I saw a videotaped interview with one of the previous investors who wanted to reopen the line. He mentioned the obvious challenges, i.e. tunnel and bridge work, rockslides, etc. I'm not certain he fully appreciated the actual operating challenges though, such as the long mountain grades of 2.2% on the east side. Railroading has changed considerably since the SD&AE days so the operating constraints are not necessarily similar. Any operator's small slice of the pie is going to force them to run longer trains more efficiently to compete with BNSF and the trucking industry.

Do past and present investors realize how longer trains needed to sustain the business may actually be a curse, not a blessing? This is a double edged sword in many respects. Manned helpers require extra labor. DPU and even EOT devices which utilize the 450 MHz band will not function properly through those curves and tunnels if train length exceeds a couple thousand feet. Radio waves don't penetrate through rocks.

The use of EOT's is especially problematic because it's required by the FRA on the 2.2% grades throughout the gorge. I believe EOT's are also mandatory on grades 1 ≤ 2% when tonnage exceeds 4000 tons. Unless they're prepared to spend millions on radio repeater sites for the EOT's (and DPU) to function reliably, trains will have to be limited in size or be forced to carry manned helpers or cabooses to escape the EOT mandate.

A question for BOB2, can this operation ever be profitable running 30 car trains considering it will take almost all day to reach El Centro? What about longer trains using helpers and/or cabooses and extra crewmembers?