Concrete barriers and Union Pacific “Private Property/No Trespassing” signs now block the Yuba City entrance to the former railroad trestle spanning the Feather River. The new barriers mark a significant change from conditions observed by the Territorial Dispatch before Alina Lynn’s Aug. 9 death.

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - Nearly two months after 13-year-old Alina Lynn died after falling from the former railroad trestle beside the Fifth Street Bridge, Union Pacific has installed a block wall and additional signage at the structure.

Yuba County Supervisor Renick House, who previously referred to the trestle as “Union Pacific’s hazard,” told the Territorial Dispatch he had been in contact with Peggy Ygbuhay, Union Pacific’s senior director of public affairs for Northern and Central California and Northern Nevada, and connected her with the Marysville Levee Commission to obtain access to the site.

“This should deter trespassing and risky behavior,” House said.

Records obtained by the Dispatch show the trestle was formally abandoned as part of an operating railroad nearly 20 years ago and was once the subject of negotiations for public trail use. Those negotiations ultimately ended, while police and emergency records show people have continued accessing the structure over the years.

Alina died Aug. 9 after falling from the trestle spanning the Feather River between Yuba City and Marysville. Attorney Koorosh Banayan, whose firm has been retained to represent Alina’s family and estate, said no lawsuit has been filed and the firm remains in the investigative stage.

“We’re in the investigation and preparation mode,” Banayan said.

Banayan said information gathered so far indicates Alina and others crossed the trestle from the Yuba City side to meet people near the Marysville end. He said Alina fell through one of two open gaps near the transition between the wooden portion of the trestle and the gravel approach, striking the ground below.

“They don’t know exactly what happened,” Banayan said. “She may have slipped, you know, and didn’t catch her step, and she just fell through that hole.”

Railroad Law and Trail Use

Public discussion following Alina’s death has included recurring questions over whether entering the trestle constitutes the same type of railroad trespass as walking on an active rail line. Banayan said the completed abandonment changes that analysis.

“They abandoned it as a railway, and it is no longer — all those federal laws about railways no longer apply,” he said. “So they don’t have those impediments.”

Federal records support the underlying abandonment history. A 2004 Surface Transportation Board environmental assessment places the Feather River bridge at railroad milepost 136.53, within the 3.39-mile Yuba City Industrial Lead approved for abandonment. Union Pacific later notified the board that abandonment was formally consummated Aug. 1, 2006, and reported that the “track, ties and signal equipment were removed.”

The abandonment records establish that the trestle is no longer part of an operating railroad line. They do not establish that the structure is legally open to the public, and other trespass or property laws may still apply. Records also show Yuba City spent approximately two years trying to preserve the abandoned corridor for public trail use. In 2004, the city told the Surface Transportation Board the corridor could connect Marysville and the Feather River with the Sutter County trail system. It specifically sought protection for bridges and trestles, saying the structures had value for recreational and transportation use across the Feather River.

Union Pacific initially agreed to negotiate over acquisition of the property for trail use. The discussions continued into 2006, when Yuba City reported the proposed agreement was “currently in the appraisal process.” Days later, Union Pacific declined further negotiations without stating a reason in the federal filings reviewed by the Dispatch. Because participation in the federal rail-trail process was voluntary, the Surface Transportation Board denied Yuba City additional negotiating time.

Still, the concept remains in regional planning today. The Yuba-Sutter Economic Development Corporation’s 2025-26 public works document describes the proposed Three Rivers Parkway as eventually connecting Marysville to the Sutter County trail system “over the rehabilitated former railroad trestle on the Feather River.” House said he believes that possibility may still be open, writing that Union Pacific could potentially entertain a rails-to-trails conversion and possibly provide community grants if a nonprofit organization took the lead.

New concrete barriers and Union Pacific “Private Property/No Trespassing” signs block access to the former railroad trestle from the Marysville side of the Feather River. The barriers were installed following the Aug. 9 death of 13-year-old Alina Lynn.

Repeated Access

Yuba City Police Department records show repeated emergency responses involving people on or around the trestle over the past 10 years. The Dispatch also requested records of trestle-related incidents from the Marysville Police Department but had not received a response as of press time.

Public comments on the Dispatch’s previous reporting also included many accounts from residents who said they had used the trestle as an informal crossing or recreation spot, sometimes without realizing access was prohibited.

“I walked across with my son a couple years ago and he was only 10 years old and because there was absolutely no signs anywhere, I assumed it was legal,” said Johnny Burke, executive director of the Yuba-Sutter Homeless Consortium. “If I saw any sign that said no trespassing or do not walk on this I wouldn’t have taken him across it.”

Banayan said that history is important to the family’s investigation because it may help establish what was known about people accessing the structure. He also argued that public agencies could have done more to discourage access.

“They paved the way all the way to the bridge, basically, and then left it like an invitation,” he said.

During visits before the recent barriers were installed, the Dispatch observed that the approaches appeared to connect with established pedestrian and bicycle routes originating in public park and trail areas on both sides of the Feather River. No gates, chains, fencing or posted no-trespassing signs were observed along those approaches clearly marking where public access ended.

Questions have also remained over where public property ends and Union Pacific-controlled property begins along the approaches. Yuba City Public Works Director Josh Wolffe did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the Yuba City side as of press time. Marysville City Manager Jim Schaad declined to answer similar questions while Union Pacific continued its investigation.

“The City has completed its investigation into the August 9 incident and provided the relevant information to Union Pacific Railroad for its further investigation,” Schaad said. “To avoid interfering with or adversely affecting that continuing investigation, the City is not responding at this time to questions concerning the incident, access to the trestle, or the surrounding circumstances.”

Banayan said his firm is still determining whether claims will ultimately be pursued against any public entity.

“As to whether or not we’re going to go after the city, we want to find out more,” he said. “We need to know more.”

For now, the most visible change is at the trestle itself: barriers and signs that were not present when Alina died.