CAMPO, Calif. — The newest piece of equipment for the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum is arriving at the museum’s Campo location by truck, since there’s no active rail access between the site and San Diego.
Recently retired Coaster F40PHM-2C No. 2103 is shown on Interstate 8 at El Cajon, Calif, on Sunday, Aug. 7, during its move by Contractors Cargo Co., a heavy-haul specialist based in Compton, Calif., with a history including 19 moves involving all six NASA space shuttles. The locomotive is one of five built by Morrison-Knudsen, mostly using EMD components. All five had been moved to scrapper Coast Rail Services in Anaheim, Calif., in April [see “Retired Coaster commuter engines moved …,” Trains News Wire, April 2019], but No. 2103 was returned to the San Diego area and loaded at National City, Calif., for the move to the Campo museum.
— Updated Aug. 9 at 9:10 a.m. CDT to correct locomotive builder.
Nice to see the Southern California Railway Museum expanding, I explored it on Google Maps while exploring the San Diego & Arizona Eastern and was impressed. If I ever visit SoCal it’s on my list, along the nearby Carrizo Gorge (legally visit I hope) and “Valley of the Moon” hiking trail.
I thought all five were going there, but I guess plans changed due to various reasons. But hey, at least it’s better than none. I think 2105 is supposed to get saved as well for the Southern California Railway Museum. Coasterfan2105 helped to save it.
I wonder what it means for the other units at this point.
I’m not sure, but I do recall a couple months ago some new company was planning on leasing refurbished F40’s to commuter agencies needing extra power. Made News Wire, can’t recall the company’s name. Maybe they’ll snag the other three.
If someone would get those derailed Metra gallery cars off the ROW in Antelope Canyon, you probably wouldn’t need a truck. At the rate those cars are getting stripped for metals, they will be nothing but carcasses in about 25 years.
Is this line *that* uneconomical?
There’s no traffic online traffic…and those Metra gallery cars are actually not in the way, they’re on a siding, not the mainline. However, the shortest route to Campo would NOT be from the East end of the old SD&AE but would be through the Mexico portion, which is why they said active, because it’s only inactive for the portion from the U.S. border to Campo if you went Eastbound from San Diego…I think the Carrizo Gorge portion alone would make an excellent Rocky Mountaineer operation, and it wouldn’t require an overnight stay anywhere.
2 or 3 years ago vandals got in and removed the blocks and the cars rolled down the siding into the switch with the mainline. So as of today it is fouled. The first wheel set derailed and stopped it. Nothing can pass (even rail bikes) until someone goes in and pushes those gallery cars back.
Nice to see California helping persevere the history of f40s disappointed mbta didn’t want to donate not even one f40 to a local muesem
mbta has rebuilt their F40PH-2C’s into F40PH-3C’s