Impossibly Stranded. The story of the San Diego and Arizona Railway (later San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway) is a several volume tale, and so, in brief - Dubbed “The Impossible Railroad” because of the many geographic obstacles it had to overcome, its right of way was completed in 1919 with a significant volume of tunnels and bridges. The total line once went from Santee, California to El Centro, California through Tiajuana to Tecate, Mexico. The portion from Campo to EL Centro is called the “Desert Line”, and Union Pacific still owns from Plaster City to El Centro, California. Owner of this portion, (San Diego) Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) purchased portions of the line in the United States from Southern Pacific in 1979. It is near Railroad Street in Jacumba Hot Springs, California that former operator Carrizo Gorge Railway's (CZRY) 1465 (S4, ex-Relco 1065, exx-SP 1733, née-T&NO 45, Rebuilt from S-2, Alco, 12/1947) and CZRY 100-102 (F7A/B, ex-Washington Central, exx-Texas Southern, exxx-US Steel, née-B&LE, EMD (1952-1953) were found parked with an uncertain future on the early morning of September 16, 2021. Baja Rail of Mexico had recently been under contract to rehabilitate and operate the line, but MTS terminated the lease after conditions were not met and mediation failed. A variety of natural disasters, vandalism, and bankruptcies have left only the section operated by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association, Inc. in Campo, California as presently active, but requests for abandonment have been denied by the Surface Transportation Board.
