Santa Cruz Changes 75 - Model Trains Headed For the Roundhouse

Five or six years ago, while walking on Ocean View Avenue, I noticed an unusual feature of one residence. The entire yard - front, back, and one side - was filled by an F Scale (1:20.3) model railroad layout. 

Seeing a news item saying that Sunday, October 8, would be the final chance to see the Fern Creek & Western Garden Railroad in operation before it is dismantled. That motivated me to again take a walk over there, joining a considerable crowd of other model-railroad-watchers.

The FC&GR website explains the circumstances necessitating the dismantling of the layout:

"Eric Child, the owner of the property upon which the FC&W sits, passed away on June 19, 2023. Without his involvement, the railroad cannot go on in its current form. Do not miss this last opportunity to see the FC&W in operation before the layout is gone forever."

I hope the trains will soon find a new home.

Santa Cruz Changes 74 - ebike-share (again)

Santa Cruzans will remember the first attempt by the City of Santa Cruz to create a fleet of shared rental ebikes. From its 2018 inception, the bright red Jump bikes were a common sight. 

But too many were found abandoned with dead batteries in the middle of sidewalks, or in remote locations, before the City abandoned the program in 2020.

In June of 2023, the City tried again, with a different vendor, Wisconsin-based BCycle (Wisconsin?!) Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and transportation planner Claire Gallogly were among the first to try out the BCycle e-bikes (photo credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz).

So far, this system seems to be working better, with equal popularity and plenty of bike locations. 

If all goes well, the program will expand next year into other parts of the County.