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--- Book ---
San Diego
& Arizona Railway:
The
Impossible Railroad
by
Reena Deutsch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ § ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CURRENT NEWS about the SD&AE Desert
Line (as of 4/27/2020)
Baja Railroad
(BJRR) has been running freight in Mexico for several years, interchanging with
San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad at the San Ysidro Mexican/USA border and
servicing Tijuana, Tecate, and points in between. Pacific Imperial Railroad went bankrupt and BJRR
has purchased all of PIR’s assets.
On September 21,
2017, a 99-year lease and operating agreement for Desert Line freight service
was signed between BJRR and San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit Service, the owner
of the USA portions of the line between San Diego and Plaster City. Currently the freight operators pay MTS
$500,000 semi-annually.
There is much
work to be done to repair or replace many of the trestles/bridges and ensure
tunnels and track are in the condition required by the Federal Railroad
Administration. It is not currently
known what the status is for meeting required milestones.
While BJRR
passenger service is not likely, once repairs and upgrading of the
infrastructure on the Desert Line are completed, it is expected that Spreckels’
entire line, including through Carrizo Gorge, will once again be open to
freight operations all the way between San Diego and El Centro.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Hiking, biking,
and riding any vehicle on or along the tracks or anywhere throughout the entire
SD&AE Railway right-of-way remains illegal, including on the spectacular
Goat Canyon Trestle.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Tunnel 16 in
Carrizo Gorge, previously blocked by a fire-caused partial collapse during the eighteen-year
period between 1986 and 2004, became blocked again as a result of boulders
coming loose from above by heavy and frequent Winter 2016-2017 rain storms. Fortunately, this tunnel immediately east of the
Goat Canyon Trestle is only blocked at the east portal and not totally collapsed.
-------------------------------------------------------------
[This news is correct based on information
available as of the date below. With this “Impossible Railroad,” everything is
subject to change but this website is updated only periodically. Current operational
status along the entire SD&A original route is detailed below.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
§ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The book was released
in January 2011. It describes the dramatic ups and downs of construction and
operation of the John D. Speckels’ San Diego & Arizona (Eastern) Railway,
covering the time period from surveys in the early 1900s to date of publication.
The story is told in narrative form linked with more than 200 vintage
photographs and other unique images.
Natural and other
diasters that persistently afflicted the line are a continual thread throughout
the chronicle, and the remote and breathtaking arid desert canyon of Carrizo
Gorge is featured. Descriptions of challenges and triumphs faced by the
SD&A(E) are highlighted as the story unfolds.
The last chapter in
the book brings the SD&A(E) story current up to the date of publication,
and this website will post occasional updates since then. The book
descriptively and pictorially sorts out the complicated tangle of public and
private entities that have been and still are involved with the line in recent
and contemporary times.
A portion of author
royalties are donated to the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association
located in La Mesa and Campo, CA.
To read some reviews
for the book, click here.
Please notify the author of others.
To order the book, please
click here.
Impossible Railroad
lectures, slide shows, booksignings, and field trips are currently being
scheduled. Click here to
view upcoming events.
Click here to see a list of
previous events.
If your group or
organization is interested in hosting a booksigning, slide show, lecture, or
other book-related program, please see Presentations.
BOOK INFORMATION
Author: Reena
Deutsch, Ph.D.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Construction
Chapter 2 Carrizo Gorge
Chapter 3 Operations Pre-1932
Chapter 4 1932 [Note that 1932 earned its own chapter!]
Chapter 5 Operations Post-1932
Chapter 6 Trolleys, Freight, and Tourists (Yes, the railroad is still in
operation and, after 20 years of being blocked, Carrizo Gorge was cleared in
2004 and operations resumed over the entire 148 miles of the route! Current operational
status is detailed below.)
The book contains images,
such as:
·
SD&A
hero John D. Spreckels
·
Construction
activity both north and south of the Mexican border
·
1911
Mexican revolutionaries boarding a hijacked SD&A train
·
Tunnels
galore
·
Intricate
trestles and bridges
·
Fascinating
engineering drawings and maps
·
The 1919
gold spike ceremony
·
Inspiring
steam and diesel locomotives
·
Other
rolling stock and maintenance-of-way vehicles, including velocipedes
·
Passenger
and freight trains
·
Depots
·
Awesome
views of Carrizo Gorge in the desert and Mexico
·
Construction
of the landmark Goat Canyon Trestle in Carrizo Gorge
·
Scenes
filmed in the Gorge for movies
·
A wreck
or two (or three….), including the legendary “Coors wreck!”
·
Collapsed
tunnels
·
Flood
damage to the railroad and its infrastructure (sort of a recurring theme)
·
Fire
damage to the railroad and its infrastructure (ditto)
Many photographs in
the book have never been published before. Some are absolutely incredible!
The SD&A: The Impossible Railroad book
is printed on 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper
that is made and manufactured entirely in the United States. FSC-recognized
products are independently certified that they come from forests that are
managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future
generations.
If you find any
errors or have any comments related to the San Diego & Arizona Railway: The
Impossible Railroad book, the
author would be delighted to hear from you at
Info
[[at]] ImpossibleRailroad [[dot]] com
______________________________________________
CURRENT OPERATIONAL
STATUS OF THE ORIGINAL SD&A ROUTE
San Diego-to-San
Ysidro
San Diego trolley passenger service is
currently operating.
San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad
freight service is currently operating. Also, freight operations continue on
the branch line to El Cajon.
San Ysidro-to-Tecate
Baja California Railroad freight
service is currently operating.
Tecate-to Division
(border tunnel)
No rail service is operating.
Division-to-Campo
No rail service is operating.
Campo-to-Plaster
City (including Carrizo Gorge)
No rail service is operating.
Plaster City-to-El
Centro
Union Pacific freight service is
currently operating.
______________________________________________
Special to folks who read this far…
Click on the link here if you would
like to see interesting trivia
related directly or indirectly to the Impossible Railroad.
Last updated April 27, 2020