This is one of the world's largest curved wooden railroad trestles. Built of huge redwood timbers, the trestle is spectacular by any perspective, and almost sacred to railroad buffs. Towering more than 183 feet in height, and spanning more than 633 feet in width, the Goat Canyon Trestle was a triumph of engineering in 1932 and remains so today. This trestle was built after an earthquake destroyed one of the seventeen tunnels that were constructed along the track between 1907 and 1919. Rather than proceed through the same mountain that had the remnants of the previous collapsed tunnel, the railroad engineers elected to bridge Goat Canyon. 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. Recently, however, Baja California Railroad has taken over control of this line and plans to restore freight train service sometime in 2018.
One of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most widely used form of mechanical signal. Designs have altered over the intervening years, and color light signals have replaced semaphore signals in most countries, but in a few remain in use. A few wires still dangle from this pole, but almost all of the rest of the wires have been removed by scavengers. If you look closely, you can see a tunnel that was painstakingly bored into the mountain when this railroad was constructed almost a century ago. Near a switch next to the Goat Canyon Trestle on The Impossible Railroad / SD&AE created by John D. Spreckels in 1919. One almost expects Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner to show up at any moment. 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. Recently, however, Baja California Railroad has taken over control of this line and plans to restore freight train service sometime in 2018.
The Goat Canyon Trestle is among the world's largest curved wooden trestles. Part of The Impossible Railroad / SD&AE built in 1919 by John D. Spreckels. One almost expects Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner to show up at any moment. 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. Recently, however, Baja California Railroad has taken over control of this line and plans to restore freight train service sometime in 2018.
