TheSan Diego and Arizona Railway (reporting markSDA) was a 148-mile (238 km)short line U.S.railroad founded by entrepreneurJohn D. Spreckels, and dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved. It linkedSan Diego, its western terminus, withEl Centro, its eastern terminus, where passengers could connect withSouthern Pacific's transcontinental lines, eliminating the need to first travel north viaLos Angeles orRiverside.
The company charter was executed on December 14, 1906, and the groundbreaking ceremony was held the following September. Numerous delays (including government intervention duringWorld War I) delayed the completion of the line to November 15, 1919. Damage to the lines from both natural disasters and sabotage exerted great financial pressure on the company, and in 1932 Spreckels' heirs sold their interests in the railroad to the Southern Pacific, which changed the name toSan Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE).
The company was chartered on December 14, 1906, and groundbreaking ceremonies held at the intersection of San Diego's Main and 26th Streets on September 7, 1907. Construction delays, attacks byMexican revolutionaries, and government intervention duringWorld War I all served to push the construction completion to November 15, 1919 when the "golden spike" was finally driven by John Spreckels. In 1917, the SD&A acquired the San Diego and Southeastern Railway, which operated branches toFoster (formerly the San Diego, Cuyamaca, and Eastern Railroad) andBonita (formerly the National City & Otay Railway).[1]
J.D. Spreckels drives the "golden spike" to ceremonially complete the San Diego and Arizona Railway on November 15, 1919.
The first through SD&Apassenger train left Campo on the morning of November 30, and made the full run from El Centro to San Diego's downtown union station,Santa Fe Depot, for the official opening of the line on December 1, 1919. The total construction cost of the 146.4 miles (235.6 km) of track laid was approximately $18 million, or some $123,000 per mile; the original estimate was $6 million. The 11-mile (18 km) long segment throughCarrizo Gorge (which included 13,385 feet (4,080 m) of tunnels, 17 in all) alone cost over $4 million to construct; the three miles (5 km) of tunnels (21 total) along the entire line ran another $1.8 million. Almost 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of bridges and trestles were built as well.
The tracks departed downtown San Diego south where they crossed theU.S.-Mexico border atSan Ysidro. From there the line traversed eastward throughTijuana, then headed northeast throughTecate and back over the border to the town ofCampo. To construct and maintain the 44-mile (72 kilometer) stretch throughMexico theSD&A formed theFerrocarril Tijuana y Tecate, S.A. de C.V., at the behest of the Mexican government. East of Campo the road traveled through Clover Flats, across the Coast Range (elevation 3,660 feet), then descended through the breathtaking but treacherousCarrizo Gorge, the builders' most significant obstacle.[2] Though the SD&A line ended inSeeley, trackage rights gave the railroad the ability to run trains as far east as El Centro and as far south asCalexico. Branch lines ran from downtown to as far north and east as the community ofLakeside, with a separate line which rounded San Diego Bay to serviceCoronado Heights,Coronado, and North Island.
Damage to the lines from heavy rainstorms, landslides, and fires took a financial toll on the railroad, as did border closings with Mexico. Clashes with theIndustrial Workers of the World resulted in acts of vandalism as well. In 1932, financial difficulties forced Spreckels' heirs to sell their interests in the firm for $2.8 million to the Southern Pacific, which renamed the railroad theSan Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE).
In 2012 the Mexican government allowed the company Baja Rail to restore and use the track between Tijuana and Tecate. The company has poured ~$20,000,000 into revitalizing the 44 mile stretch of track it is allowed to operate on.[3] The company sought approval from the United States government to build and restore the desert line of the track in San Diego, to allow some more commerce between the two countries. TheSan Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) stepped in, and Baja Rail partnered with them to restore the track. However, they made little progress and suddenly stopped making payments to MTS in 2020.[4] The fate of the railway's operation is unclear, as of 2025.
1873: TheTexas and Pacific Railroad fails in an attempt to establish a direct rail link betweenSan Diego and the East during the "Panic of 1873."
1905: TheSan Diego and Eastern Railroad (SD&E) conducts a survey for a planned rail line toArizona but folds prior to commencing track laying.
December 14, 1906:John D. Spreckels announces he will form the San Diego and Arizona Railway Company (SD&A) and build a 148-mile (238 km) line betweenSan Diego andEl Centro. Spreckels has an agreement with theSouthern Pacific Railroad (SP) to silently fund the project (ironically, Spreckels later became an outspoken critic of the Southern Pacific Railroad and their monopolistic practices, and often used his newspaper interests as a platform to denounce the company and its officers).
September 7, 1907: Groundbreaking ceremonies for the SD&A are held in downtown San Diego at the foot of 26th Street (now known as Dewey Street) and Main Street. The line will follow in part the route surveyed by the defunct SD&E.
1909: TheMexican Government orders the SD&A to form theTijuana and Tecate Railway Company, which will construct and hold a 99-year lease on the 44-mile (71 km) Mexican rail segment.
July 29, 1910: The first passenger train on the SD&A enters Mexico.
1911: Mexican revolutionaries mount several attacks on the SD&A construction crews to conscript soldiers and supplies, and cut telephone wires.
1916: The "Great Flood" washes out several rail lines.World War I increases the cost of railway construction materials by 50 to 150 percent.
1917: The U.S. federal government seizes control of all railroads and stops construction of the SD&A as part of its war effort to conserve resources, but later grants Spreckels special exemption on the grounds the SD&A will serve a military installation. The SD&A absorbs the strugglingSan Diego and Southeastern Railway (SDSR), assuming operation of the company's steam divisions and gas-electric motor cars. TheSan Diego Electric Railway (SDERy) continues to operate the interurban line toChula Vista under lease. The remaining SDSR tracks not damaged in the previous year's flooding function as a "bridge" line between the SD&A and SDERy, which allows for the interchange of freight traffic.
November 15, 1919: The "golden spike" is driven and construction of the SD&A is completed at a cost of $18 million (three times the original estimate).[5]
The first SD&A through passenger train "arrives" in San Diego on December 1, 1919 to officially open the line.
December 1, 1919: The firstpassenger train "arrives" in San Diego from El Centro for the official line opening ceremony.
December 10, 1919: ThroughPullman service toChicago is initiated; the cars are switched to the Southern Pacific'sGolden State passenger train inYuma.
1922: A new emblem, depicting a scene in theCarrizo Gorge and lettered"San Diego Short Line," is adopted.
1926, 1927, and 1929: Heavy rains take out large sections of trackage east of San Diego.
January 1932: Fire breaks out in Tunnel 3 inBaja California, which leads to a collapse. Repairs take 45 days.
March 27, 1932: A huge mountain slide, loosened by heavy rains, blocks the line in the vicinity of Tunnel 15. Repairs are completed and freight and passenger services are re-established on July 6 and 7th.
October 22, 1932: Tunnel 7 burns and is subsequently abandoned.
October 24, 1932: Financial problems force Spreckels' heirs to transfer their share ofSD&A ownership to theSouthern Pacific Transportation Company for $2.8 million.
January 23, 1933: A bypass track along the cliff at Tunnel 7 is completed and the line is reopened to traffic.
December 1985, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum revives the historic San Diego & Arizona Railway name (Reporting mark: SDAX), inaugurating itsGolden State demonstration passenger trains over the railway out of Campo, CA east to Miller Creek and west to Division and tunnel four at the international border. These trips continue to this day.[6]
Railroads initalics meet the revenue specifications for Class I status, but are not technically Class I railroads due to being passenger-only railroads with no freight component.
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