Closing the Swanton Pacific a tragedy of preservation

In the recent news of the Swanton Pacific Railroad closure, it is important to talk about how to preserve the railroad's equipment.

First and foremost, while Swanton Pacific Ranch was Al Smith's home for the railroad, it was probably not the best one. It was tiny, unknown to even locals, and in an inconvenient spot, which was ultimately why the Swanton Pacific was only open a few times a year to the general public. While the ranch does hold sentimental value, it is important to understand that the ranch was so secretive that a train aficionado like me did not know of the railroad's existence until a year before the CZU Lightning Complex Fire.

To that end, I propose two solutions that are beneficial for all parties involved if the railroad does get kicked off of the ranch. One; the equipment would be moved to a public park. This has been done before over the hill in Los Gatos. In 1968, Billy Jones, the owner of the Wildcat Railroad, passed away from leukemia. After his death, his miniature railroad was purchased by residents and reponed the railroad in Vasona Park, renaming it the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, which opened in 1970. This move was an incredibly smart one because it allowed the nonprofit to preserve all of Billy's equipment, and it also allowed the railroad to become more exposed due to being in a public park, which meant that the group earned more money and had the capital to spend on maintenance, locomotive inspections, and more. While Billy's original property is now housing, his entire collection was preserved and is in the safe hands of dozens of volunteers.

The second option is to move it to private land that would be opened to the public. This would allow more flexibility for a private owner to expand trackage, fast-track repairs, or more as well as not having as many bureaucratic loops to jump through for the railroad. The downside is the security of real estate is not safe due to the possibility of the owners being evicted for any reason. Much like what is happening to the Swanton Pacific right now, the land is always more valuable than what is on the land.

But that is not to say that the group deserves to be kicked out of the ranch by Cal Poly, because they don't. Cal Poly has completely left the group in the dark by changing all the locks without their knowledge and only telling them two years after the fire that they were going to shut down the railroad. What makes the situation worse is that the university is considering splitting up the collection.

If the collection is broken up, it means that all the effort that Al Smith put into the railroad will mean nothing. The engines at the railroad were broken up to various owners in the 1910s and only reunited after Smith spent years tracking them down, purchasing them, and restoring them. And second, how the engines would be maintained by different owners like the California State Railroad Museum, or another owner is up to anyone's guess if the locomotives and rolling stock couldn't, or wouldn't be fixed.

Another issue is in the will. It is more than possible that when Al Smith willed the property to Cal Poly, he stipulated that the railroad remain intact. If that is the case, then Cal Poly would be violating his will by dismantling the railroad if they kick out the SPRR. It seems as though the law will determine the fate of the Swanton Pacific.

While I think that Cal Poly kicking out the railroad is an extremely slimy and backstabbing maneuver, a positive outcome of the situation would be the collection staying together in Santa Cruz County, and relocating it to a park or private property for future use.

If the collection is broken up, it means that all the effort that Al Smith put into the railroad will mean nothing.