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San Diego has a rich but tumultuous railroad history. Since the middle of the 19th century, various railroad companies have tried without much success to lay out tracks between San Diego and other major regions of the United States. There was heavy competition and no real progress was made to link southern California with other cities in the western part of the United States. Companies such as California Southern Railroad, Santa Fe Railway, Southern Pacific Railroad, San Bernardino and San Diego Railway, San Diego and Arizona Railway had a relatively short lived history (more…)

In beautiful San Diego, California, kids of all ages can explore some of the trains of yesterday! The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum encompasses the Campo Depot, as well as the La Mesa Depot.

The Campo Depot offers special rides and activities on certain dates. Imagine being the train engineer for an hour! A certified locomotive engineer will tutor you, and turn over the throttle for a thrilling opportunity to operate the train during the, Run a Locomotive Day event. Tickets for the Father’s Day barbecue and Golden State ride are also available (more…)

Railroads have a special place in the history of San Diego; The California Southern railway was organized in 1880. From 1880 to 1891 the California Southern ran from National City down through San Bernardino. In 1887 the Central California began running, it ran from Santa Fe to Escondido and in 1888 the Santa Fe began running a line through Ocean Side to Orange County which provided a link between Los Angeles and San Diego. It is still used today to connect (more…)

While for many people, the terms “Streetcar” and “Railcar” conjure pleasant images of a quaint history filled with men in top-hats and women in hoop-skirts, for residents of San Diego, these words mean so much more. Streetcars are very much alive in San Diego, and are a moving piece of history. Streetcars, or as they are more commonly called, Trolleys, still service residents of San Diego, as well as the many tourists.

While mainly a tourist attraction, Trolleys are quickly becoming a popular mode of transportation for many San Diego citizens, rather (more…)

We’ve definitely come a long way since horse drawn streetcars… Imagine San Diego with horse-drawn streetcars now…with all the hustle and bustle of this city, there really wouldn’t be much room on the road for any other travelers. Heaven forbid your horse-drawn guide spots some hay…say hello to a detour!

Ingenuity prevailed when the double-decker streetcar came on the scene. Not only is this not horse drawn and relies on electricity instead (thank you Edison for that lovely tidbit of (more…)

If you’re planning on heading to San Diego to check out all the railroad history we’ve got a better idea than scanning the travel channels on your TV (your husband’s watching Direct tv nfl this time of year anyway!) Check out our list of the best train sights in San Diego before you leave on your trip:
Balboa Park: It’s one of the best places in the city for kids and (more…)

Living in American one thing everyone knows is how vital railroads have been to the expansion and evolution our great nation. With over ten millions miles of railroad tracks in the United States alone, we truly are a railroad history mecca.

Above all, there is one area that boast railroad station history like none other. The great city of San Diego is a history center for railroad stations. With over five dozen stations in Sand Diego alone (more…)

The San Diego and Arizona Railway is an American railroad founded by John D. Spreckels. Due to the incredibly difficult tactical and logistical architectural challenges involved, the railroad was consequently nicknamed “The Impossible Railroad”. The construction of the railroad was not particularly accepted by everyone, even nature. Construction of the railroad saw attacks from Mexican revolutionaries on construction crews and floods washed out several rail lines. The 148 mile long railroad was constructed in order to provide a direct link to the Southern Pacific Railroad. The railway was eventually sold by (more…)

With assistance from the San Diego Electric Railway Association, the San Diego Electric Railway Museum is dedicated to education about and furtherance of the history of San Diego’s electric railway system which served as the main mode of transportation along its 165 miles of track and dedicated to meeting the needs of riders from the late 1800s to 1949.

Around 1887, San Diego became the first location on America’s west coast to operate an electric trolley car system. The other trolley railway system in the country during this time period was in Boston, Massachusetts.

The San Diego Electric (more…)

San Diego had to fight to receive its first rail terminal and was finally able to accomplish this goal in 1870. Frank Kimball was the leader behind this movement and construction was begun in July of 1881. It was close to completion in September of 1882, but the “Big Four” railroad financiers, Charles Crocker, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins and Leland Stanford, prevented the line from joining the Southern Pacific Line.

San Diego wasn’t deterred and ran their line locally to Colton. However, several years later on November 26, 1885, the first transcontinental train was allowed to arrive in San Diego. This caused the (more…)