San Diego’s “Impossible Railroad” Through The Desert

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Have you wanted to learn more about the Goat Canyon Trestle? Reena Deutsch will capture

our attention with dramatic slides of the twelve-year construction and 100https://www.meetup.com/san-diego-urban-exploration-group/events/webkit-fake-url:/19F625B2-F912-4BF3-8BE3-9CA63005C31B/image.tiff

years of operation of the 148-mile

long calamity-plagued San Diego

& Arizona (Eastern) Railway, also

known as the “Impossible Railroad.”

It was built by entrepreneur and financier

John D. Spreckels in 1907-1919 between San Diego and El

Centro in East County’s Imperial Valley. Almost one-third of

the line passes through Mexico.

A common theme throughout the story of the Impossible

Railroad is the plethora of natural disasters faced by this hapless

railroad, including fires, landslides, the devastating 1916

Hatfield flood, and the near-fatal aftermath of 1976’s Hurricane

Kathleen. This evening’s presentation will display fascinating

historic images of some of the 21 tunnels and numerous trestles

along the binational route and will highlight the construction

of the famous curved, wooden Goat

Canyon Trestle. Located in breathtaking

Carrizo Gorge and surrounded by the

Anza-Borrego Desert, the engineering

landmark is seldom viewed in person

due to its remote location.

At the present time, the line is still operating

but continues to encounter many

difficulties. There will be a brief update

on the current activities associated with

the railroad.

Dr. Deutsch will have copies of her

recently published book “San Diego

and Arizona Railway: The Impossible

Railroad” for sale after the program. For more information

about the book, see www.ImpossibleRailroad.com.

Biographical profile

Dr. Deutsch, a UCSD medical researcher, authored or

co-authored over 50 published articles. She was a Sierra

Club outings leader (1995-2007), WBC instructor (1996-

2006), and volunteer leader of many outings/tours for

other organizations. She currently serves as Board member

for Anza