GOAT CANYON , CALIFORNIA—
UPDATED NOVEMBER, 2003: PLEASE
NOTE
[GETTING THERE][HELPFUL
LINKS]
October, 2003: Engine
#3878 crosses the Goat Canyon Trestle on the "Impossible
Railroad" |
This is a road trip for people who
like to include four-wheeling and hiking in their adventures.
The desert mountains to the east of San Diego include rugged
wilderness areas noted for bighorn sheep, Swainson's hawks,
golden eagles, and oases surrounded by native California palms.
The Carrizo Gorge at the southern edge of Anza-Borrego State
Park is a spectacular chasm and home to the Goat Canyon railroad
trestle. Two hundred feet tall and 750 feet long, it's the
tallest curved wooden trestle ever built in the world.
The construction of the San Diego & Arizona
Eastern Railroad began during World War I in the steep-walled
Carrizo Gorge near the town of Jacumba. Many people were convinced
at the time that it couldn't be done, but John D. Spreckels,
the "Sugar King," didn't rest until the "impossible
track" was completed in November, 1919, at a cost of
US$18 million.
In the eleven-mile stretch between Jacumba
and the desert floor near Ocotillo, the tracks descend only
900 feet while the sheer canyon walls have drops of over 2,000.
The difference was spanned by constructing 16 major tunnels
and 21 trestles including the one across Goat Canyon. Although
the route fell into disuse for a number of years and many
Web sites (even "official" ones) suggest using the
tracks as trails to explore the Carrizo Gorge, the route is
currently being restored by the Carrizo Gorge Railroad. Heavy
equipment and engines use the tracks daily in preparation
for a reopening scheduled for early 2004. The railroad will
provide freight service between the agricultural communities
of Imperial County with the port of San Diego. PLEASE
NOTE: Because of all the activity, hikers and bikers
should not get closer than 100 feet of the tracks, especially
around the tunnels.
In addition to freight service, CGR General
Manager Geoffrey Scheuerman hopes to run an excursion train
through the Carrizo Gorge. If all proceeds as planned, a ride
for visitors should be available by summer of 2004. An interesting
note in the revival of the Carrizo Gorge Railroad is that
its equipment and staff played a vital role during the wildfires
that struck the San Diego area in October 2003. When the California
Department of Forestry requested assistance, CGR employees
used railroad equipment and water tankers to help extinguish
fires set by arsonists along the tracks.
