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The San Diego and Arizona Railway was a short line U.S. railroad founded by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, and dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved. Established in part to provide San Diego with a direct transcontinental rail link to the east by connecting with the Southern Pacific Railroad (which secretly provided the funding for the endeavor) lines in El Centro, California, the route of the SD&A originated in San Diego, California and terminated in El Centro, California. The company charter was executed on December 14, 1906, and the groundbreaking ceremony was held the following September. Numerous delays (including government intervention during World War I) delayed the completion of the line to November 15, 1919. Damage to the lines from both natural disasters and sabotage exerted great financial pressure on the company, and in 1932 Spreckels' heirs sold their interests in the railroad to the Southern Pacific, which was named the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE). ==History== The company was chartered on December 14, 1906, and groundbreaking ceremonies held at the intersection of San Diego's Main and 26th Streets on September 7, 1907. Construction delays, attacks by Mexican revolutionaries, and government intervention during World War I all served to push the construction completion to November 15, 1919 when the "golden spike" was finally driven by none other than John Spreckels himself. The first through SD&A passenger train left Campo on the morning of November 30, and made the full run from El Centro to San Diego's downtown Union Station for the official opening of the line on December 1, 1919. The total construction cost of the of track laid was approximately $18 million, or some $123,000 per mile; the original estimate was $6 million. The long segment through Carrizo Gorge (which included of tunnels, 17 in all) alone cost over $4 million to construct; the three miles (5 km) of tunnels (21 total) along the entire line ran another $1.8 million. Almost of bridges and trestles were built as well. The tracks departed downtown San Diego south where they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border at San Ysidro. From there the line traversed eastward through Tijuana, then headed northeast through Tecate and back over the border to the town of Campo. To construct and maintain the 44-mile (72 kilometer) stretch through Mexico the ''SD&A'' formed the Ferrocarril Tijuana y Tecate, S.A. de C.V., at the behest of the Mexican government. East of Campo the road traveled through Clover Flats, across the Coast Range (elevation 3,660 feet), then descended through the breathtaking but treacherous Carrizo Gorge, the builders' most significant obstacle. Though the SD&A line ended in Seeley, trackage rights gave the railroad the ability to run trains as far east as El Centro and as far south as Calexico. Branch lines ran from downtown to as far north and east as the community of Lakeside, with a separate line which circumvented San Diego Bay to service Coronado Heights, Coronado, and North Island. Damage to the lines from heavy rainstorms, landslides, and fires took a financial toll on the railroad, as did border closings with Mexico. Clashes with the Industrial Workers of the World resulted in acts of vandalism as well. In 1932, financial difficulties forced Spreckels' heirs to sell their interests in the firm for $2.8 million to the Southern Pacific, which renamed the railroad the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「San Diego and Arizona Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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