UP right-of-way in Orange County (Ca.) will not be a trail

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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From the Orange County (Ca.) Railway Historical Society newsletter, which in turn got the info from a member who sent in an Orange (Ca.) Daily News item:

The UP (former SP) is selling to homeowners 17 acres of abandoned right of way of the former Tustin Branch in the city of Orange. The line was originally built in 1888, and this segment of the line has been abandoned since 1969 when a bridge over Santiago Creek washed out.

The residents did not want a trail built on the section being sold because of fears of crime and other problems. In this area the line had run like an alley behind the back yards of homes on either side. [There is a trail a few blocks further south, where the line had paralleled a street and a creek].

I explored part of this r-o-w last summer; there were some No Trespassing signs so I did not head too far off into the tall weeds. It looked like it was used more for teenage “parties” instead of dirt bike riding or hiking.

MP

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Interesting…I used to live in Southern Cal,and I knew of this line,but never considered that the UP would be doing this. I figured that some of the cities there would have used it for an interurban line, just like the rest of the old R-O-W from the Pacific Electric railway. i have a book on O.C. called Rails Through the Orange Groves.Its a good book. Does anyone know an address for the Orange County Railway Historical Society? I’d like to see what they have, and possibly join the Society.

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They are at:

PO Box 3286
Orange, CA 92857-0286

Dues are $15/year. Meetings are monthly, 1st Monday evening each month, upstairs in the Santa Ana train/bus station. They usually discuss current events and show videos. The videos are not always “commercial releases”, they have some rare and obscure footage sometimes. Videos are not limited to California; they have shown Colorado, Northeast Corridor, etc.

MP