Ventura County Railroad

Ventura County Railroad
Reporting mark VCRR
Locale Oxnard, California
Dates of operation 1998–
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length 12 miles (19 km)[1]
Headquarters Port Hueneme, California
Website Ventura County Railroad (VCRR)

The Ventura County Railroad (reporting mark VCRR) is a class III railroad subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming, connecting the Union Pacific Railroad in Oxnard to South Oxnard and Port Hueneme. It began operations in 1998 under RailAmerica, leasing its lines from the Ventura County Railway (reporting mark VCY), owner of lines first opened in about 1905 that have remained independent of larger carriers. The railroad serves industrial areas including the Port of Hueneme and Naval Facilities Expeditionary Logistics Center at Naval Base Ventura County.

History

The VCRR's earliest predecessor, the Bakersfield and Ventura Railway, was incorporated in February 1903, and in about 1905 opened its lines, which included one east to Round Mountain (near the Camarillo State Hospital), in addition to the presently operated lines. It was sold at foreclosure in December 1906, and later acquired by the Bakersfield and Ventura Railroad, incorporated in June 1908. The property was again sold in June 1911 to the Ventura County Railway, which had been incorporated in May in the interests of the American Beet Sugar Company (renamed American Crystal Sugar Company in 1934), which owned a beet sugar factory at Oxnard.[2] Passenger trains were operated until 1926.[3] Martin V. Smith purchased the line in 1958. The Ventura County Railroad, organized by RailAmerica to lease the line, began operations in September 1998.[4][5] The Oxnard Harbor District acquired the Ventura County Railway Company LLC in 2003 with Ventura County Railroad continuing to operate the line.[6][7]

Traffic

The railroad's main commodities are new automobiles, petroleum products and wood products. The VCRR hauls approximately 2,000 carloads annually.[1][8]

Motive Power

References

  1. 1 2 "RailAmerica's Empire". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing. June 2010.
  2. ↑ Interstate Commerce Commission, 43 Val. Rep. 287 (1933): Valuation Docket No. 1126, Ventura County Railway Company
  3. ↑ Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition, Kalmbach Publishing, 1996, pp. 321-322
  4. ↑ Railroad Retirement Board, Employer Status Determination: Ventura County Railroad Company, 1998
  5. ↑ Takenouchi, Jason (September 2, 1998). "RailAmerica Inc. Buys Rail Line Connecting Port". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ↑ City of Port Hueneme v. Oxnard Harbor District (Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 6, California 2006). Text
  7. ↑ "Municipal Service Review: Oxnard Harbor District" Ventura Local Agency Formation Commission (September 19, 2007)
  8. ↑ 2013 "CALIFORNIA STATE RAIL PLAN" Check |url= value (help) (PDF). California Department of Transportation. May 2013. p. 132.
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