EXAMPLE TEXT FROM BOOK
From Preface, page –iv-
There were plenty of U. S. railroads in the late 1800’s
and early 1900’s that did not achieve widespread recognition,
and the history behind any of those could be of interest to
model railroaders and railroading enthusiasts. By exposing model
railroaders and railroad modelers to information about a railroad’s
history, resources, operations, revenue producing customers,
and flora & terrain along its routes, they may find that
some or all of that information has application for their hobby
interests. My intention for this and future books is to “give
model railroaders and railroad modelers information they can
use for their own hobby interests.” So, for all who fit
those descriptions and read this book, I encourage you to imagine
and consider how to make use of what you read and see, such
as: the history and operations can provide details and ideas
that might be part of your model railroad layout’s theme,
design, and operation; rolling stock & locomotives, structures,
and revenue producing industries give prototypical examples
to incorporate into your layout and modeling efforts; and flora
and topography provide examples of how to enhance your layout
with landscape features that were applicable to the region of
a railroad’s operation.
What you will find herein is a combination of text, graphics,
and pictures that convey historical and factual information,
data in table and list forms, and enlarged, specialized pictures.
Thus, I believe this book provides both a written, factual accounting
of the San Diego & Arizona railroad’s history, operations,
and resources and visually informative prototypes for your immediate
hobby use. If you want to learn more, please refer to the bibliography
to find sources and references for further research.
From Historical Summary, page -7-
…It was John D. Spreckels’ desire, as President
of the SD&A, to build the railroad regardless of what it
took. And because of that, history may look at the SD&A
and say it was his one big failure among many benevolent and
profitable endeavors.
An oversimplified chronology of the SD&A’s history
might read: officially incorporated in June 1906,13 began construction
in September 1907,14 began through-service operations in December
1919,15 ended passenger service in 1951,16 ceased through-service
between El Centro and San Diego in 1975 due to a tunnel fire,17
and since then railroad operations have been partial and sporadic.18
But that would be too uninformative…
From Train Operations, page -28-
By the time the SD&A would be completed in 1919, the SP
would have well-established service with the gateway cities
of New Orleans and Chicago.28 The passenger through-service
to New Orleans was solely on SP controlled lines, but to Chicago
the SP’s Golden State Limited operated over a route in
connection with the SP, El Paso & Southwestern, and Rock
Island lines.29… Given the matured services of the SP
over its southern route, W. F. Holt would soon take action to
enhance his own interests and those of the southern half of
the Imperial Valley by building his own railroad.33 And John
D. Spreckels would receive encouragement and promise of financial
support from Edward H. Harriman (President of SP at the time)
to build a line east from San Diego to El Centro.34
From Train Operations, Figure 2-2, page -52-
Owner Name Place Name, Structure, Location MP
Union Station San Diego 0.0
SD&A Rwy Coronado Branch Junction 4.7
SD&A Rwy 12th Street Junction 4.8
SD&A Rwy Chula Vista Junction 7.4
SD&A Rwy Linen 9.5
SD&A Rwy Otay 10.1
SD&A Rwy Palm City 11.1
SD&A Rwy Baird-Roll 13.2
SD&A Rwy San Ysidro 15.5 KmP
Int’l Boundary U.S. & Mexico 15.56 0.0
T&T Rwy Tijuana 16.2 1.0
T&T Rwy Agua Caliente 18.5 4.7
T&T Rwy Standard 19.2 5.9
T&T Rwy Garcia 24.0 13.6
From Rolling Stock, page -60-
Provided in this sub-section is a summary review of what the
SD&A owned or leased as rolling stock and what resources
it used from other railroads, which was mostly from the Southern
Pacific…Given its relationship with the Southern Pacific,
the SD&A only had to acquire a few units of motive power,
and often you would see Southern Pacific locomotives heading
trains into and out of San Diego. Although the SP didn’t
have its own roadbed into San Diego, it was able to share revenue
for rail service into and out of San Diego through its operating
agreement with the SD&A… Like the limited amount of
motive power it owned and operated, SD&A did not purchase
many freight cars. Its operating agreements with major railroads
enabled it to maximize availability of other railroad’s
resources to accommodate its freight hauling requirements; like
using OPM, Other Peoples Money. Thus, observers were more likely
to see a myriad of road names on rail cars traveling on the
SD&A mainline and its Lakeside Branch as opposed to a majority
of rolling stock with the SD&A road name.
From Structures & Industries, page -86-
By examining historical records and photographs you can tell
that the Southern Pacific had a major engineering and architectural
influence on what the SD&A built. And, you can imagine that
any company formed to design, build, and operate a railroad
in the early 1900s could hire personnel who had experience in
those areas because several other major railroads had been built
in the 20-plus years since the first transcontinental railroad
had been linked, and several more years since major railroads
had been operating in the eastern half of the U.S. Thus, it
is easy to understand how the Spreckles brothers, as principle
owners of the SD&A, who had limited experience in running
transit and local railroads in the San Diego area, had taken
on a (silent) partnership with Edward H. Harriman, president
of the Southern Pacific Railroad…When one assesses the
architectural design of depots and other buildings built by
the SD&A and those of other railroads, Harriman’s
and the Southern Pacific’s influence becomes obvious because
both the structural and paint schemes are dominant likenesses
of what the SP used in its own architectural designs…most
of the SD&A’s architectural history, represented by
its depots and stations, can still be visited and observed,
such as original structures at Campo, Jacumba, Lakeside, La
Mesa, Tecate, Tijuana, and El Centro. Of those, you will see
pictures on the following pages for all but Lakeside and Tijuana.
From Flora & Terrain, page -109-
As you leave the Carriso Gorge and enter the Imperial Valley,
the stretch of land between the Gorge and Yuma, Arizona is quite
simply a desert flatland, with most area being at or slightly
below sea level, and some areas with vast sand dunes. And yet,
there is a drastic contrast with presence of green flora where
water is available and farming is conducted, which is a majority
of the land somewhat close to the border. So, even though the
SD&A enters Mexico south of El Centro at Mexicali, 157 roadbed
miles from its San Diego terminus, and continues east in Mexico
towards Yuma, Arizona then re-entering the U.S. at Andrade,
the flora and terrain does not change.
From Epilog, page -118-
In 2001 a new player appeared on the scene, Carrizo Gorge Railways
(CZRY), who began operating freight service over the old route
of the Tijuana & Tecate Shortline under a new subsidiary
corporation known as Ferrocarriles Peninsulares del Noroeste,
S.A. de C.V. Their objective was to extend their freight service
and operate the desert line of the SD&AE. As of December
2004, they have begun and continue to operate the eastern freight
service over the old SD&A/SD&AE route under subcontract
to RailAmerica, who remains as the prime contract holder for
freight service on the east end of the old SD&A/SD&AE.
The following References are in the After Pages, pages
121 to 131:
· Notes
· List of Figures
· List of Photographs
· List of Credit Acronyms Used with Photographs
· Bibliography.
