Train Tracks

Train tracks cut a wye through Davis, the intersection being near the train station at 2nd and H st., which runs adjacent to the tracks behind Davis Lumber. All tracks are owned by Union Pacific, but two other rail companies use them. California Northern has trackage rights to the small yard of three additional tracks adjacent to the mainline dual tracks to the east, as well as south to another of its lines at Suisun city.

Pedestrians often cross illegally, especially at L Street over to Olive, J Street over to the Amtrak Station, and across from Olive Drive to downtown at several points, but most especially out the back gates of Slaters Court, the trailer park, and at the end of Hickory Lane. The Hickory Lane route is the main route of students from the new apartments on Olive Drive to Downtown, including on Thursday nights when they often cross the double main tracks highly intoxicated. This is a tragedy waiting to happen, perhaps several, until the City figures out a way to pay for an overcrossing here. Much to the dismay of townies, these crossings result in fatalities with some frequency. (Note: in checking the Tragic Events section, several fatalities on the tracks are not yet listed.) A California Aggie article quotes a figure of 7 people killed in one year.

The main line comes in from the southwest (more or less following I 80) and curves to straight east out of town and over a raised train bridge and series of bridges paralleling the Yolo Causeway to the north, into Sacramento and beyond. The section of track across the Yolo Causeway was recently relaid with double track after several years without after predecessor Southern Pacific pulled one track out. Both passenger and freight (which, puzzlingly, have the right of way) share these tracks. According to TarZxf, "Most of the crossings in Davis are not at grade; exception being the lightly-used spur line to the north".

Dubbing the northward bound line as a "spur" is questionable¹ with other people calling it a mainline. It once was the mainline, even for Amtrak, but now runs north to Richfield and is out of service to the former junction at Tehama, where the switch has been removed. Regardless of the proper terminology, the track itself heads northbound from the east-west line and travels along H Street out of Davis, eventually going 110.7 miles to Tehama just south of Red Bluff. Its leased from Union Pacific by the California Northern Railroad. This is the West Valley Subdivision of the California Northern and is used for moving freight in and out of Woodland and north to Corning and Richfield. Numerous Davisites consider that these tracks are the official border of Central and East Davis (as is reflected in general on the wiki).

Also from Woodland to West Sacramento is the Yolo Short Line Rail Road, which runs close to the Sacramento River along South River Road in West Sacramento and along Main Street in Woodland.

This is where a number of the Homeless live in Davis. There is a secret passageway from Olive Drive through to the train tracks that is a great way to get to downtown Davis.

Locomotives blow horns in advance of all railroad crossings. That's to let cars and pedestrians know they are coming. The locomotive engineer does this because, legally, he or she must. Many residents who live near such crossings don't like the sound. They complain that the horns blow at inconvenient times irritatingly or even life-disruptingly. Davis is a quiet town, populated by folk who like their quiet—several years ago a woman was cited for snoring in her own apartment here. For instance, every train that passes Solano Park blows its horn several times on the way by, at all hours. Nonetheless several fatal encounters between residents and locomotives have occurred along this stretch of track. Other residents like the train horns. They say the sound is romantic and part of the quality of life in Davis, which is what living in a railroad town sounds like. Just as life in a Bay Area town includes fog horns in the soundtrack.

• November 3rd 2009 3 cars behind the Davis Food Co-op

Looking northwest along the tracks from the Union Pacific Railroad/California Northern Railroad Staging yard.

Looking southwest along the tracks that run past Solano Park Gardens and under I-80 Looking North from 5th street.

Eventually, you will find yourself waiting for a train

Staging along second street Remote Control Locomotives

Chalked danger sign for bikes at 8th Eastbound

Comments:

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re: the horn blowing law

• This law is annoying and needless. Aren't there crossing signals? I've lived next to train tracks a few times in my life, but this is the first place where trains do this. —-RoyWright
  

• Signals fail. There appears to be an option for communities to opt out of the law. Maybe someone should run for city council on the quiet crossings ticket? —JasonAller
  

• After more reading it may be that the crossing to the Nishi property is the one that requires the horn. It is an unsignalled crossing. —JasonAller
  

• Well thanks for doing the reading I'm too lazy to do. That's a crappy coincidence for Solano Park, then. —RoyWright
  

• Trains occasionally run by Solano Park without blowing the horn. Maybe they just forget? —CarlMcCabe
  

• Try living at Slatter's Court. We get your trains all night too, whose conductors don't usually don't blow the horns of Gabriel here either, but they do it enough. And during the day we get to listen to that and the Amtrak PA system announcing train schedules. I have fought the PA, and I got some concessions, but I think it’s rude that Amtrak can get away with doing that. I still love living on the line, though. —WayneSchiller
  

2008-01-26 23:21:31   How far (southwest) do the tracks go? —MikeTahani

• To Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland. (Am I misinterpreting your question?) — DougWalter
  

• Actually, the Capitol Corridor line goes all the way to San Jose. Amtrak itself has a line that goes all the way to southern california. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/Page/Browse_Routes_Page&c=Page&cid=1081256321425&ssid=132 —KellyM