Feb 1, 2000 - California Northern is looking at Remote control, three members of the CFNR operations went back east to learn how remote operations are handled, the Woodland and Tracy jobs are slated to start remote control operations sometime this year. 3 CFNR conductors will be going to the engineer class & simulator at UP training center in Salt Lake Feb 15th - David Epling

Jan 31, 2000, it was official, Robanco has pulled the plug on the Trash trains! look for the trash trains to stop running sometime in March or April of 2000 - David Epling

Jan 7, 2000 - UP will allow CFNR to exercise their trackage rights from Fairfield to Roseville as soon as the crews qualify and the CFNR gets bigger power. Apparently the California Northern is looking to buy or lease dynamic-braked equipped SD-40's for the additional movement. UP operating instructions require dynamic equipped locomotives on the Cal. P. Apparently UP spends too much time switching in and outbound cars from the CFNR at Suisun, often tying up the mainline and creating a dispatchers nightmare with many trains having to crossover either east or west of town to avoid movements on the mainline. The CTC has certainly helped a lot, however, operationally it makes more since for Cal Northern to move the block train right to Roseville, and pick up their cars in the yard and return to Suisun-Fairfield without causing additional moves. UP will pay CFNR about $1.3 mi.for the additional switching and haulage about what they will lose when the garbage train terminates in March. The Roseville turn will also pick-up and set-out at Davis for the traffic from the Woodland local - Mike Pechner

Oct 23, 1999 - California Northern may lose the trash trains! Robanco was bought out by Allied Waste & they own a dump in Pittsburg. The Dump is the Kirker Pass landfill off of Bailey Road. The commissioners had a closed meeting a couple of days ago & all but one decided to ship by truck! They will have to buy out of the agreements with BNSF and will have to do an EIR. The closed meetings are perfectly legal and are done when there are potential lawsuits involved. CFNR doesn't have a law suit as they are not part of any agreements. The agreements are with the waste authority and BNSF. CFNR is only moving the trains approx. 18 miles. (Between the loading facility and Fairfield) BNSF will have to be bought out of the agreement and they spent a lot of money for unloading facility and dedicated power to make this happen. The general public should be made aware that they are planning to put 100 trucks a day on the roads (the average works out to 1 truck every ten minutes), As opposed to 2 trains a week with a Cal-P to Mococo Routing to a unloading facility somewhere in Bay Point (West Pittsburg). This is Particularly of interest to those of you in Central and Eastern Contra Costa, Napa, and Solano Counties. that you might want to voice your opinions. If so, please write to Napa-Vallejo Waste Management Authority 1195 Third street, Room 101 Napa, CA 94559 and voice your opinions about this plan. - David Epling

Oct 01, 1999 - California Northern RR continues to use the shared-dedicated run-through units from UP and Santa Fee on the Fairfield-Lombard Hauler. It what remains as one of the more interesting operations for a shortline anywhere in California. CFNR also regularly uses either mid-train or rear end helpers to get heavy tonnage trains westbound up the 4 mile 1.8% grade to Creston out of Cordelia. This track runs through Jameson Canyon adjacent to S.R. 12. This afternoon, they operated at 5500 ton train with ATSF, (Blue) GP-40, 3150 and BN (Green), SD-40, # 6784 on the point. 43 cars deep in the consist was CFNR GP-15-T, #107, followed by 9 loaded feed and grains cars. The rest of the tonnage was steel for Napa Pipe, lumber, and a unit grain train for General Mills in Vallejo. The train was doing an estimated 4 mph in run 8 when it topped Creston at the Napa-Solano Co. line when I observed it this afternoon. - Mike Pechner