Nostalgia & History > SDAE/Kyle San Diego Engine House

Two views of the now long gone engine house that served SP/SDAE and Kyle.The facility was located where the Trolley and Coaster Yard now reside.There's a little bit left of the old freight yard ,but not much, just several tracks.I wish I would have taken more photos of the SDAE,but I guess I will have to be happy that I took some.San Diego is a lot more citified and less open than in the past.Bill Webb

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SDG TOFC ... how long did that last ... nice photos ... i wish the OMNI hotel webcam would come back online again

Seems like BNSF TOFC service to San Diego lasted into the mid to late 90's.We hauled the last straddle buggy lift out after taking it down a few years earlier when they upgraded the TOFC facility at 22nd Street Yard.SDIY operated no TOFC so I presume SDAE TOFC ended when SP quit.Maybe one of the San Diego guys can help out here.Bill Webb

spider1319 Wrote:
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> Seems like BNSF TOFC service to San Diego lasted
> into the mid to late 90's.We hauled the last
> straddle buggy lift out after taking it down a few
> years earlier when they upgraded the TOFC facility
> at 22nd Street Yard.SDIY operated no TOFC so I
> presume SDAE TOFC ended when SP quit.Maybe one of
> the San Diego guys can help out here.Bill Webb

With the Kyle GP 9 in the photo, this is between 1979 and 1983!
Kyle did run TOFC for a short time, the ramps were two old
SP 50 foot flats with one truck removed and the ends of the cars in the dirt!

In the photo, the track with the TOFC cars and the Kyle locomotive was one of the
two ramp tracks, the second is the track through the enginehouse.
I spent many hours working in that enginehouse when I worked for
SDIV in 89/90!

I also worked for National Projects Inc., a division of Morrison-Knudsen,
when the enginehouse was removed and the turntable moved to its
present location. This work was done to increase the size of the trolley storage yard
and the tracks where the Coaster trains are parked!

I had arranged with the company to save the enginehouse for PSRMA, but the
crew taking it down screwed up most of the major frame pieces!

Great photos with lots of memories!!

Mike



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/14 15:24 by 2720.

spider1319 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Seems like BNSF TOFC service to San Diego lasted
> into the mid to late 90's.We hauled the last
> straddle buggy lift out after taking it down a few
> years earlier when they upgraded the TOFC facility
> at 22nd Street Yard.SDIY operated no TOFC so I
> presume SDAE TOFC ended when SP quit.Maybe one of
> the San Diego guys can help out here.Bill Webb

National Projects also built the TOFC facilities for
the Santa Fe, as well as moving the engine service facility
from alongside of Harbor Drive to the west side of the yard.

Most of this work was done 1990-91 and by 94-95, Santa Fe shut
down ALL TOFC traffic to San Diego.

Very interesting job, we had Haz-Mat and archaeologists on site,
a skeleton was dug up along Switzer Creek, now a concrete lined
drainage ditch. The job was immediately shut down and the SDPD,
Harbor Police, Santa Fe Special agents and the FBI converged
on the site! Murder most Foul? NO, turned out to be a 5,000 year old
Indian, the local tribes would migrate down from the mountains
and summer along the coast!

We discovered other "native" sites in the yard as well as along
the line to National City! Most where photographed and mapped with
a few artifacts removed for study and later reburied!

Mike

Nice catches.
JB

Nice Shots! I can still heard those SW-8's revving up in my mind!- Steve

Back when Santee was out in the sticks.

Out

Back around 1962 I would ride my paper boy bike along Imperial Avenue and then Commericial street while chasing the El Cajon train. Usually the El Cajon train consist would be broken down . About that time both the turntable and the engine house were constructed. I remember that the reason for the turntable was the taking out of part of the existing wye for the construction of a large warehouse. At that time, the old engine house was still in existence but not for much longer.
Steve

The turntable and the enginehouse were installed in the mid
fifties. The turntable came from Colton yard and was primarily
used to turn cars with bad order doors, to match the customers
facility.

The original 7 track enginehouse was demolished in 1970. It had been
leased for other purposes then housing and repairing locomotives.

Mike