Author: psvrr

What happened

Our diesel locomotive, Howard Terminal #8, suffered a major failure of its traction system while on a deadhead run to Hampton Station this past weekend.

At least one of the engine’s traction motors and one of its generators has suffered catastrophic failure, forcing us to cancel this weekend’s diesel train rides and wine tasting trains.

We are now without a diesel locomotive capable of hauling our trains, and the cost to repair the damage is likely to be tens of thousands of dollars, so the historic locomotive has been sidelined indefinitely.

We need a new locomotive [anyway]

We’ve been growing rapidly, and #8 has always been too small for our needs, especially on the long, hilly, and curvy Placerville Branch on which we operate, so we’ve been searching for a locomotive that is larger and more capable than HT8 for years.

After finding Heber Valley #4028, a larger 65-ton Baldwin RS-4-TC, for sale in 2018, we’ve been making preparations for the last several months to purchase and transport it from Heber Valley Railroad in Salt Lake City to Folsom in mid-2019.

We need your help

Our original plan to bring the engine home this summer was based on expected income from ridership donations on this spring’s train and motorcar rides, but with our diesel train now sidelined, our income will be reduced significantly, delaying our acquisition of the new locomotive.

We are now actively making arrangements to finalize the purchase and transport #4028 to Folsom as soon as possible, and we’re asking for your support to help us with the costs so we can restore train service with minimal disruption.

Please donate today

Our goal is to raise $40,000 to purchase this locomotive and transport it from Salt Lake City to Folsom.

Your contribution will make an impact, whether you donate $5 or $500. Every little bit helps.

Placerville & Sacramento Valley Railroad is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving California’s rich railroad history. Please help us fund the purchase of this locomotive with a tax-deductible gift today.

If you are on Facebook, please donate via Facebook as they charge no fees and 100% of your donation will go to us.

Donate now

The following sponsorship levels include special gifts:

$500
Engineer for a Day
1 VIP package of 4 train tickets

$1000
2 Engineers for a Day
2 VIP package of 4 train tickets.

$1500
1-hour Charter for 40 passengers

$2500
2-hour Charter for 40 passengers

All sponsors will be included on a plaque on the train.

The former Southern Pacific Railroad Placerville Branch (now known as the Sacramento Placerville Transportation Corridor) is a unique regional treasure that has enormous potential as a scenic tourist railroad.

We’ve been operating excursion trains in Sacramento County and motorcar excursions to Latrobe for years, and El Dorado County is now considering allowing us to bring our trains to Latrobe.

Here’s why we think that’s the right choice.

Millions of dollars in economic benefit

A $210,000 study commissioned by El Dorado County in 2015 showed that excursion trains and a paved trail combined could generate up to $12.6 million in net economic benefit every year with up to 50,000 train passengers versus only $300K of annual economic benefit from 20,000 combined rail/trail users with motorcar-only excursions and a natural trail.

Niles Canyon Railway, a similar nonprofit tourist railroad in the Bay Area, carries over 50,000 passengers on about the same length of track as Folsom to Latrobe.

A sustainable source of revenue

Our excursion trains generate recurring revenue from ticket sales to fund our operations as well as ongoing corridor improvements with zero funding from local government.

In 2013, SPTC-JPA approved a five-year agreement for us to operate excursion trains on the Placerville Branch in Sacramento County, and since then, we’ve raised over $100,000 in ticket revenue that we’ve reinvested into the corridor, equipment, and the community.

Bringing our trains to Latrobe will enable us to raise substantially more. Niles Canyon Railway generates over a million dollars in revenue every year.

More money for local communities

We donate a portion of the proceeds from every El Dorado County excursion to the community of Latrobe, but the low passenger-carrying capacity of our motorcars limits the amount of money that we can raise.

By allowing us to operate trains, we’ll be able to carry many more passengers on each trip and raise more money for El Dorado County communities like Latrobe.

County residents and businesses want our trains

About half of our passengers and one quarter of our volunteers live in El Dorado County, and many county residents and businesses like Nello Olivo Wines have expressed their support for our trains running in El Dorado County.

We’re asking for your support

If you support excursion trains in El Dorado County, please become an advocate for P&SVRR, and express your support for our trains in El Dorado County.

Become an advocate

Heavy rains from storms this past winter caused damage to several portions of our track in El Dorado County, making the line impassable, but we’ve repaired all of them except the major washout 3 miles west of Latrobe.

(You can see more photos of repair work on our Facebook page.)

As a result, we are now able to resume operating our Latrobe Breakfast Specials, albeit with a few modifications.

Trips will board at White Rock until construction in Folsom is complete and will consist of riding one motorcar to the big washout and walking about 200 yards on a natural trail to another motorcar on the other side of the washout that will take you the rest of the way to Latrobe.

After breakfast, the return trip will be the reverse. You will return to the motorcar at Latrobe, ride to the washout, walk 200 yards past the washout, and board the other motorcar for the trip back to White Rock.

Motorcar operations in El Dorado County are a critical part of realizing our vision and our advocacy for the return of trains to the county, so we hope you’ll join us for a Latrobe Breakfast Special soon.