San Diego &
Arizona Railway:
The
Impossible Railroad
by
Reena Deutsch
TRIVIA PAGE
Each
time a slide show covering the overall history of the Impossible Railroad (Presentation #1) is presented
to a group or organization, a unique interesting fact, supplemental photographs
or stories, an historic tidbit, or an intriguing morsel of gossip (“trivia”) related
directly or indirectly to the Impossible Railroad or Spreckels story but not
included in the book or mentioned or shown to any other audience at previous
presentations is interspersed into the formal presentation. See the list below for those introduced
already and check back later at this site as “trivia” from new programs are
added. Or, better still, attend one of
the upcoming programs or
organize one yourself. Sorry; while
photographs often accompany the Trivia segment, they are not posted here.
If
you have any such “trivia” to share, please email it to
Info
[[at]] ImpossibleRailroad [[dot]]
com
If
it is used in a future presentation, you will be credited. Thank you.
If
you would like to invite author Reena Deutsch to appear at a booksigning,
present a slide show and/or lecture, or participate in other book-related
events, please see Presentations.
1/28/2011
ABDNHA’s 39th Annual Desert Lecture Series, Borrego Springs, CA
The city of San
Ysidro at San Diego County’s southern border with Mexico used to be called “Tia
Juana” (translated as “Aunt Jane”). Note that the name has two words, as
opposed to Baja California’s coastal Mexican border city to its north, Tijuana,
which is just one word.
3/19/2011 Montesoro Naturalist
Club, Canebrake, CA
In 1899, Edward H.
Harriman, President of Southern Pacific Railroad and many other rail lines,
planned, financed, and executed an unparalleled expedition to Alaska. The
purpose was to survey and catalog the plants, animals, marine critters,
glaciers, and geological formations of the Alaskan coast. He assembled
botanists, zoologists, foresters, geologists, photographers, and nature
artists, including the leader of the American conservation movement, John Muir.
This philanthropic side of Harriman was in deep contrast to his
reputation of being in monopolistic control of most of the country’s railroads
causing public fear and mistrust and leading to why his arrangement with John
Spreckels to build the SD&A required secrecy about Harriman’s funding for
its construction.
3/25/2011 San Diego Model
Railroad Association Awards Dinner, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
Llewellyn Iron
Works, an open (non-union) company, was a steel supplier during the original
construction of the SD&A. On Christmas morning in 1910, its factory in Los
Angeles was dynamited and heavily damaged. John J McNamara, an officer in the
International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers union, was
tried for the bombing. His defense attorney, Clarence Darrow, came to realize
that his client was guilty but worked hard to have him acquitted. Eventually
McNamara pleaded guilty to avoid the possibility of getting sentenced to death
if found guilty by the jury.
During the trial,
the defense team’s chief investigator was arrested for bribing a juror, and Darrow
was accused of and later indicted and tried on two counts of jury tampering!
He was acquitted at his trial on the first charge, and he defended himself and
had a hung jury for the second trial. Upon agreeing to no longer practice law
in California, the decision was made to not retry the second case. Darrow was
essentially blacklisted as a labor lawyer and he switched to civil and criminal
law. He went on to become well known for defending teenagers Leopold and Loeb
in a highly publicized murder case in 1924 and was the lead attorney in the
headline-making evolution vs. creationism Scopes Monkey Trial a year later,
arguing against the politically active plaintiff’s attorney William Jennings
Bryan. Bryan died five days after the Scopes trial ended. Darrow became known
as one of the greatest criminal lawyers in American history.
4/29/2011 Universidad Autónama
de Baja California; Course: Globalization in Mexico and its impact on society
and business; Tijuana, Mexico
Adolph
Spreckels owned and bred
horses. He offered various prizes for many horse races (silver cup at the San
Francisco Horse Show of 1895, silver trophy for winning the A.B. Spreckels Cup
at Ingleside race track in San Francisco). He owned the very first California-bred
horse that ever won the Kentucky Derby (Morvich in 1922). For a period of
time, Adolph Spreckels also owned the Tijuana racetrack. Adolph donated prizes
for other competitive sports: SF Kennel Club Show, greyhounds, boxing, polo,
yacht races, and for large touring cars.
5/14/2011 San Diego
Electric Railway Association monthly meeting; National City Depot, National
City, CA
The
Panama-California Exposition of 1915 was planned to take place in San Diego’s
Balboa Park to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. It was to last for
two years and be on the equivalent scale as a “World’s Fair.” John Spreckels
was the exposition’s Vice-President. He donated large sums of money and
promised to provide funding of the exposition if financial difficulty was
encountered. John, with his brother Adolph, offered to donate a large outdoor
organ and pavilion, plus the extended services of an organ tuner and an
organist as well.
As co-owner with
Adolph of the San Diego Electric Railway, John and his fellow businessmen and
real estate investors wanted to put a rail connection through the center of
Balboa Park to allow access to the Panama-California Exposition, in the short
term, and, in the long term, to allow commuter traffic from downtown San Diego
to the opposite side of Balboa Park then being developed. This would require
the location of the expedition to be moved from its original planned site. Spreckels
is alleged to have held back the offer of the Organ Pavilion and the
fulfillment of his pledges to the Exposition fund until he was assured the
expedition site would be relocated and the railway would be built. The Park
Commission approved the railway in October 1913, leading to the resignation of
the expedition’s landscape architect John C. Olmsted.
5/25/2011 Julian
Historical Society monthly meeting, Julian, CA
Adolph Bernard
Spreckels (1857-1924)
became President of Spreckels Sugar Company in 1908 after dad Claus’s death. He
served as San Francisco’s Park Commissioner and was heavily involved with the
development of Golden Gate Park. In 1884 he shot Michael de Young, the
editor and co-founder of the San Francisco Chronicle, supposedly because of a
newspaper article that claimed the Spreckels family had a monopoly on the sugar
business and was profiting from improper influence with federal officials and
the Hawaiian royal family. Spreckels pleaded temporary insanity to attempted
murder and was found insane and acquitted.
10/9/2011 San Diego
Electric Railway Association Street Faire/Get Together!, National City, CA
Elisha Babcock,
Jr. and Hampton Story broke ground for Hotel Del Coronado in 1887,
followed by a financial bust. Investors left town. John Spreckels, at
age 34 and a multimillionaire, took over the Hotel Del project and
construction took only 11 months to complete. It was reported that Spreckels
imported china from Paris, linen from Scotland, glassware from Belgium, and
toilet seats from England. Since then, President Benjamin Harrison stayed at
the Hotel Del in 1891, and many other presidents as well. Even England’s Prince
of Wales visited the hotel in 1920.
Source: http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/travel/travel-and-adventure/coronado-a-magical-island-paradise.html
11/16/2011 Chula Vista
Live Steamers, National City, CA
John D. Spreckels’
younger brother and silent partner Adolph had syphilis, acquired before
his marriage to wife Alma. Adolph never passed the illness on to Alma, perhaps
because the syphilis was in remission.
12/16/2011 Sierra Club
Monthly Meeting, San Diego, CA
Dos Cabezas
NOTE: Photographs shown are not posted here.
Dos Cabezas:
1915-built
and used as a survey camp while Carrizo Gorge was being surveyed
1916-used
as a construction camp
1919-used
as a maintenance and repair station until the early 1950s
Quarters
for the section crew [photo]
Water
was pumped in through pipes from Dos Cabezas Spring about 2 miles away.
Peter
J Pappas was the section foreman at Dos Cabezas 1934 - 1938
Two-bedroom
house for the section foreman [photo]
His
2 daughters pictured hugging the “Dos Cabezas” sign are probably in their 70s
or 80s if they are still around. [photo]
1930s
- ramp over wash leading up to the foreman’s house, later covered with very
deep snow at Dos Cabezas [photos]
1916
- 40,000-gallon redwood tank and tower built for $1,318.88
1946
(30,000-gallon?) steel tank replaced the wooden one and cost $1,288.88. The
original base still stands. Note the overly wide base. [photo]
1951
- Barnes, Dos Cabezas foreman, on a gang car
[photo]
Changes
to the water tank over time [photos]
Original
construction - telegraph used
1940s
- telephones replaced telegraph; Booths dot the line’s route and one is still
at Dos Cabezas, heavily vandalized.
[photos]
Crew quarters now in ruins
[photos]
1950s (and earlier) - limestone and marble mined nearby
There was a plant that screened and bagged the mined material, with
the building’s concrete slab still to the left of the ramp [photo]
2/23/2012 Coronado
Historical Association and Museum, Coronado, CA
Lillian Harriet
Holbrook Belcher Hamilton
Harriet was born
in San Francisco circa 1912 as the only child of Lillian Caroline Spreckels
Wegeforth, the daughter of John D. Spreckels. Thus, Harriet was Spreckels’s
grandchild. She moved to Coronado at age 7 and grew up there.
Harriet married
Frank Garretson Belcher in 1930. He was, among having other positions, a
director of the Coronado Riding Club and the Coronado National Horse Show
Association. In the early 1940s, Belcher was in the Navy reserves. He was
assigned to keep an eye on certain people in the area around the naval bases in
San Diego and North Island.
Harriet was a good
Navy wife. She took care of her three little boys (She later had a daughter,
too.), but she also decoded communications to the US embassy, watched the
coast, and tried to identify Axis agents through all possible means. Essentially,
John D. Spreckels’ granddaughter was a spy! She participated in
diplomatic and armed services functions and made many contacts, even on a
purely social basis, affording innumerable opportunities for intelligence-gathering.
She carried a tiny Minox camera (a sub-miniature camera originally designed to
be a luxury item but which gained notoriety as a spy camera) and became an
expert at fast shots of people and documents. The manager of the Hotel del
Coronado was bringing in titled “guests” from Germany and Italy who, as it
turned out, were spying on naval operations and intelligence in San Diego and
North Island. Harriet’s and Frank’s work led to the manager and his “guests” being
asked to leave California!
Harriet moved to
Atherton in the San Francisco Peninsular area in 1946. She wrote four books,
three on family history and another on Chinese snuff bottles. Later, she
divorced Belcher and married Edward Morse Hamilton. Harriet, who was known
regionally as a philanthropist, died from Alzheimer’s disease at 85 years old
on March 15, 1997, at home.
Source: Marlborough
Spring 1987. Harriet Holbrook Hamilton ’29, Appreciating the Many Forms of the
Beautiful, p . 16-19.
Bonus after the
program…. John D. Spreckels’s great-granddaughter was in the audience and
introduced herself to me! Her opening line: “You showed a picture of my
mother!” (During the credits and expressions of my gratitude at the end of my
program, I show JDS with his grandchildren). What a treat!
5/25/2012 Imperial County
Historical Society/Pioneers Museum, Imperial, CA
Exerpts were read from various sources, mostly from
the excellent book Tropical Storm Kathleen written by CALTRANS Public
Information Officer James L. Larson shortly after Hurricane Kathleen wreaked
havoc in southern CA and elsewhere in 1976. Damage in Imperial Valley was
devastating. Dramatic photographs from the book and other sources of the
devastation in Kathleen’s wake were shown at the time of the readings.
Hurricane
Kathleen
NOTE: Photographs shown are not posted
here.
The week of
9/5/1976, tropical storm Kathleen was off the coast of Baja CA, Mexico, the
eleventh storm of the season. The force of the storm moved it further north in
Baja and at various times was up- or down-graded as a tropical storm, tropical
depression, and hurricane. It was rapidly heading towards CA. Flash flood
warnings were announced in parts of SD, Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino
Counties. Rain, heavy at times, fell througout the day and night, accompanied
by strong winds.
In Jacumba, rain
began falling heavily about midnight of the 9th and continued all
morning into the 10th. As dawn broke the rain intensified.
Kathleen
concentrated along the Laguna Mountain range, about ½-way between El Centro and
SD. Rain from the storm fell very heavily on the eastern slopes of the Laguna
Mountains, 8-10 inches of rain in as many hours. The rocky surfaces, barren
slopes, and sandy washes of the mountains caused almost all of the fallen water
to run off rapidly to the desert below, heading toward interstate 8, upgraded
to freeway standards merely two years previously.
There were swollen
creeks, water surging over the roadway in several locations, and traffic
stopped. Nothing was there to hold the water back.
A CHP officer
reported, “Water was pouring off cut slopes like waterfalls, but what was most
alarming were the rocks and boulders falling on the road.”
Myers Creek, one
of the main washes draining the Lagunas, parallels and crosses the eastbound
lanes of Interstate 8 four times and continues easterly towards the town of
Ocotillo. Myers Creek, normally dry, had swollen into a raging river.
Large sections of
asphalt pavement crumbled and joined the water in the race toward the desert
floor.
Records were
broken for the volume of water through Myers Canyon: 10-15’ deep, 20-40’ wide,
flowing with velocity up to 25-30 mph, forcing huge boulders to rumble along.
Water was everywhere; the noise was deafening.
A huge section of roadway
gave way, and the 50’-high fill just slipped into the creek.
A CHP officer saw
the north end of the 150’-long Myers Creek bridge fall after high waves pounded
into it every 2-3 minutes, splashing water high over the top.
A pickup truck and
station wagon were swept off the road near the bridge and tumbled downstream.
Two girls miraculously managed to free themselves from the truck and waded to
higher ground. Both the truck and wagon finally stopped ½-mile downstream,
completely demolished. The driver of the wagon was unable to get out and his
body was found hours later in a mud bank, 2 miles away in Ocotillo. Three
would-be rescuers were swept away, but survived, although one was hurt and had
to be rescued himself.
Now, to the
railroad. SD&AE tracks parallel the freeway downstream for ¼-mile. Water
slammed into the 10-15’-high roadbed in many places, twisting the rails and
burying some sections. The floodwaters carried RR ties and metal culverts along
with the rocks and sand.
When the wall of
water reached Ocotillo, it was 5’ deep and ½-mile wide. The high ground in
Ocotillo was near the freeway at the south end of town. There was a depression
in the middle of town, but folks there never thought of it as a major wash.
Actually, though, it was the downstream portion of Myers creek and sitting
right smack in the path of the racing flash floodwaters.
Structures and
trailers were torn off their foundations; vehicles were overturned, furniture,
propane tanks, trash barrels, and household items all floated by.
One Imperial
County Deputy Sheriff, Sergeant Billy Hall, helped rescue 25 people from their
homes during the heavy flooding. The rescue vehicle couldn’t stop or it would
get stuck in the mud, so somebody circled around with it as he waded into the water
and brought people out, trying to load them in to the 4WD Blazer while it was
constantly moving. People refused to leave unless they could bring their
animals, cages, heavy oxygen bottles, and other valuables with them.
While the depth of
the water passing through town was 4-5’, occasional 3’ waves would pass
through, up-ending even the 240-pound sheriff.
The next morning,
Saturday, 9/11, Myers Creek was dry, CALTRANS bulldozers were unloaded, detour
stakes were pointing out the new alignment, men and equipment were already
hired and brought in from El Centro, and clean-up and repair work began.
Sections of roadway were silted across both lanes up to 6’ deep, rock slides
littered around, and culverts were blocked with sand. Interstate 8 was patched together
with a detour route by the following Friday, but damage increased the 2-hour
drive between San Diego and El Centro by at least one hour. 3 months later,
evidence of Kathleen still remained.
Ocotillo faced a
tremendous amount of damage.
Clean-up was an
extensive project in Ocotillo. Major structural damage was high, but most
residents stayed and began improving their properties, although some merely
walked off.
This newly
designed house under construction will replace the only house in Ocotillo covered
by flood insurance. (Setzer home, Cactus Street)
Tropical storm
Kathleen was the first such storm to hit CA in 37 years.and caused damage
throughout parts of Imperial County’s farmland.
As the storm
passed through, it left in its wake 10 people dead: 3 in Imperial County, 6 in
Mexico, and 1 in Yuma, AZ. Hundreds of homes were damaged, and there were heavy
crop losses.
On a positive
note, an early man site was found in the face of a bank eroded by floodwaters.
The 75’ deep site was thought to be, perhaps, 100,000 years old or more. Over
80 rock tools wer found. Pieces of human bones were found in close association
with the tools. Artifacts were placed at the IVC museum.
[NOTE: An audience member
mentioned that the artifacts were stolen from the IVC museum some time ago.]
Source: Tropical Storm
Kathleen. James L. Larson, CALTRANS Information Officer, San Diego, CA.
9/24/2012 Temecula Valley
Historical Society
SAN DIEGO &
ARIZONA EASTERN RAILWAY #050
CARRISO GORGE
Business Car 050
This historic car
was built by The Pullman Car & Mfg.Corp. in 1910 and converted into a
business car for SD&A president John D.Spreckels in 1922. The interior was
rebuilt, with a solarium lounge; office; two bedrooms with sink, toilet, and
connecting tub bath; dining room; stall shower; galley; pantry; and steward's
quarters with berth and toilet. It was numbered SDA #050, and named Carriso
Gorge.
Abraham Lincoln's
son, Robert Todd Lincoln, was counsel for Pullman and became President of the
company after George M. Pullman died. An incident occurred on a train platform
in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1864 or 1865, shortly before John Wilkes Booth
assassinated President Lincoln.
The platform was
about the height of the railcar floor, with a narrow space between the platform
and the car body. Lincoln was pressed against the car body by the large crowd,
the train began to move, and he was twisted off his feet and dropped down the
opening with feet downward and was helpless. At that moment, his coat collar
was vigorously seized and he was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing
on the platform. Upon turning to thank his rescuer, he recognized that it was a
very famous actor of the time, Edwin Booth, who happened to be John Wilkes
Booth’s brother. Booth did not know the identity of the man whose life he
had saved until some months later. The fact that he had saved the life of
Abraham Lincoln's son was said to have been of some comfort to Edwin Booth
following his brother's assassination of the president.
Sources:
1992 Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association. W.
Schneider http://psrm.org/roster/passenger/carriso/index.html; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Todd_Lincoln
10/10/2012 Oasis,
Escondido, CA
Grape Day started
in 1908 as a way to celebrate Escondido's grape harvest and promote the city.
Its popular annual parade included marching bands, walking groups, equestrians,
and decorated automobiles and floats.
The SD&A
entered floats in at least a few parades. In 1923, the San Diego &
Arizona Railway float, decorated with a lush arrangement of roses,
carnations, and ferns, won first prize in the commercial category. The
fancy float was designed by the roadmaster and clerk for the SD&A, Ernest
Settles, and glorified the railroad industry.
Source: Stephen A.
Covey, Images of America: Early Escondido, the Louis A. Havens Collection 2008.
Arcadia: South Carolina;p. 85.
11/16/2012 Historical
Society of Palm Desert
Excerpts
from:
Mountain
Heritage, The Back Country’s Historical Digest, “Working in Carrizo Gorge” by
William F. (Bill) Garber, Sr. Volume 22 Number 2, Spring 2008, p. 9. (Courtesy of Mountain
Empire Historical Society)
Note:
William Garber was born 1898; He surveyed Carrizo Gorge in the summer of 1915
while in high school.
There were many
sticky financial and political problems that had to be resolved, but they were
a breeze compared to the basic engineering problems inherent in conquering a
terrain so rugged that it is still looked upon as the most difficult project
ever undertaken by any railroad in America; it was known as the railroad that
was impossible to build.
The Southern
Pacific, known locally as the San Diego & Arizona Railway Company, was
having so much trouble finding experienced men for the job that they were
hiring anyone who could open the door and walk across the employment office. I
passed this test and was signed on as an Engineering Aide at $35.00 dollars a
month.
Later on we were
right at the head of the Gorge at the end of Jacumba valley. There was a
homestead there owned by a fellow by the name of Hartunge. On this homestead
was a great big rock, oh about 15 or 20 feet high, it looked like a great big
egg. It had a big split with a bee hive right in the middle. Crazy Jim decided
to get the honey out of that beehive. So he sticks a stick of dynamite in there
and ignites it and the egg opened up and rolled over top of ole Jim and
flattened him like a rug, deader than a peanut. That was the end of ole Jim
Kane!”
The myriad of
rocks are unbelievable, like as if they came from the beginning of time and go
on to eternity.
If there wasn’t
one rattle snake stretched out along a thin line of shade, there were two.
Better that there were two, for if not, one would undoubtedly be hidden from
view.
Nights were as
cold as Helena, Montana. To try and keep warm, I slept on the Sunday’s edition
of the Los Angeles Times and under seven army blankets.
Finally the actual
time on the job was getting so short it was decided to move camp to Dos Cabazas
[sic] near the end of the Gorge on the desert floor. What a miserable place;
three mesquite trees, sidewinders, ordinary diamond backs and chuckwallas, some
spot!
Heat, rocks and
dirt; that is the Carrizo Gorge. Nothing crawled over this land except the San
Diego & Arizona Railway.
4/1/2013 Reuben H. Fleet
Science Center
1965 derailment
In 1965, there was
a derailment in Carrizo Gorge on the way to San Diego, as the train was coming
out of the Tunnel 7 bypass curves.
Among the cargo
being hauled by that train were supplies that were scheduled to be used in the
construction of, what was then to be, the new Pearson Ford dealership at the
corner of Fairmount Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard in East San Diego. Riding in
flatbed truck semi-trailers that were loaded onto piggyback flatcars, precast concrete
beams destined for the Pearson Ford dealership were jettisoned off the train,
with their trailers, and landed somewhere on their way down to, or at, the
bottom of the Gorge. The trailers were recovered, but not the concrete beams.
The dealership’s
Grand Opening event had to be delayed.
Even today, some
may have heard about this derailment, but not because of the Pearson Ford
connection but because of that train’s more memorable cargo, 2 refrigerated
containers of Coors beer (photo of the “Coors wreck” in the book).
Source: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1356735
(Michael Reading)
4/18/2013 Reuben H. Fleet
Science Center
1983 derailment
NOTE: Photographs shown are not posted
here.
In the first half
of 1983, Kyle Railways was the freight operator. A westbound train came through
Carrizo Gorge one night, headed for San Diego. It derailed, and a few cars
slipped off the track. One car, a 50-foot Southern Pacific (SP) boxcar,
dropped over the edge and ended up on its side; a second 50-foot SP boxcar
stayed upright alongside the track but was damaged. Both boxcars were loaded
full with 100-pound sacks of cement. The upright car’s cargo was fully
unloaded. The car on its side became too unstable and only some of its load was
recovered. The decision was made to abandon both boxcars. The upright one
was shoved over the side. Today, 30 years later, the boxcars remain perched
precariously on the steep, rocky hillside.
Source:
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1356735 (Michael Reading)
11/8/2013 Imperial Valley
Desert Museum, Ocotillo, CA
China Camp
NOTE: Photographs shown are not posted
here.
When visiting the area, please respect all
artifacts found there. Do not touch, take, modify, or impact the important part
of history that this area represents in railroad and regional history.
Dos Cabezas: an
historically significant area associated with the SD&A Railway.
According to a
first-person article from an SDSU college student who worked as a surveyor for
the SD&A in the summer of 1915, the railroad survey team moved to Dos
Cabezas and was described as “What a miserable place; three mesquite trees,
sidewinders, ordinary diamond backs and chuckwallas, some spot!”1 A
stream came down between the two heads, and Dos Cabezas Spring provided a
reliable water source.
In 1916, it was
used as a construction camp, and, starting in 1919, it was used as a
maintenance and repair station until the early 1950s. The maintenance and
repair station is along the mainline tracks.
[photos]
In 2011, sone of
the buildings looked like this. [photos]
Original
construction had telegraph “booths,” but the switch was made to telephones in
the 1940s. [photos]
There is
historical and archaeological documentation of a construction camp (“China
Camp”) on the San Diego & Arizona Railway. A survey was done for the
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park by Kevin B. Hallaran, Karen K. Swope, and Philip
J. Wilke in January 19892. This site is not at the same place as the
more recent camps but is in the same vicinity.
Some items
described in the survey include:
A large drum-shape
concrete object 75 cm. wide and 74 cm. in diameter, with an estimated weight of
650 kg. An iron rod more than 2 cm. thick extends through the axis of the
object and protrudes 11 cm. on either end. It was made by pouring concrete into
a mold, and it appears to have had smooth cement or mortar applied to its
exterior. Scored into the wet cement on one end is “April 22, 1919” and the
initials “BBB.” The smooth exterior rules out the possibility that it is a
roller of some sort. It may be a counterweight, but its function has not been
ascertained. [photo]
Metal can dumps
and other debris are scattered in such a manner as to suggest the castoffs from
small groups of workers subsisting primarily on canned goods. Little evidence
of cooking or food preparation (pots, pans, dishes, spice and condiment
containers) was found. We believe engineering and survey parties may have
camped here for short periods of time, but perhaps over the course of several
years. The way the cans were opened suggests that field personel ate directly
from the can on a fairly regular basis. The remains thus point to use of the
China Camp area prior to the time it served as an actual railway construction
camp. [photo]
The primary
structural feature to attract public attention at China Camp is the ruin of a
building constructed of masonry and black blasting powder containers.
Remains of the structure indicate that it originally was built with four
substantial stone masonry corner columns. Rocks used in this masonry construction
include those of basalt and other material not common in the immediate
vicinity. The cans were set in mortar after each had been filled with sand and
gravel and the opening cemented shut (still visible in 2003). Succcessive
layers of cans were staggered. The structure originally stood about 3 m (10 ft)
high and was placed slightly out of sight behind an outcrop of rock.
Originally, an estimated 450-500 powder containers were used in construction of
the building, but most of these are now missing. Doubtless the powder cans used
in this bulding are castoffs from construction of the railroad grade and
tunnels. The function of the structure is unknown. It was noted in the survey
that a trail or road runs to the powder can structure from the east. [photos]
One site consists
of a wooden frame with a pipe crossbar. The frame or “rack” consists of two
upright timbers slightly over 2 m. high, separated by 1.4 m., and spanned by 1½
in. pipe. Its function has not been determined. [photo]
In what appears to
be the main residential area of the camp is a riveted, corrugated metal
conduit, open at the top, 94 cm. in diameter, and resembling a cistern or well
head. A few timbers lay around the feature, and there are also several large
stones in the area. [photo]
Two concrete
cistern-like structures, identical to one another, are located north of the
previously described metal conduit. These features are similarly configured,
with sloping bottoms, and each has rocks placed in the ground around the rim.
They each measure 119 cm. in diameter and 107 cm. deep. They differ from the
metal feature in that the openings are flush with the present ground surface,
and have always, apparently, been so. Stains on the insides of the walls of
these features suggest that water stood at various levels at some time in the
past. The function is unknown. [photo]
In another complex
assemblage of structural remains, cut into the hillside, is a semi-subterranean
structure of local rock measuring 6 x 7 m., with the floor 60 cm. below ground
level. The structure once had a low, gabled roof. Ben Wyly of Jacumba
(SD&AE track maintenance supervisor 1937-1979) related that this was the
location of a mess hall. [photos]
It would seem
reasonable to suggest that a residential area was established at the site of
China Camp for a sizeable construction crew engaged in boring Tunnel 20, and
perhaps also adjacent Tunnels 19 and 21, as well as nearby sections of the
railway grade. This area is high and flat, and is the only suitable place in
the vicinity. Situated in a small pass, it would have been cooler and more
breezy than anywhere nearer the railway alignment. It was also located along an
established wagon road which would have been important for transport of food,
water, supplies, and equipment.
China Camp was
dismantled after the line was put into service (The Park survey says about
1917, but construction of Carrizo Gorge was completed in 1919, so probably
wrong)
The survey
mentions that a bedrock mortar and pestle and a scatter of aboriginal pottery
sherds are present. [photos]
Sources:
1Mountain
Heritage Volume 22 Number 2 Spring 2008
(a publication of the Mountain Empire Historical Society
2Kevin B.
Hallaran, Karen K. Swope, and Philip J. Wilke. Historical and archaeological
documentation of a construction camp (“China Camp”) on the San Diego &
Arizona Railway, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County, California.
January 1989. UCRARU No. 943
1/21/2014 Oasis,
Penasquitos Library, San Diego, CA
NOTE: Photographs shown are
not posted here.
The Spreckels’
“beach house” mansion
After John D.
Spreckels moved to San Diego from San Francisco, in 1907 he began construction
of two mansions in Coronado. One, sometimes known as his “bay-side house,” was
across the street from his Hotel del Coronado and was the one he lived in
starting in 1908. It eventually became the Glorietta Bay Inn. [photos]
His second mansion
was built a few blocks away at 1043 Ocean Bouldevard on 5 acres. [photo]
It was constructed
in the Italian Renaissance Revival style as a “beach house” for his family. He
later gave it to one of his sons, Claus, as a wedding gift in 1910. Claus’s
wife, Ellie Moon Spreckels, added a 3,000 square foot unit at the rear of the
property to serve as a guest house in 1928 and she lived there until her death
in 1967 (Claus died in 1946 at age 88). The Prince of Wales, the future King
Edward VIII, was served tea here during his 1920 visit to Coronado. Both of
the mansions were constructed with thick reinforced concrete to withstand
earthquakes.The “beach house” was under Spreckels family ownership until 1970
when it was sold to outsiders. The 6,600-square-foot house was named a Coronado
historical landmark in 1982.
In March 2007,
millionaire Jonah Shacknai, CEO and founder of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. in
Arizona, bought the 12,750-square-foot Spreckels compound for $12.75 million.
In July 2011,
Shacknai's 6-year-old son, Max, was severely injured in a second-story fall
down the stairs while under the supervision of Shacknai's girlfriend, 32 year old
Rebecca Zahau. [photos]
Tragically, Max
was pronounced dead in a San Diego hospital five days after his fall.
Shacknai's ex-wife and Max's mother, Dina Shacknai, publicly questioned
authorities' assertion that Max's death was an accident. She formally requested
that the investigation into Max's death be reopened, but authorities denied the
request. [photo]
Meanwhile, two
days after Max’s fall, while Max remained hospitalized, Zahau's naked body was
found bound and hanging by the neck from a second story balcony. Her feet were
tied and her hands tied behind her. The Coronado Sheriff’s department declared
it a suicide, but Zahau's family pushed for further investigation. The case was
closed and remained listed as a suicide, although in July 2013, Zahau’s family
filed a $10 M federal wrongful death suit claiming murder. Mystery still
continues to remain surrounding both deaths. Ironically, Spreckels' Hotel del
Coronado has been said to be haunted for many years because of the suicides
committed by two women there. According to some, their ghosts still remain.
Following the
deaths, Jonah Shacknai sold the 27-room mansion for $9 million to a group of
investors who remodeled the house for resale. That was one of the 10 most
expensive homes sold in San Diego county
in 2013. [photo]
The property was
listed and includes the four-bedroom beach house that John D. Spreckels built
in 1908, now renovated and with upscale furnishings, the three-bedroom
guesthouse that his son Claus and wife Ellie built in 1928, and two apartments
above the garage. The 10,500 square feet of living space includes 10 bedrooms
and 11 bathrooms plus a four-car garage and a 1,000-square-foot basement.
Initially, the property was listed for $16.9 million which was raised to $17.9
million in reaction to subsequent sustained interest. [photos]
Sources:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Hotel-Del-Coronado-Beach-cropped.jpg
http://www.gloriettabayinn.com/about-us/history-of-the-inn/
http://coronadovisitorcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/pdf3-architecturalgems_bw_123011.pdf
http://www.10news.com/news/spreckels-mansion-in-coronado-remodeled-up-for-sale-051613
Lynne
Carrier, “Polishing an Oceanfront Gem,” Coastal
San Diego Homes July 20, 2013; p. 4,6,8
http://www.cbs8.com/story/21676206/spreckels-mansion-expected-to-hit-market-at-169m
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Dec/20/spreckels-mansion-suicide-listing/
9/6/2014 Pacific
Southwest Region National Model Railroad Association 2014 Convention, San
Diego, CA
Claus Spreckels
(1828 – 1908), John D’s father.
He purchased
40,000 acres on the Island of Maui in Hawaii. In 1883, Spreckels purchased the
entire Hawaiian crop of sugar to refine at his San Francisco plant. When he
incorporated the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company with $10 million capital
in 1884, it included four sugar mills, some 35 miles of railroad with
equipment, a water reservoir, and the most advanced canal system in the Pacific
region. With this addition to his holdings, Spreckels had assembled a veritable
“sugar empire” that produced much cheaper sugar than competitors. This Hawaiian
enterprise made Spreckels a multi-millionaire with a fortune estimated at $12
to 25 million in the late 1880s. By March of 1891, Spreckels was the confirmed
sugar king of the West.
To transport bulk
cargo, Claus Spreckels was also engaged in several railroad ventures. Maui was
developed with the help of a narrow gauge railroad network, now merely a
tourist attraction. From 1890, the Pajaro Valley Railroad Company connected
Watsonville and the Pacific Ocean, providing a convenient transportation option
for beets, farm products, and passengers. With the San Francisco and San
Joaquin Valley Railroad Co., incorporated in 1895, Spreckels broke the
monopoly of the Southern Pacific Railway. In 1897, the Pajaro Valley
Consolidated Railroad linked the Watsonville and Spreckels plants, while the
Bakersfield and Los Angeles Railway Company closed the gap with the San
Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad, helping to develop middle and southern
California. Spreckels’ last investment was the purchase of the National City
& Otay Railroad for $700,000 two years before his death. Driven by his
sugar interests, Spreckels’ investments in these other industries improved the
infrastructure of his home state, where he was able to benefit from the
economic rise of California agriculture.
Source:
http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=5
10/9/2015 Outdoor
Adventure USA annual BorregoFest
Goat Canyon
Trestle
NOTE: Photographs
shown are not posted here.
Photos of the Goat
Canyon Trestle taken during the recent (November 2014 and March 2015)
sanctioned hikes along the SD&A(E) hikes through Carrizo Gorge to the Goat
Canyon Trestle were shown, taking the audience through what they would have experienced
at the Goat Canyon Trestle and adjacent New Tunnel #15 and Tunnel #16 if they
had participated in those hike experiences. Expansive and breathtaking views,
intricacies and details of the wooden bents and support beams holding up the
awesome trestle, remnants of a complex firefighting system, trails around the
tunnels, rusted out old equipment, and the shakey, risky, wobbly, uneven, broken,
patched up, damaged, sometimes repaired, disintegrating, rotted,
pieced-together, walking surfaces over the magnificent, but scary as hell,
Goat Canyon Trestle!
3/4/2017 Anza-Borrego Desert
Natural History Association at PSRM
Surveying in
Carrizo Gorge
NOTE: Dozens of photographs
of austere, arid, and awesomely beautiful modern-day Carrizo Gorge were shown
while the following excerpts were read. The narrative gives a brief glimpse
into what life was like for those brave, hard-working men who sought and
determined the 11-track miles route through the rugged steep canyon between the
In-Ko-Pah and Jacumba mountains in the early 1900s.
Excerpts
from:
Mrs.
Isabelle Ferguson, Surveying for the San Diego and Arizona, Dispatcher, Railway
Historical Society of San Diego, California, Issue 22, December 20, 1958.
NOTE: Isabelle Ferguson was
the widow of the late Frank Ferguson who was in charge of field engineering for
the San Diego & Arizona Railway
Experts had called this particular
“dream” the “Impossible Railroad,” on account of the dangerous and practically
inaccessible terrain through the Laguna mountain range. So, to accomplish such an undertaking nothing
less than just that – the “impossible” must be tackled.
That is where this bit of history
comes in, the story of surveying for that impossible railroad…
It was hard to realize the gruelling
progress the men were able to make day by day.
Truly, Carrizo Gorge could have been one of the Creator’s dumping
places. Nothing but rock formations of
every conceivable size, shape and kind lined the sides of this thousand foot
deep canyon…
They scaled huge boulders and sheer
rock walls. Many times this would only
be accomplished by rope, often slipping or falling---sometimes into a nest of
yucca spikes or sliding down on their seats. At lunch time, they squatted on sizzling stone
slabs to eat their hot melted sandwiches and drink, sparingly, hot water from
the canteens…
Each man had to stumble and scramble
along, carrying his own bare personal necessities…
The sheer enclosure of the canyon
walls through living rock with burning sun overhead seemed the nearest to Hades
as they might ever hope to see…
… the men had to wash their socks in
the water they saved from washing their faces, after a suffocating hot day’s
work.
Where rattlesnakes abounded and even
found comfortable rendezvous when they discovered what nice cosy spots could be
had under the sleeping bags at night…
For evening relaxation or occasional
recreation, some of the party would attempt to recline comfortably on solid
rock daybeds, others practiced shooting at chollas cactus targets, some took
pictures.
…There were thunder and lightning
storms, cloudbursts, hot east winds and many catastrophes more or less
dangerous.
Some Old Timers can still hear the
loud clanging music of the steam caliope that rode the first engine across the
desert (now Imperial Valley) on the memorable day, November 15, 1919, when John
D. Spreckels drove the golden spike.
5/24/2018 CityFront Terrace
Homeowner’s Association
Trains and
Watches
In 1886, when he
was 23 years old, Richard was a telegraph operator in the North Redwood, Minnesota,
train station for the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. He was on duty one day
when a load of watches arrived from the East. It was a huge crate of pocket
watches. The addressee never came to claim them. So Richard sent a telegram to
the manufacturer who didn’t want to pay the freight to get them back, so
Richard was asked if he could sell them.
Richard sent a
wire to every agent in the system asking if they wanted a cheap, but good,
pocket watch. He sold the entire case in less than two days and at a handsome
profit. That started it all. He ordered more watches from the watch company and
encouraged the telegraph operators to offer high quality watches for a cheap
price to all the travelers. It worked. It didn’t take long for word to spread
and, before long, people other than travelers came to the train station to buy
watches. So it was in 1886, Richard began a mail-order watch business in
Minneapolis. The following year, he moved his business to Chicago and became so
busy that he had to hire a professional watch maker to help him with the
orders. The watch maker's name was Alvah. In 1893 Richard Sears and Alvah
Roebuck incorporated as Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Sources:
http://thesouthern.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/davidson-train-stations-were-the-best-source-for-watches-in/article_eb6e31ae-0bce-5090-a56d-5ff926a4f232.html
(accessed 5/13/2018) Jim Davidson, The
Southern Illinoisan July 19, 2014
http://www.searsarchives.com/history/history1886.htm
http://www.searsarchives.com/history/history1887.htm
12/14/2018 Coachella
Valley Archaeolgocial Society, Palm Desert, CA
Jamul Kumeyaay
tribal land
“In addition to
the formalized eighteen federal reservations that served as home to a majority
of San Diego County Indians in the early 1900s, there were pockets of families
that lived off the federal reservations. Perhaps foremost among these was the
Jamul village or ranchería. Located in the Jamul (Hamuul, sweet water) Valley along the old stage road linking San
Diego County to Yuma and Baja California, this settlement was the remnant of a
much larger village that dates back before the arrival of the Spaniards and one
that played an active role in early San Diego history.
“By 1920 the
Jamul village had drastically shrunk and was concentrated on six acres of land
controlled by the Catholic Church and on land given to the Jamul people by
John D. Spreckels, the sugar magnate and financier. Spreckels, who owned
the sprawling Rancho Jamul land grant, had a special relationship with the
Indians of the area. Many of them, including Antonio Cuero, uncle of Isabel
Thing and a leader in the Kumeyaay community, worked for Spreckels on
several of his Coronado projects including construction of the famed Hotel Del
Coronado in 1886. Spreckels learned that the Jamul Indians were
considered to be squatters on their own land and they, as well as other
non-reservation Indians were in jeopardy of becoming entirely homeless. Spreckels
deeded acreage to the Catholic Church to be held in trust for the Kumeyaay of
Jamul. The Catholic Church subsequently turned the land over to the tribe for
their exclusive use. Following federal guidelines, the six acres were then
transformed from fee land to trust land and gained recognition as federally
administered tribal land.”
Source:
Richard
Carrico, Strangers in a Stolen Land, Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, 2008; p.
171.
To go to
the Impossible
Railroad’s home page, click here.
.
Last updated April 27, 2020