Oh my G-d, if I see one more image from Carrizo Gorge - I'm going to look at it, admire it and feel that much more knowledgeable about the railroad, it's history and scenery that is very hard to see from Philadelphia. Thanks, RP for accepting. In a series, after a while, they are perhaps less exciting but judged independently, each on it's own merit, the are all fascinating. Even more so for those with an affinity to the railroad or those using RP for research. Nice shot - interesting to see an SP liveried box car. Wondering how it is that they were allowed to leave 'em there in this day of regulatory issues.
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It shouldn't be unusual to see an SP car on this route. SP secretly (through a straw corporation) helped finance the original construction of the route though the gorge and eventually came to own it out right as they owned all the trackage in the Imperial Valley to the east where El Centro is located. Originally, this route was to compete with AT&SF's Surf Line for freight and passengers coming in, and out of San Diego, but the route was never very profitable and prone to environmental service disruptions. Now UP runs the cross border trade coming from Mexicali and the Calexico and El Centro Subs see a significant amount of traffic in route to West Colton for distribution elsewhere. I have not seen any stack trains coming from El Centro, which makes me wonder how the PIR is going to make money allegedly pulling stack trains through the gorge to San Diego. As for the environmental issues, these went over the side in the 70's when like in other parts of the country, the railroad just pushed wrecks off the side and rebuilt the track. The land above and below the ROW is now in Anza Borego State Park (it was BLM land) so if this were to happen today, the cars would be removed. Consequently, with SP long gone as owners of the line and San Diego MTS having bought the track from them "as is," there is no government agency demanding a clean up of the wreck, so the cars remain. I suppose at this point they could be considered historical landmarks so removal might be prohibited under State Park Regulations - like all the old junk they are finding at the bottom of Lakes Shasta and Oroville.
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