Starting last week, I have begun a writing blitzkrieg with the goal of having the first draft of my book done by the end of November. This attempt has not gone perfectly smooth. Two days were completely missed already while writing of the Santa Cruz Union Depot & Freight Yard article ate up two extra days and will likely eat up another in editing. Writing is neither easy nor entirely fun, but it is necessary… Read More »The Great Writing Blitzkrieg
A lot has happened in the past few months, the most important of which is that I have moved from Santa Cruz. That’s right, the author of Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains will not longer be centered in Santa Cruz County. But don’t worry, I came prepared and I have a number of people working with me in Santa Cruz helping me when something is missing. That being said, I have… Read More »New Sample Pages
Today at Researchers Anonymous, I had a big going-away party in the form of a two-hour lecture. I titled it “Santa Cruz Trains & Researching in the Digital Age”. It went overwhelmingly well and I timed it perfectly, including the ten-minute intermission. I decided against advertising the event publicly since it really wasn’t intended for the public but rather other researchers. I’ve posted the slide-show for the event here accessible by the “Lecture” link above… Read More »Lecture Recap
After numerous failed attempts at making maps for my books, I decided that I’d go a more classical way. I am no artist, but I can trace well enough. Using a light table, 14 pages of 100%-resolution US Geological Survey maps from 1955, and a few pencils and pens, I reconstructed the route over the Santa Cruz mountains and up past Boulder Creek. But there were numerous factors to consider including: Conflicts between historic sources… Read More »Cartography Today
Back in 2011, a friend and I thought it would be interesting to look back into the archives of local history and see if there was any specific reason why the Southern Pacific Railroad shut down its railroad franchise in Santa Cruz in 1940. We’d heard rumors of financial misconduct, a terrible storm, the threat of Japanese invasion, and various other urban legends, but neither of us were accepting them at face value. Even Rick… Read More »The Scandal of 1940: The Closure of the Southern Pacific Mountain Route