December 18, 2003
By BOB NORBERG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Oakdale-based
Sierra Railroad was chosen Wednesday by a federal bankruptcy court judge to
take over Mendocino County's historic Skunk Train, one of the region's premier
tourist attractions.
Judge
Alan Jaroslovsky, who initially indicated he would not choose a buyer until
Monday, cited the experience of Sierra, which runs tourist and freight trains
in Northern California, in the $1.4 million sale.
Sierra
officials said they hope to have the train, which is now idle, running again by
May.
"The
court is impressed by Sierra's railroad resume," Jaroslovsky said in his
ruling late Wednesday.
The
difference between Sierra and two other bidders "could be the difference
between survival and demise of this railroad," he said in his decision.
Sierra
bid $1.4 million for the 48-mile line, which winds through a lush valley and
along an arid mountainside between Fort Bragg and Willits, attracting some
60,000 riders a year and $9 million in tourist spending.
The
other bidders were Old 45 LLC of San Francisco, $1.4 million, and Pacific
Cascade of Grants Pass, Ore., $1.5 million.
Neither
of those, however, has experience running railroads, which Jaroslovsky wrote
was one of the reasons he chose Sierra.
The
Napa Valley Wine Train, the only other operating railroad that had submitted a
bid, withdrew Monday. It had made the low bid of $750,000.
"It
(Sierra) has operated railroads since 1897. It is currently operating several
railroads, some of which operate excursion trains and some which handle heavy
freight operations. It has demonstrated that its ability to use track
maintenance personnel and equipment on many different lines will result in an
economy of scale which could be the difference between survival and demise of
this railroad," Jaroslovsky said.
Mike
Meyer, bankruptcy trustee for the court, also said Sierra was a good choice to
operate the Skunk Train.
"With
Sierra's experience -- they run railroads -- they will make a go of it,"
Meyer said.
The
Skunk Train, owned by California Western, filed for bankruptcy a year ago, with
debts of $2.6 million and assets of $2.4 million.
Officers
had blamed its demise on the loss of its freight service three years ago, when
the Georgia-Pacific mill in Fort Bragg stopped shipping logs to Willits. It was
a loss of about $300,000 a year in revenue.
With
the sale now decided, Sierra Railroad officials said they will work to get the
excursion trains running for the tourist season beginning in May.
"We
have always felt we had the best proposal," said Mike Hart, Sierra
president. "There will be a lot of work to do in the next month to
finalize the sale, but we believe we can make it for the start of tourist season."
Sierra
Railroad will put $600,000 to $900,000 in track repair and another $300,000
into marketing next year, Hart said.
In
the long term, Sierra plans to continue operating the entire line between Fort
Bragg and Willits, instead of from Fort Bragg halfway to Northspur, which was
the route run this year.
He
also said Sierra plans to outfit some flat cars to carry automobiles,
recreational vehicles and buses so when riders get to their destination, they
will have their vehicles to continue their trip.