Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Owner hopes to re-open shuttered train ride By Kyle Magin Staff Writer A train ride through Nevada City history is stuck in the depot while its owner strives to attain state-required certification. In November 2008, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health notified owners of the Nevada County Traction Co. they had to stop running a historically themed train operating on the grounds of Nevada City's Northern Queen Inn. The traction company is located on Railroad Avenue, behind Trolley Junction restaurant. An advertisement for the train ride came to the attention of Cal-OSHA regulators, who issued the order halting operations because the train qualifies as an amusement ride, said Cal-OSHA spokeswoman Erika Monterroza. Amusement rides must have a state certification and a $1 million insurance policy under a 2000 law, Monterroza said. Rides like the Nevada County Traction Co.'s — which takes visitors on tours of the property around the Northern Queen including a historic Chinese cemetery nearby — occasionally come to the attention of regulators, Monterroza said. “It's not as if the division is out looking for these rides, but if they are brought to an inspector's attention, they are required to follow-up,” Monterroza said. All California amusement parks must insure each ride for liability up to $1 million. In addition to the insurance policy, the traction company must pay for the ride's annual certification, which covers an inspector's fees to certify the ride. Inspections usually cost several hundred dollars, Monterroza said. State regulators must inspect the ride and the ride's safety records annually, Monterroza said. The cost for a state inspection is $125 per hour and generally takes about three hours, she added. So far, train owners have not asked Cal-OSHA to certify the ride, Monterroza said. Colleen Flores, who co-owns the traction company, said Tuesday she is pursuing a grant to pay for the Cal-OSHA certification to re-open the ride. Flores' parents bought the Northern Queen property in the 1970s. In the late 1990s, the family bought the neighboring land including History Hill, where the train took tourists. The narrow gauge train ride takes the name of an electric trolley that ran on a 4.5-mile line from Mill Street in Grass Valley to Broad Street in Nevada City from 1901 to 1922, said Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum Historian Brian Blair. The term “narrow gauge” refers to any train with rails laid more closely together than the standard 4 feet, 8.5 inches, Blair said. The rails of the Traction Company's train are 2 feet apart, he added. To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
