The San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway (currently dormant)
Some faraway shots of The Impossible Railroad / SD&AE created by John D. Spreckels. I shot these from McCain Valley OHV Area with my Sigma 600mm lens. One almost expect Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner to show up at any moment.
I shot this photos on October 4, 2017.
The San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Company is a short-line American railroad originally founded in 1906 as the San Diego & Arizona Railway (SD&A) by sugar heir, developer, and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels. Dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by many engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved, the line was established in part to provide San Diego with a direct rail link to the east by connecting with the Southern Pacific Railroad lines in El Centro, California. The SD&A's 146.4-mile (235.61 km) route originates in San Diego, California and terminates in El Centro, California.
The company took over the SD&A's operations in February 1933 after financial troubles led John Spreckels' descendants to sell their interests in the railroad to the Southern Pacific. Through the years natural disasters and vandalism rendered sections of the line unserviceable, and portions of the line have been sold to various interests.
Around 2004, Carrizo Gorge Railway, Inc. spent millions of dollars repairing the tunnels, trestles, and more and trains begin running on the line once again. Only four years later, in 2008, the line was embargoed. I don't believe any trains have traveled the line since then. Tunnels have begun collapsing and weeds are growing between the rails.
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