PINT SIZED POLAR EXPRESS — Santa and Mrs. Claus wave good-bye to the crowd gathered at the depot in Shingle Springs as they take off in a speeder car toward the town of El Dorado. The event sponsored by the Folsom, El Dorado, & Sacramento Historical Railroad Association gave train enthusiasts the thrill of riding the rails from Shingle Springs to El Dorado Saturday. Demaocrat photo by Pat Dollins
Biking, hiking and equestrian activities will not be designated as the ”priority” use for the El Dorado Trail. Neither will excursion trains or other rail sports be designated the “priority” activity.
After four hours of testimony and discussion Tuesday evening, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors opted to withdraw a proposed resolution that would have set non-railroad pursuits as the county’s priority for the Sacramento-Placerville Transportation Corridor.
Under the provisions of the national Rails to Trails Act, the county or other jurisdiction can determine how a former railroad right of way may be used — with one major caveat. No matter what activity may be contemplated on the land, it must be clearly designated as an “interim” use. The federal law basically states that in the event commercial railroading becomes viable again in the future, the right of way must be readily convertible back to rail use. The law does not promote one use over another but specifies only that significant impediments to future rail use not be erected.
Passions have run high over the past year as proponents of restoring rail traffic along the 26-mile route from Placerville to Folsom have competed with hiking and cycling groups for acquiring a measure of control over the right of way.
Supervisor John Knight eventually withdrew his proposed resolution in favor of allowing leaders of the two rival factions to come together and bring potential areas of agreement and cooperation back to the board in March.
Jeff Sellwood of Friends of the El Dorado Trail and Jim Harville of the Sacramento Valley Railroad organization agreed to work together to resolve outstanding points of contention regarding future use of the right of way. Harville’s group proposes to operate excursion trains over some portion of the tracks between Folsom and Shingle Springs or possibly to El Dorado.
Friends of the El Dorado Trail has focused on creating a “trail of national significance,” as described by Mike Kenison, a member of that board. Kenison told the Mountain Democrat in a phone call Wednesday that his group viewed the non-resolution as a bit of a setback, but “the vision is still there, and our group has really raised a lot of awareness about trail issues.”
“Although we don’t have priority, we will work with different groups, such as the Board of Supervisors and Department of Transportation to do what we can,” Kennison said
“One of the most important things we’ve done is searched for the facts and painted a realistic picture of what the trail can mean. There are so many trails in the country that generate tremendous revenue, and this could become one,” Kenison said.
The El Dorado Western Railway Foundation represents another point of view. As the “living history component” of the county’s railroad park in El Dorado, a subsidiary of the El Dorado County Museum, foundation volunteers have put in thousands of hours clearing brush and renovating equipment. Their near-term goal is to operate a historically authentic train generally between Missouri Flat Road and the park in El Dorado.
Keith Berry is a museum commissioner for the county, director of the foundation and project manager. He and his group have restored rolling stock and repaired rails and ties over the three-mile stretch to enable local rail history to “come alive.”
Berry said the rail buffs generally appreciated the “clarity” that came out of Tuesday’s meeting, that is, “that no one venue has priority” on the right of way and that consistency with the county’s General Plan and relevant master plans would prohibit exclusivity of one use over another.
He further noted that wild rumors to the contrary, “Amtrak won’t be coming up the hill, and our use limits us to 10 mph; we have nowhere to go in a hurry,” he quipped.
“We’re on the road to proving ourselves to the community,” Berry continued. “And we’re going to be good citizens.”
Berry also concluded that “there are ways of engineering” the roadbed that would accommodate multiple use activities, and he said he is optimistic that some workable compromises can be developed to “facilitate sharing” of the land.
Supervisors Knight and Jack Sweeney will represent the county in the ad hoc group tasked with exploring areas of common interest and points of conflict between potential user groups.
