Friends of Carrizo Gorge Scenic Railroad

On this day 70 years ago the last scheduled passenger train made its way through Carrizo Gorge. Only a handful of special excursions have been made since then. The hope is that one day passenger trains may once again return to this spectacular stretch of railroad.

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s hoping for a brighter year in 2021.Happy New Year everyone! Here’s hoping for a brighter year in 2021.

We’ve passed the 500 likes milestone! Thank you to all who have liked and shared this page so far! Keep it up!We’ve passed the 500 likes milestone! Thank you to all who have liked and shared this page so far! Keep it up!

Westbound SP freight led by an F-unit crosses Goat Canyon Trestle in 1966. Photo by Eric R. Swanson, R.V. Dodge collection.

March 1977 issue of Rail Classics magazine featuring the San Diego and Arizona Eastern following Hurricane Kathleen, including some great shots of Southern Pacific freights traversing Carrizo Gorge.

400 likes! Thank you to all who have liked and followed this page so far.400 likes! Thank you to all who have liked and followed this page so far.

It’s so great seeing all the engagement this page has been getting recently. Thank you all for following, liking and sharing this page with your friends and helping spread the idea of passenger trains one day returning to Carrizo Gorge!It’s so great seeing all the engagement this page has been getting recently. Thank you all for following, liking and sharing this page with your friends and helping spread the idea of passenger trains one day returning to Carrizo Gorge!

A couple photos of Jacumba taken this past weekend.

1949 Pacific Railroad Society excursion through Carrizo Gorge.

Exploring the tunnels of Carrizo Gorge from De Anza Springs to Goat Canyon Trestle, including the collapsed Tunnel 15. Video posted August 23, 2020. https://youtu.be/RsPSCcvTURA

Exploring around the Jacumba railyard. Photos by Brian Adams.

Latest photos from Jacumba. Photos by Quinn Sharp 8/14/2020.

The San Diego and Arizona Railway connected San Diego, CA with El Centro, CA. A significant portion of the line was located within Mexican territory, and the co...mpany Ferrocarril Tijuana y Tecate was formed for this stretch of the line. Chartered in 1906, construction delays, attacks by Mexican Revolutionaries, and World War I, pushed the completion date of the line to 1919. Dubbed the "Impossible Railroad" for its route through the Carrizo Gorge, the route allowed San Diego to connect to Southern Pacific's Transcontinental line at El Centro, CA, as opposed to Riverside, 88 miles to the north. The SD&A fell into receivership in 1932 and was transferred to the Southern Pacific. That same year, a new shortline, the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway was formed to run the route. Easily the most iconic portion of the route is the Goat Canyon Trestle, built in 1933 after other tunnels along the route had collapsed. While it is a favorite among those who like to explore abandoned railroads, the line is not actually abandoned. The line has been out-of-service in the United States since 2008, but has been planned to reopen by the Baja California Railroad since 2017. As of 2020, no rehabilitation work has yet taken place north of Campo, CA. A museum, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, uses part of the right of way here. Image: Modern Hiker - https://modernhiker.com//goat-canyon-trestle-via-mortero-/ History: psrm.org/about-us/sda/

2020 hi-rail ride and amazing drone footage along the northern end of Carrizo Gorge, all to Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" https://vimeo.com/426487508

Exploring the abandoned train cars of Carrizo Gorge. Be aware that hiking along railroad tracks without permission is considered trespassing and illegal. Hopefully someday soon the public will be able to legally access Carrizo Gorge via the railroad tracks, be it on a train, a speeder, a rail bike or on foot. So until that day, please stay off the tracks. https://youtu.be/zOs0uMR7Pf0

For those that missed last night’s KPBS episode of Ken Kramer’s About San Diego featuring the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, here is the link to watch it online. https://video.kpbs.org/vi/episode-83-thursday-may-7-hzemsr/

Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! Lots of tourist railroads and museums are hurting right now and need donations more than ever. If you can, show your support and donate to help them get through these challenging times.

Be sure to check out the website to learn more about some of the history of the railroad through Carrizo Gorge, the original Carrizo Gorge Scenic Railroad proposal, and a vision as to what an excursion railroad in Carrizo Gorge could look like. https://carrizogorgerailfan.wixsite.com/carrizogorgescenicrr

Cool find by Matthew Neu.

This is an excellent 30 minute feature by San Diego's Channel 8 News on the original Carrizo Gorge Scenic Railroad and its founder, Bryce Santry. This is the idea that this page and the corresponding website are trying to rekindle and bring back into public discussion. It is very much worth the watch! Comment below what you think about the idea then and how the idea could come to fruition now. https://youtu.be/fGNejbFB1uE