We have some unfortunate news to report concerning our upcoming summer plans to operate our handcar fleet across the Monterey Branch Line. Last summer after two years of hard work we made phenomenal progress and reopened the long dormant rail line and carried more than 6000 participants aboard our fleet of handcars. Seeing our success, in January another operator by the name of Mendocino Railway that hosts rail bicycle tours in Fort Brag, California also submitted a proposal to the Transportation Agency of Monterey County (TAMC) to take over the line. The agency’s attorney recommended against approving one proposal over the other without a more thorough review process. As a result, neither of our proposals were approved.
In an effort to salvage the recreational rail concept we pioneered in Monterey County, the City of Marina expressed strong interest with managing the branch line and then leasing the tracks to a recreational operator. This process may take several months to complete and may not be completed until fall. In the interim our family is continuing to invent and build new rail vehicles so that when the opportunity arises to run over the Monterey rails we will be ready to go.
