First of all, while the El Dorado Western does not seek to expand their operations any further west than Shingle Springs, they in no way support the destruction of the remaining track, and instead support “Rails WITH Trails” for the corridor. If you doubt this, I suggest you attend one of their board meetings and ask them to formally endorse the “Shingle Plan”, which is what you imply with your comment. Good luck with that…

I agree with your second claim that Shingle Springs to County Line is “destined” to become a multi-use trail, but with the caveat that it will SHARE the corridor with the railroad as part of the “Rails WITH Trails Vision” outlined in the Parks and Recreation Commission resolution of January 19th, 2012.

Your opinions regarding the JPA are interesting, but irrelevant. I have heard the trails arguments for dissolving the JPA, and they are wishful thinking, at best. Having spent time discussing these arguments with attorneys from the EDC county counsel’s office, the JPA itself, and even the attorneys who drafted the original documents, I can assure you that the SPTC-JPA will exist long after you and I are gone from this earth!

As far as the “data” articulated by the trails camp, no one is saying a trail is a bad thing! Your argument that the railroad MUST be destroyed to achieve your goal is what is opposed by the greater community! And make no mistake, the “Trails Camp” you refer to is outnumbered at EVERY Supervisor’s Meeting by those who want both sides to share, sometimes by 2-1 or more!

Finally, I cannot properly rebutt your “Stooges” comment without more information. Are you referring to the other Member Agencies, who have legal and legitimate reciprocal rights over this jointly held property? Or is it the many El Dorado County residents who travel to Folsom two or more times a week to do their part in developing this railroad to it’s fullest potential? Working shoulder to shoulder with folks from Woodland, Lincoln, and even Tahoe, these people get pretty irritated when you keep calling them “Those Folsom Train Guys”! (but I guess that’s better than “stooges”…)

Anyhow, my advice to you is to use your real name, get some real facts, and develop a real perspective on the future of this railroad corridor.

We have a responsibility to those that came before us, to honor them and their hard work and dreams. To those that follow to preserve this history, for them, after all once gone, it’s gone forever. We cannot replace, recreate or remanufacture the treasure of history.

And yet, there are those who seek to rip out and destroy a “first” for El Dorado County, the State of California, the Nation. We build a replica of Sutters Mill, we have the first two identified historical buildings in the state with plaque’s on them downtown, we have a branch with a dummy hanging from it to remind us of our “Hangtown” history. How many roadside markers are there, how many markers in the woods for example “Zumwalt” and long gone mills. Yet we seek to destroy a landmark, another first for El Dorado County, the history of the first rail road west of the Mississippi. The vision and hard work to bring the railroad to a small little rural county had to have been massive. That rail road carried the riches and history of El Dorado County to not just the Sacramento Valley, but to the world. How many places did those engines stop to take on water or fuel?? How many stops were along the way for mail, for passengers, lumber, ranch products to the valley. What did that little railroad bring back to El Dorado County and the people who lived here. I can’t begin to imagine the pride those folks had, imagine the first railroad west of the Mississippi!! We’ve got Placerville Hardware, oldest hardware store west of the Mississippi, we’ve got the Mt. Democrat California’s Oldest Newspaper. Should we destroy them also? We’ve got the first rail road west of the Mississippi, surely it deserves the recognition we’ve bestowed on so many other historical sites and events.