Goat Canyon Trestle | |
|---|---|
 Trestle as seen from the southeast in 2016 | |
| Coordinates | 32°43′45″N 116°11′00″W / 32.7291°N 116.1834°W |
| Crosses | Goat Canyon[1] |
| Locale | Anza-Borrego Desert State Park[1][2] |
| Owner | San Diego Metropolitan Transit System[2][3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Redwood[1] |
| Total length | 597[4] - >750[1][5] |
| Height | 186[2][4] - >200[1][6][7] |
| History | |
| Construction start | 1932[6] |
| Construction end | 1933[4] |
| Replaces | Tunnel number 15[4] |
| Location | |
 | |
Goat Canyon Trestle is the world's largest curved wooden trestle.[1] It was built as part of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway.[6]
Background
Under the direction of John D. Spreckels, construction of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railroad began in 1907.[3] It was backed by Edward Henry Harriman at the urging of President Theodore Roosevelt.[8][9] In 1919, the railroad was completed, connecting San Diego with the Imperial Valley, by way of Mexico.[2] It was called the "Impossible railroad", and has experienced a series of difficulties, to include collapsed tunnels and rock slides, which have led to the periodic closure of the railroad.[2] Initially, the most significant bridge on the route was the Campo Creek Viaduct, which is 600 feet long and 200 feet in height.[10] One of these was the collapse of tunnel number 15 in March 1932;[4][5] the collapse was caused by an earthquake.[7][11]
History
In response to the collapse of tunnel 15, the trestle was constructed;[12] construction of the trestle began in 1932.[6][13] Construction of the trestle was done in sections, with sections being constructed at the bottom of the canyon, then lifted into position; it was completed by 1933, leading to a realignment of the railroad route.[4] It was constructed using redwood timber;[14] this was the same type of timber used for railroad ties along the rest of the route.[15] Wood was utilized due to metal fatigue which would have inflicted a steel bridge due to the large temperature fluctuations.[4]
In 1951, scheduled passenger service over the trestle ended, with intermittent freight traffic continuing when the railroad wasn't closed due to damage.[8] In 1976, Hurricane Kathleen damaged the trestle, as well as the rest of the line; repairs were not completed until 1981.[16] The usage of the railroad ended again in 1983, due to collapsed tunnels, with restoration of the railroad not resuming until 2003.[17] In 1999, Huell Howser visited the trestle.[18] After repairs to the line were completed in 2004 rail usage continued.[8] Pacific Southwest Railway Museum provided trips on the railroad from Campo.[8] Damage to the line occurred in 2010, ending rail usage of the trestle.[8] It remains a popular destination for hiking.[2][4][7][19]
Since at least the 1970s, there have been a population of bighorn sheep that have lived near trestle, that are an endangered species.[2][20]
Replicas
A HO scale replica of the trestle can be seen in use in the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.[21]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Cowan, Ernie (2 May 2004). "World's largest wooden trestle is in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park". North County Times. San Diego County. Archived from the original on 1 May 2004. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Japenga, Ann (30 March 2004). "Rail renegades". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ a b Stewart, Joshua (9 June 2016). "Border rail line to connect U.S., Mexico". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h The Canyoneers (19 July 2017). "Get close but not too close to Carrizo Gorge trestle". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ a b Rangel, Alexis (12 August 2013). "San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway, the 'Impossible Railroad,'". Imperial Valley Press. El Centro Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
{{cite news}}: Text "location El Centro, California" ignored (help) - ^ a b c d Bell, Diane (19 April 2017). "Science Channel spotlights marvel in San Diego's back yard". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ a b c Baran, Robert (29 May 2010). "Goat Canyon Trestle Trek". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Beck, Darrell (1 December 2011). "On Memory's Back Trail: The Impossible Railroad". Ramona Home Journal. Ramona, California. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ Dodge, Richard V. (29 June 1956). "San Diego's "Impossible Railroad"". Dispatcher. Railway Historical Society of San Diego. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
{{cite web}}: More than one of|website=and|journal=specified (help) - ^ The Station Agent: Official Publication of the Order of Railroad Station Agents. Order of Railroad Station Agents. 1920. p. 9.
Clarence Alan McGrew (1922). City of San Diego and San Diego County: The Birthplace of California. American Historical Society. p. 172. - ^ "Goat Canyon Trestle Viewpoint Via Mortero Palms". Anza Borrego Foundation.
Goat Canyon trestle was built in 1932 after an earthquake collapsed one of the tunnels of the Carrizo Gorge section of the San Diego and Arizona Railway.
Kevin Key. "The Massive Goat Canyon Trestle - Brilliantly Illuminated by a Nearly Full Moon". Getty Images. - ^ Angel, Milton (30 July 2001). "240 Years of Ranching: Historical Research, Field Surveys, Oral Interviews, Significance Criteria, and Management Recommendations for Ranching Districts and Sites in the San Diego Region" (PDF) (Interview). Interviewed by Heather Thomson. San Diego: Save our Heritage Organization. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
Charles M. O'Herin (2006). Prototypes for Modelers: Vol. 1, San Diego & Arizona Railway. Link Pen Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-9776279-0-5. - ^ Robbins, Christine (January 2016). "The Bridges of San Diego County: The Art of Civil Engineering" (PDF). The Journal of San Diego History. 62 (1): 5–36. ISSN 0022-4383. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
MAY2004NCTwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ph.D., Reena Deutsch (10 January 2011). San Diego and Arizona Railway: The Impossible Railroad. Arcadia Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-4396-4047-0.
- ^ Jerry Schad; Scott Turner (20 February 2017). Afoot and Afield: San Diego County: 282 Spectacular Outings Along the Coast, Foothills, Mountains, and Desert. Wilderness Press. p. 1020. ISBN 978-0-89997-802-4.
LunarLight (2010). "San Diego & Arizona Eastern's Carrizo Gorge". Trainorders.com. Todd Clark. Retrieved 15 February 2018.Goat Canyon Trestle itself was sagging in its center span, having had the lower tier of its tallest bent knocked away by a boulder that was sluiced down the canyon by the flood.
Pacific Rail News. Interurbans Publications. 1995. p. 44. - ^ Ristine, Jeff (7 December 2003). "Lakeside company hopes to move first freight by end of January". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ "Trestle- California's Gold (1006)". Huell Howser Archives. Chapman University. 8 January 1999. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ Tony Huegel (21 December 2006). California Desert Byways: 68 of California's Best Backcountry Drives. Wilderness Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-89997-413-2.
Lowell Lindsay; Diana Lindsay (10 October 2017). Anza Borrego Desert Region: Your Complete Guide to the State Park and Adjacent Areas of the Western Colorado Desert. Wilderness Press. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-89997-780-5.
"Goat Canyon Trestle Bridge via Carrizo Gorge Road". Alltrails.com. September 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2018. - ^ Raftery, Miriam (17 March 2014). "Experts Voice Alarm Over Survival of Local Bighorn Sheep". East County Magazine. La Mesa, California: Heartland Coalition. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ P. R. Griswold (1992). Railroads of California: Seeing the State by Rail. American Traveler Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-55838-121-6.
Further reading
- Dodge, Roger V (1960). Rails of the Silver Gate: The Spreckels San Diego Empire. Golden West Books. ISBN 0870950193.