The Eureka Southern also faced a constant battle with the elements in the Eel River Canyon, historically one of the most expensive to maintain stretches of track in the United States.

The line operated an excursion train, the "North Coast Daylight", as a joint venture with Sierra Western Corp., the owners of historic passenger cars.

On Saturday mornings, the "North Coast Daylight" passengers rode excursion buses from the San Francisco Bay area to Willits, where they boarded the train.

Passengers stayed overnight in Eureka, then boarded again on Sunday mornings for the return trip to Willits and (by bus) to the Bay Area.

The vintage rail car toilets emptied their contents onto the tracks below, and passengers were asked not to flush while the train was stopped in the stations at Willits and Eureka.

The EUKA GP38 locomotives were not included in the sale, so the NCRA used a mixture of leased Southern Pacific GP9s and SD9s, as well as a purchased former Central California Traction Railroad GP9, #70.

Experts who surveyed the trackage in the late 2000s estimated a $20 million price tag to bring the line up to FRA minimal operating standards.