D. B. Arthur Wrote:
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> While we're on the subject of how screwed up the
> L.A.-San Diego line is, I was reminded of this
> funny story.
>
> I heard this story about twelve years ago when we
> were sitting around reminiscing about how things
> have changed so much on the LA - San Diego line
> over the last twenty-five years or so. A lot of
> people may not realize it, but that line was in
> pretty sad shape before the Government agencies
> bought it and started making some necessary
> improvements and investments in infrastructure.
> ATSF must have known for awhile that it would be a
> good candidate for being sold off to parties that
> wanted to exploit its high-density medium-distance
> passenger and commuter train potential.
> Consequently, in the final years of their
> ownership, they pretty much deferred maintenance
> on the line. From Fullerton Jct. south, the line
> was mostly jointed rail that dated back to the
> World War II era. I was amazed that the
> freight-only line from Cadiz, CA to Matthie, AZ
> could boast welded rail, yet this heavily-used
> line didn't have it. A lot of the sidings were in
> such bad shape that they had restricted speed
> limits slapped on them. Santa Fe even yanked out
> some of those sidings after Amtrak came on the
> scene. In old employee timetables you'll see
> places like "Poche," "Agra" and "Las Flores." The
> code lines were in bad shape and signal problems
> were common. The list goes on and on. The line has
> most definitely received some significant upgrades
> and improvements in the years since it's been
> under Government ownership.
>
> So my friend told me this funny story that took
> place back in the seventies or eighties. Among
> other reasons, this helps to explain why the Port
> of San Diego is not a big player in the
> international trade game when compared to, say,
> the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
>
> There was a Japanese container shipping company
> that was exploring the idea of using the Port of
> San Diego, partly to avoid the congestion of the
> Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. They sent one
> of their executives over here to inspect the
> infrastructure, with the L.A.-to-San Diego rail
> line being part of that inspection. This man could
> speak VERY LIMITED English and had an interpreter
> along with him.
>
> It was decided to give this Japanese shipping
> executive and his interpreter, accompanied by a
> railroad official, a cab ride on a SAN DIEGAN from
> San Diego to Los Angeles. The railroad official
> was A. C. "Ace" Henderson, Road Foreman of
> Engines. The engineer of the train was Steve
> Guinn. Steve is now retired and Ace has passed
> on.
>
> Now remember, this Japanese shipping executive
> came from the land of 150 MPH bullet trains and a
> country that has probably some of the world's
> finest and most-modern railroad track
> infrastructure.
>
> So you can only guess what happened. It was one of
> those "trips from H e l l." They had to take
> siding for a couple of bad meets. The code line
> was down and they had to flag several blocks.
> Broken crossing gates at several locations and
> they had to flag through those grade crossings.
> Yadda Yadda Yadda.
>
> Toward the end of the trip, RFE Henderson asked,
> through the interpreter, the Japanese business
> executive what he thought of the Surf Line. The
> interpreter posed the question in Japanese and the
> answer came back in Japanese. The interpreter then
> had a panicked look on his face as it was now his
> responsibility to pass along the "bad news," in
> English, to the American railroad official. After
> an awkward delayed moment, the Japanese business
> executive decided to simply by-pass his
> interpreter and convey the message directly in his
> own limited English. He said,
>
> "Dis-a Ray-road NO GOOD!!"
>
> Among other reasons, this is why you don't see
> double-stack container trains running through San
> Clemente.
>
> I told this story to another friend, Andrew Fox.
> He used to have a high management position at
> Espee. His response? "It's a good thing they
> didn't give him an inspection tour of the San
> Diego & Arizona Eastern!"
>
> Amen to that!
>
> Can you imagine one of those monster double stack
> trains, complete with distributed power units,
> that you see on BNSF's Transcon, trying to tip-toe
> over Goat Canyon trestle in Carriso Gorge?


Is that the same Fox (PHL way a dozen or so years ago?