Talk:Ventura County Railroad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is part of WikiProject California, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to California on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit this article, or visit the project page to join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. |
| Start | This article has been rated as Start-Class on the quality scale. |
 |
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Trains, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to rail transport on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. See also: WikiProject Trains to do list |
| Start | This article has been rated as start-Class on the quality scale. (assessment comments) |
| ??? | This article has not yet received a rating on the importance scale within the Trains WikiProject. |
 |
This article needs a map. Please work with the Maps task force to create and add a map to this article. Once the requested map is added, remove the Mapneeded parameter from the {{TrainsWikiProject}} template call on this page to remove this map request. |
[edit] NOTES
for future incorp. into article (a public document) http://www.ventura.org/planning/pdf/gpu_new_10_04/2_public_facilities_services_appendix.pdf
Ventura County General Plan - 2005. Pages 9-10. The Ventura County Railway Company is a local railroad connecting the Southern Pacific tracks with the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme Harbor and industrial parks in Oxnard, south of Fifth Street. The Ventura County Railway Company maintains 11.8 miles of route miles and about 18 track miles. The Railway Company began in 1905 as the Bakersfield and Ventura Railway but was renamed in 1911 as the Ventura County Railway Company when the proposed extension to Bakersfield was dropped. The present railroad with 15 employees has its headquarters at 250 East Fifth Street in Oxnard. (old)
Ventura County Railroad Company, a short line railroad, operates between the Union Pacific Railroad at Oxnard, the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center (Navy Base Ventura County) and Port Hueneme Harbor. The Railroad is approximately 11.8 route miles and maintains about 18 track miles. Started in 1905 as the Bakersfield and Ventura Railway, it was renamed in 1911 as the Ventura County Railway Company when the proposed extension to Bakersfield was dropped. In 1998, after purchase by RailAmerica, Inc., the name was changed to Ventura County Railroad Company, Inc., and the headquarters moved to the Oxnard Harbor District building in Port Hueneme. The railroad employs five people. (new)
The Ventura County Railway Company transports a variety of freight including industrial, agricultural, chemical, government related, and automobiles and small trucks for the Mazda Motors of America's port facility in Port Hueneme. One Ventura County Railway track crosses Fifth Street and splits into two interchange tracks at the west end of the Southern Pacific yard. Near the Railway office, the shortline's track divides, with one heading south a couple of blocks to the enginehouse/diesel shop. The other track goes southeast to a small yard. A number of industries, such as a chemical company, tire dealers, a fertilizer company and vegetable packing plants are located in this area, known as Oxnard Industrial Plaza. Beyond the yard, a wye is located near Wooley Road. (old)
Ventura County Railroad transports a variety of freight including industrial, agricultural, chemical, government-related freight, automobiles and paper rolls. Large customers are Mazda Motors, BMW and Willamette Industries. The Railroad’s main track crosses Fifth Street in downtown Oxnard to intersect the Union Pacific main track at the west end of its Oxnard yard. South of Fifth Street, the track divides, with one track leading to the Railroad’s engine house and Maintenance and Operations headquarters on Warehouse Avenue and another extending south through a five track yard to a wye near Wooley Road. (new)
At the wye, the Port Hueneme Subdivision extends south, crossing Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, for 5.8 miles to the South Oxnard Industrial Area and the docks at Port Hueneme. Near Hueneme Road, the Diamond and Edison Industrial Spur curve left off the main track to serve additional parts of the Industrial Area. At Hueneme Road the main track curves westward, enters the City of Port Hueneme, and terminates at the Oxnard Harbor District’s Port of Hueneme South Terminal. Customers in the industrial areas include Willamette Industries, MI Drilling, Halaco, Pacific Vehicle Processors, BMW and Cook Composites.
The Patterson Subdivision continues west 3.5 miles off the other track of the wye to the Naval Construction Battalion Center (Navy Base Ventura County) at Port Hueneme. This track runs alongside Wooley Road for 1.4 miles until curving south to run alongside Patterson Road to a yard on the US Naval Construction Battalion Center. Mazda Motors and other industries located on the base are served by Ventura County Railroad. The Navy, with its General Electric center cab 80-ton locomotive, serves Navy-related parts of the base. Civilian and military business coexist on the base, as it is the only deep-water seaport between San Francisco Bay and Long Beach/Los Angeles ports.
From the wye one track heads south, crossing California Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). Known as the South Oxnard Branch, this line runs 5.4 miles to the South Oxnard Industrial Area and to the docks at Port Hueneme. Along the way, the track passes Donlon and Round Mountain Junction. Just south of the junction, near Arnold, the Diamond Spur and Edison Branch curve left off the South Oxnard Branch. These two lines and their sidings serve the South Oxnard Industrial Area. The South Oxnard Branch curves westward, enters the city of Port Hueneme, and terminates at the Oxnard Harbor District's Port of Hueneme South Terminal. Customers in the industrial area include oil companies, lumber yards, offshore oil drilling supply companies, vegetable packing plants and the Kaiser Aluminum plant. The Edison Branch continues to Southern California Edison's Ormond Beach power plant. The power plant receives very little rail traffic.
Back at the wye in downtown Oxnard, the other track (the Patterson Branch), heads west for Wilds, 3.5 miles away. The track runs alongside Wooley Road (and down the center median for 1.4 miles) to Patterson Junction. At this point the track curves south 90� and heads south alongside Patterson Road. Patterson Junction once had a track continuing west and then north to beet dumps. As the present branch continues southward it enters Port Hueneme and then comes to Wilds (named after W. N. Wilds, a longtime Ventura County Railway employee in the 1940s), once the site of a sugar beet dump. The only thing to mark the location today is the boundary of the Navy base. From that point on, the Navy owns the trackage. The base, officially known as the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center, has a small yard just inside the fence and the Ventura County Railway Company occasionally drops off cars loaded with Navy trucks, bulldozers and related construction equipment and materials. U.S. Navy GE center cab 80-tonner 65-00349 switches the Navy-related parts of the base. The Ventura County Railway switches several civilian companies on the base. Civilian and military business coexists on the base because it's the only deep-water seaport between San Francisco Bay and the Long Beach/Los Angeles ports. Among the customers on the base serviced by the Ventura County Railway is the Mazda Motors of America port facility. Mazda Motors is one of the railway's largest sources of revenue.
[edit] Locomotives
Need to discuss rr locos
[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:RailAmerica logo.png
Image:RailAmerica logo.png is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 23:51, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
