31: 12:30 [Steam only on weekends and holidays]

Roundtrip from Roaring Camp Station

Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific Railway

Not operating

Santa Cruz & Monterey Bay Railway

Not operating

Swanton Pacific Railroad

Work Day

Jan. 8-9

Come volunteer and ride the trains!

FEBRUARY

Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad

Train Rides

Weekends 11:00-3:00pm

Roundtrip from the Billy Jones Depot kiosk

Monterey & Salinas Valley Railroad Museum

Open House

Feb. 3: 5:00pm–8:00pm

Feb. 4-5: 10:00am–4:00pm

Regional Transportation Commission (RTC)

RTC Meeting

Feb. 2: 9:00am @ TBA

Transportation Policy Workshop

Feb. 16: 9:00am @ TBA

Roaring Camp Railroads

Train Rides

Jan. 1-31: 12:30 [Steam only on weekends and holidays]

Roundtrip from Roaring Camp Station

Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific Railway

Not operating

Santa Cruz & Monterey Bay Railway

Not operating

Swanton Pacific Railroad

Work Day

Feb. 4-5

Come volunteer and ride the trains!

Imprint: Derek R. Whaley, editor. For submissions, email author@santacruztrains.com.

© 2016-2017 Derek R. Whaley. All rights reserved.