A popular handcar tour on a former Southern Pacific branch line in California came to an end on September 1, after four years of operation. 

A planned four-mile bus route will replace part of the historic Monterey Branch, built in 1879 as the Monterey & Salinas Valley Railroad. After being acquired by Southern Pacific, the Monterey Branch connected to the Coast Line at nearby Castroville and once linked San Francisco to Pebble Beach, hosting famous trains like the Del Monte. Following a long decline, the 16-mile branch was abandoned in 1999, three years after the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger. It was purchased in 2003 by the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC). 

The agency’s current plans for a four-mile express bus line mark the end of the family-owned handcar operation, which featured both rail bike-style vehicles and electric-assisted hand pump cars. The electric hand pump cars were designed by Mason Clark (Mason’s father, Todd, owns the long-running railfan website, Trainorders.com). The Clarks are seeking a new location in California to offer excursions. 

—Elrond Lawrence