Slow Train Chugs Back Into History

“All aboard!”

With only some grazing cattle to see them off, a trainload of curious children and railroad buffs rolls out of this deserted depot in eastern San Diego County.

They’re riding the San Diego & Arizona, a defunct railway that’s been brought back to life by a group of men and women who love trains. About 60 pieces of equipment--engines, cars and cabooses--have found a new home in this remote spot near the Mexican border.

On weekdays the train yard is deserted, but on Saturday and Sunday, diesel horns, the screech of steel wheels and calls of “All aboard!” are heard across the dusty fields. Twice a day on weekends, trains pull out of the station for 90-minute excursions through the rugged back country.

Before it became the operation center for the San Diego Railroad Museum two years ago, Campo was most noted for an 1875 shoot-out between the owners of a general store and bandits from across the border. The historic Campo Stone Store is now a museum, also open weekends.

Nearby Camping

For a longer stay in the area you’ll find campsites at nearby Lake Morena County Park and lodging at Pine Valley.

To reach Campo from Los Angeles, drive south on Interstate 5 to San Diego and go east on Interstate 8. That freeway eventually leaves the city sprawl behind to climb the chaparral-covered and granite-strewn hills of Cleveland National Forest.

Take the Buckman Springs Road exit and drive San Diego County S1 south to California 94, then turn right to Campo. After seeing the trains across an open field you’ll reach the Campo Stone Store museum, where a sign directs you to the San Diego Railroad Museum.

Park near the vintage board-and-batten Campo Depot, which is the museum’s ticket station and gift shop. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. only on weekends and some holidays (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Trains depart on a scenic 15-mile round trip at 12:01 and 2:30 p.m. Fares are $7 for adults, $3.50 for children 5 through 12, free under 5 years. Reservations are required for groups. For information, call (619) 697-7762; on weekends, (619) 478-9937.

Getting Aboard

You board the train through the rear platform of a 1926 cafe/observation car that served supplemental routes of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.

This car connects to two or more converted electric cars built nearly 60 years ago. They last belonged to the Erie-Lackawanna line and carried daily commuters in New Jersey. Backrests can be switched to face forward regardless of the train’s direction.

Pulling the cars is a former military diesel engine built for the Korean War. It was used in Alaska, then hauled missile parts around Vandenberg Air Force Base before retiring to Campo.

At least eight volunteers play roles aboard the train: an engineer and fireman in the cab, head-end and rear-end brakemen, a conductor who takes the tickets, two trainmen who make announcements and answer passengers’ questions, and a dining car attendant who sells cold drinks and candy.

The standard-gauge tracks were laid for the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railroad that ran from the coast through canyons, mountains and desert to Yuma, Ariz. The terrain it crossed was so rugged (requiring 21 mountain tunnels) that the railroad was dubbed “The Impossible Line.”

Service Ended in 1951

There was service from San Diego to Campo by 1915, but four more years of construction were needed before the first train reached Yuma. Passenger service ended in 1951. Freight trains rolled on until 1976, when tropical storm Kathleen destroyed numerous trestles and bridges.

The railroad museum runs its excursion train at a leisurely speed on eight miles of the remaining track. At Millers Creek the engine is detached and reconnected to the opposite end of the train for the return trip along the same track.

Passengers like to stand on the open end of the observation car to watch for cattle and horses and wave to folks along the way. During the trip you can move from car to car and sit in any seat. Smoking is not permitted on the train.

Back at the depot, some of the trainmen guide visitors to the train yard and car barn on informal tours.

Volunteers are working to restore the impressive collection of rolling stock, including steam locomotives and an ornate private passenger car. You’ll see everything from a logging locomotive to refrigerator boxcars and an Amtrak coach. Compare the museum’s wooden Chesapeake & Ohio caboose built in 1924 to the modern metal ones on display.

Another museum to visit is in the 103-year-old Campo Stone Store, now headquarters for the Mountain Empire Historical Society. It’s open weekends only, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is by donation, children free.

Historic Gun Duel

Inside you’ll learn about the Campo shoot-out. On display are memorabilia collected from the area since the museum opened two years ago.

On Dec. 11 at least two dozen gunfighters are expected to liven up the weekend with mock shoot-outs and other Old West high jinks behind the museum. A dedication is scheduled Dec. 10 for exhibits on the second floor relating to Camp Lockett, an Army base established at Campo during World War II.

It was home to hundreds of horses and black soldiers in the last regiments of the U.S. cavalry.

Afterward the base became a convalescent hospital and prisoner-of-war camp. (Italian POWs built the Army gymnasium that now serves as the railroad museum’s car barn.) The Campo museum phone is (619) 478-5707.

A scenic alternate route back to Interstate 5 from Campo is two-lane California 94, which becomes a freeway at Spring Valley.

Round trip from Los Angeles to Campo is 322 miles.