Driving back from the PSR Convention in San Diego on Eastbound I-8 near the Ocotillo I noticed on the out-of-operation SD&AE line (this is where the railroad goes under the freeway after coming out of the mountains and Carrizo Gorge) 3 locomotives marked Idaho Northern & Pacific. They were heavily graffitied so they must have been there for a while. There was also a greatly warped center-beam flatcar along with the locos. There was no paved road nearby, so I couldn't get any pictures. Does anybody know about these diesels, and why are they out in the desert?
First guess is long-term storage. Some short-line railroads have track that they do not use (no customers.) To help pay the bills they can get paid to store unused cars (and locomotives) on this unused track. The big railroads often do this with surge fleets like grain cars when it isn't harvest season.
Not sure where to start here. There have been many threads on the "Impossible Railroad" and the interesting companies leasing the track from MTS. I believe those units were put there by the Pacific Imperial Railroad circa 2014 and are now buzzard fodder.
I think we had a thread or two on Pacific Imperial back when they first started up (has it really been 8 or 10 years?). Did they ever actually operate any trains? I'd always gotten the impression that the whole thing was some sort of elaborate scam.
The centrebeam and locomotives have been there for years.
https://railpictures.net/photo/573813/
https://railpictures.net/photo/600773/
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
I know the spot you're talking about. When I was living in San Diego 10 years ago I watched a string of old Metra cars deteriorate at that same spot.
I wonder if the stripped IH Travelall is also still there (S side of the tracks)
Sounds like the second half of that title should be "stays in the desert..."
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
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