The railroad through Carrizo Gorge never made
a dime of profit., I saw a documentary on this RR
recently, and it showed that the only reason
"the impossible railroad" ever got built was
because businessman John Spreckels (1853-1926)
refused to give up the idea that it could be built.
I believe he financed the building of this railroad
with his own money.

The clearances in the many tunnels and other places,
and the many curves and trestles, as well as the
constant dangers of rock-slides, make this railroad
very, very expensive to maintain and operate. Remember:
this railroad was designed and built when a 40-foot boxcar
was considered long. I am pretty sure that modern autoracks
and other cars would simply not fit there.

And -- am I the only one who thinks that any monies spent
to upgrade the SDA&E would be MUCH better spent bringing
those jobs back to the US?

Margaret