San Diego Imperial Valley Railroad

Look past the goats, cattle and pigs that stray onto the lone railroadtrack that heads south into Mexico from San Ysidro's dusty railroad depot and you can see the impact that free trade portends for the United States and Mexico. Each weekday morning, U.S. and Mexican customs agents unlock a pair of worn padlocks on the rusted gate that blocks the aging track between San Ysidro and Tijuana.

Most of the 108-mile San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad has been closed since 1983, and neglect, violent rainstorms, fires and rockslides have rendered its tunnels and trestles inoperative. But now an effort is being mounted by San Diego officials--with the support of the Commerce Department--to reopen the line to give San Diego and Tijuana a direct link to the rail grids of the southwestern United States and the interior of Mexico. The reason is trade.

Most of the 108-mile San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad has been closed since 1983, and neglect, violent rainstorms, fires and rockslides have rendered its tunnels and trestles inoperative. But now an effort is being mounted by San Diego officials--with the support of the Commerce Department--to reopen the line to give San Diego and Tijuana a direct link to the rail grids of the southwestern United States and the interior of Mexico. The reason is trade.

Look past the goats, cattle and pigs that stray onto the lone railroadtrack that heads south into Mexico from San Ysidro's dusty railroad depot and you can see the impact that free trade portends for the United States and Mexico. Each weekday morning, U.S. and Mexican customs agents unlock a pair of worn padlocks on the rusted gate that blocks the aging track between San Ysidro and Tijuana.

In 1984, the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railroad had a dismal future. Its freight-hauling business was deteriorating, and operating costs were increasing on the line that runs from San Diego County to Imperial Valley. San Francisco-based Kyle Railroads had made money for a few years after taking over the line from the Southern Pacific in 1978. But, by 1984, the railroad's track was deteriorating and its customer base was shrinking.

A freight train jumped the tracks as it crossed North Marshall Avenue early Thursday, but no one was injured. Because it will take until about 11 a.m. today to remove the cars, traffic backups were expected this morning, authorities said. Several cars of a northbound San Diego-Imperial Valley Railroad freight jumped the tracks as the train moved across the 400 block of North Marshall about 1:45 a.m. Thursday, police said.

Hyundai Precision & Industries of South Korea, the world's largest manufacturer of seagoing shipboard containers and chassis, disclosed plans Monday to build a 28-acre plant in Tijuana that may eventually employ up to 1,500 people.

San Diego's direct rail route to the east--San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad--is under repair and the freight trains are expected to be rolling next year, reviving San Diego's sagging commercial shipping operations. The repairs could make San Diego a major competitor in the Southern California port business, rail officials said Wednesday. The 130-mile-long railroad runs south from the Santa Fe Depot, past Port of San Diego loading facilities and into Mexico.

Plans to build a trash-to-energy plant in the far reaches of eastern San Diego County or in Imperial County could resurrect San Diego's first and only direct rail link to the east. Richard Engle, vice president of the San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad, and Richard Chase, president of Taconic Resources Inc., confirmed Thursday a tentative agreement under which the freight operator would haul burnable trash from the Miramar landfill by rail to a proposed Taconic plant to the east.

The first passenger train in more than 37 years poked its way Saturday along the vintage San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway line between San Ysidro and Jacumba, in a daylong rolling party dubbed a "ride into the future on San Diego's oldest railroad." The five-car train, which included vintage chair and Pullman cars, chugged along the winding line for some 65 miles, including 44 miles inside Mexico between the border and Campo, where the railroad re-enters the United States.

In 1984, the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railroad had a dismal future. Its freight-hauling business was deteriorating, and operating costs were increasing on the line that runs from San Diego County to Imperial Valley. San Francisco-based Kyle Railroads had made money for a few years after taking over the line from the Southern Pacific in 1978. But, by 1984, the railroad's track was deteriorating and its customer base was shrinking.

Norm Hill is a caboose man. It has cost him two wives but his buddies say he sacrificed them without a qualm. The Orange County resident spends most of his weekends painstakingly restoring vintage cabooses, right down to the coal scuttle, the polished oak toilet seat and the Clabber Girl baking powder can in the pantry. Right now, Hill's heart's desire is a 1946 Betty Grable calendar. The pinup pose. The one with Betty looking over her shoulder and showing off her cute caboose.