Coos Regional Trails Partnership
Minutes of Meeting July 15th, 2008
In attendance: Don Luce, Mike Smith, Dave Gray
The secretary was not present so the minutes of the previous meeting were not available for approval.
Committee Reports:
South Coast Striders - Don Luce said that they are continuing to have large groups. The most recent hike to Cherry Creek led by Reg Pullen had 24 participants – 4 of them went “ off trail” with Don Luce and really worked up a sweat. This was an ideal size group for this somewhat undeveloped trail. Don Luce and Dave Gray along with Reg Pullen made several trips to this trail to test the route and do a little trail maintenance. The South Coast Striders next hikes will be to South Slough Reserve and will be led by Joy Tally and Don Luce.
New Business
We discussed the letter sent by Martin Callery regarding the intent of the Port of Coos Bay to acquire the rail line sections being abandoned by CORP. The letter is entered into the minutes.
I would like to offer a few comments in regards to any future efforts to
pursue a "rails to trails" project for the Central Oregon & Pacific
(CORP) Railroad corridor from the Eugene railyard to Coos Bay.
First there are several different ownership segments involved in the
rail corridor. The first section of the line, starting at the Eugene
yard to a point in west Eugene identified as Danebo Junction, is owned
by the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad. CORP ownership begins west of this
point and extends all the way to a point just north of the causeway road
-- TransPacific Parkway -- on the North Spit of lower Coos Bay. A short
section from that point to the north end of the Coos Bay railroad bridge
is owned by UP. The Coos Bay railroad bridge is owned by the Oregon
International Port of Coos Bay and was operated under lease by CORP.
The rail line from the south end of the bridge to Coquille, including
sidings in North Bend and the small rail yard in Coos Bay, is owned by
the UP, but is operated under lease by CORP.
CORP, working with their parent corporation RailAmerica, has filed
"Notice Of Intent" (NOI) with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to
proceed with abandonment, however they have not filed the specific
abandonment action. This may occur in mid July. Their NOI is for
abandonment from Vaughan (southwest of Noti) to the end of their
ownership as described in the previous paragraph and for discontinuance
of service on those portions of the Coos Bay Line not owned by CORP,
including the Coos Bay rail bridge, the line running to Coquille, a rail
spur serving American Bridge at Bolon Island and the North Spit rail
spur. If CORP proceeds with abandonment, they will have to remove
bridges across navigable waterways (Siuslaw and Umpqua) and seal all
tunnels on the line. It is possible that they could be forced to remove
or would remove for salvage value many other steel bridges and causeways
across river and lakes. Removal of other infrastructure may be likely.
Responsibility for removal of the Coos Bay bridge is with UP.
Concurrent with the actions of CORP/RailAmerica, the Oregon
International Port of Coos Bay will be filing a Feeder Line Application
(FLA) with the STB, with the intent of forcing CORP/RailAmerica to
divest themselves of the Coos Bay Line, including the portion from the
UP yard in Eugene to Vaughan. The filing of the FLA will for all
intents and purposes put CORP's abandonment action on hold while the STB
deals with the Port's FLA. The Port is being supported in its efforts
by industrial rail shippers in Coos, Douglas and Lane Counties, marine
terminals in the Coos Bay harbor, the Coos-Siskiyou Shippers Coalition
and many others. The Port's intent is to acquire the Coos Bay Line and
return it to service in support of the manufacturing sector jobs
dependent on access to rail.
The Port will oppose efforts to convert any portion of the existing Coos
Bay Line rail corridor to any non-rail use.
Martin Callery
Director of Communications & Freight Mobility
Oregon International Port of Coos Bay
P.O. Box 1215 - Coos Bay, OR 97420-0311
Phone: 541 267-7678 / Fax: 541 269-1475
Don Luce told the group that in his opinion as a citizen of Coos County it was important economically to keep a rail freight option available in Coos County. He said his intent in making the Port and other parties involved in acquiring the rail line aware of the “rails with trails” option was to offer them another avenue for keeping the right of way intact should their efforts to acquire the line fail. Don said he also wanted them to consider that there might be other sources of funding available to repair and maintain portions of the rail infrastructure if a trail was constructed alongside the rail. The idea was that by considering “rails with trails” the people of Coos County could maintain the rail line for freight, while also enjoying the additional tourism related revenue that would be generated by a beautiful scenic trail.
There was discussion regarding the possibility that some portions of the current rail line might be abandoned in any case and that some of these portions might become available for conversion to trails.
The consensus opinion was that the Coos Regional Trails Partnership should not actively pursue any “rails to trails” or “rails with trails” while these negotiations were proceeding. We will stay informed on the status of the rail line and be prepared to pursue trail options for all or part of the right of way should it become clear that efforts to acquire and keep the rail line open to carry freight have failed.
Meeting adjorned