San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway Personnel

"REPORT" Issue 111, April 1975. Page 4
MEMBER SEES CARRIZO GORGE BY TRAIN
If you noticed the nice color picture of an SD&AE freight on the High Bridge in Carrizo Gorge, in the March 8th edition of the Union, you may not have been aware that the photographer is a member of PSRMA. In fact, Jerry Windle was at one time the fellow who handled the mailing of REPORT. Windle finally got his chance to join the ranks of that elite group that has viewed the awesome vastness of the grand Carrizo Gorge by train since the discontinuance of passenger service in 1951. Union reporter Carl Ritter, formerly a financial writer for the Union, arranged for the trip through Los Angeles' Public Relations office. Knowing Jerry was a railroad buff as well as a staff photographer of some repute, Ritter asked him if he would like to go along. This was akin to asking a starving man if he wanted something to eat. Permission was obtained for the extra passenger and by 9:30 a.m., they were departing the San Diego yard in the caboose, trailing 3 engines and 26 freight cars. Accompanying them were William T. Harral, SD&AE Superintendent, James R. Harris, traffic manager, Dan Lewis, public relations manager, Los Angeles, and the conductor and brakeman. It had to be crowded in that caboose! Through the Border gate, past Tijuana, up the beautiful Redondo Valley, flailing double-jointedly around the balloon loop above the tiny settlement of Redondo, Jerry hoped to have an opportunity to picture the train negotiating the unique loop, but the crew had orders to meet 451 at Hipass and there was no time to stop. At Campo, the Border Patrol flushed out illegal aliens riding their boxcar "pullmans" who had boarded at Tecate. Across the giddy heights of the Campo Creek Viaduct, a long-time landmark east of Campo, then on to a sashay with 451 and its 19 cars at the siding at Hipass, a one-time helper terminal in the steam days. The crew had to drop a car of bridge timbers at the High Bridge in the Gorge, so our two intrepid travelers took the opportunity for a photo runby on the 600-foot long curving, wood structure, one of the highest such structures in the country. At Ocotillo Wells, everyone disembarked and waiting autos took the party back to San Diego, ending physically one of the West's most spectacular railtrips. But for Jerry Windle, the memory of that day will last forever!

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