{"id":137,"date":"2024-05-29T14:18:30","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T21:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/?p=137"},"modified":"2024-07-02T15:51:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T22:51:04","slug":"a-modest-proposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/?p=137","title":{"rendered":"A Modest Proposition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Friend, if I told you I know an easy way to turn a $63,000 investment into a $63,000,000 asset, (or more!) would you be interested?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I told you that your new $63,000,000 asset included access to miles of scenic ocean-front landscape and increased cash flow for your tourist-serving business model, would you still be interested?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well friend, here\u2019s the plan: buy two used CF7 diesel locomotives for $20,000 each, tow them from Texas for $10,000, freshen one up with new paint and get it started for $13,000. Slip in behind an absconded rail operator and boom! You\u2019ve got yourself a railroad. Sweet.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A savvy investor might ask: how can all this happen for just $63,000?  Glad you asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, start with the used locomotives.  These particular CF7 locomotives, SCBG 2467 built in February 1951 and SCBG 2524 built in November of 1949, may have been bought for spare parts until this scheme, er business plan, arose. CF7 locomotives not already scrapped go for less than a used Cadillac. Bringing it home, if you haven\u2019t already guessed, \u201cSCBG\u201d is the railroad reporting mark for Santa Cruz Big Trees and Pacific Railway Company. Alias the \u201cBeach Train\u201d, \u201cBig Trees\u201d, \u201cRoaring Camp\u201d, or the \u201cPicnic Train\u201d.  The \u201cBeach Train\u201d currently runs a CF7 diesel locomotive, SCBG 2600, from the Boardwalk..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is said that possession is nine-tenths of the law, and hereabouts it\u2019s especially true if you bring some private sector chutzpah and public sector acquiescence. There are real questions about how SCBG has the legal status to operate on the publicly-owned Branch Line. How and when did the RTC grant this private access? Is this exclusive? Is it business opportunity for you too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCBG presented the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission with a proposal for rail service in 2018. The RTC rejected it and awarded Progressive Rail, aka the amazing disappearing railroad, the operating license on the branch line.  SCBG\u2019s proposal was essentially their current beach to Felton tourist service plus trips from the Boardwalk to Davenport, Boardwalk to Aptos, and maybe Aptos to Watsonville.  Based on the proposed timetables, average speed would be about 10 mph, or about a one hour ride from Watsonville to Aptos at a price TBD. The Boardwalk\u2019s Giant Dipper would have become Santa Cruz County\u2019s grand central amusement rail hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCBG 2467 is currently moving freight for a customer in Watsonville every now and then.  Accordingly, SCBG and their legacy political and professional staff supporters believe that the Santa Cruz Branch Line is now the Santa Cruz Big Trees and Pacific Railway. There\u2019s no way to rail bank over this existing freight operator\u2019s vibrant operation and, with this premise, no way to build a zero emission 32 mile active transportation corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tourist trains are not transportation solutions.  Nor are they \u201cactive transportation\u201d.  Years of ad-hoc planning and a persistent passenger rail vanity project have done nothing for traffic congestion, and \u201cactive transportation\u201d remains a token catch-phrase to attract misdirected state transportation grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, June 26, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friend, if I told you I know an easy way to turn a $63,000 investment into a $63,000,000 asset, (or more!) would you be interested?   If I told you that your new $63,000,000 asset included access to miles of scenic ocean-front landscape and increased cash flow for your tourist-serving business model, would you still … Continue reading “A Modest Proposition”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148,"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137\/revisions\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laselva.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}