The first west switchback notice began with the road crew’s stonefall notices and the mule train delay book. Since then, the city has moved through a source check, a public hearing and a trial at the west switchback above the mule rest.
The current docket records 33 switchback closures lasting longer than one bell; the earlier file recorded 29. The count is more specific than the first summary, but still does not answer whether to reopen the route between inspections or hold all freight until the retaining wall is rebuilt.
A key point in the timeline was the discovery of a fresh fan of chips below the retaining wall’s third drain. It narrowed the dispute from a general claim about the rule to a question about how the rule behaves at the site.
Carriers call short closures manageable; masons say repeated traffic shakes loose stone from the same seam. The current record does not settle that disagreement. The parties now share more of the record than they did at the start, though they assign it different weight.
A field check has compared the written rule with the place where it is used. The entry belongs to the first register file at the west switchback above the mule rest. The route marshal will time a loaded test after the drain has been cleared. The next review will show whether the change lasts beyond this docket or returns as another temporary exception.
