I love how this channel feels like an OG History Channel or Discovery show. back in the late '90s/ early 2k's . Even the intro gives it that vibe. Keep up the amazing work
Thank you for making this video! I volunteer at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum and our goal is to preserve this railway. I'm glad to see a really good and in depth video on our "impossible" railroad!
This line would make for a killer set for Western movies or even a western experience of riding a steam locomotive on portions of it, having an authentic Western town built on the line near Dos Cabezas, riding horses everywhere else, and having a drink the saloon. I would pay to get brought in on a Steam train and spend a weekend hanging out in a town like that.
Wow - I do remember the design of these Chicago cars... way back in 1989/90 I was in the Navy and stationed at Great Lakes, IL. I and my shipmates would ride in these double level cars down to Chicago to out and experience the real world and then come back to the station by the base. So many of those mates are gone now... thanks for the story of what we were riding and where they ended up!
@@genevarailfan3909yeah my line has the new cars during rush hour but on the off peak rides they still have the older ones with the leather seats. The new ones kinda look like airplane seats
*Just* took a METRA train for the first time ever about 30 minutes ago, great to see a video here on them. Such an interesting experience to ride on the second floor.
Thank you, Ryan, for all the history. I knew about the cars, I knew about line and trestle, but I didn't know all of that... As someone who really likes trains and train history, I really appreciate it. You know, I think we got some of those old metro cars around here. I believe those are the same class of chicago metro cars that I got to ride in a time two. I believe they're the same type as the one's Iowa Interstate bought for their IAIS 6988 & IAIS 7081 2-10-2 "Santa Fe" Chinese steam locomotive... I went for a ride in them a couple of times back in 2011 once round trip at Rock Island Train Fest, Rock Island, IL to Walcott, IA I believe and once at Planes Trains and Automobiles, fest. Geneseo, round trip from Geneseo, IL to Annawan, IL. I'm not sure if they're still making any runs with those old locomotives or not. 🤔 I think they are, I'm gonna have to look it up. I would sure love to go on another ride sometime. I wish they'd still have that trained festival in Rock Island, that was a one time in history awesome amazing event.
You should try to make a historical on the city of New Haven, CT my hometown. It's got tons of history. It's the hometown of Yale University. This city is rich with history. You might like what you find.
Ya know? I don’t remember subbing to your channel. I know of you guys due to Indie N. and his Great War series. Honestly you’ve become on of my favorite channels. So many different topics that one would never know of. Love it!
Love all the effort that Ryan puts into these videos - but a simple mispronunciation kinda takes the shine off them, especially when repeated multiple times.
I remember those cars well. They were putting together a tourist and dinner train and running the train as a test. There was also a dining and kitchen car (Amtrak?) attached to that consist. They left the cars sitting on the track and vandals somehow released the brakes. The cars rolled downhill and derailed on a curve. The kitchen car overturned. We hiked there a couple of days after the derailment, and I marveled on how fast they repaired the tracks. I thought it was strange that they even re-used the old spikes in making the repair. Shortly after that the dining and kitchen car were removed and the other cars left on the siding where they remain today.
In 2015, I was traveling through Cadillac, MI, and something caught my eye just off the U.S 131 Business Route, so I pulled onto a side street to check. On a railroad siding on the north end of town, was a series of Chicago Metra train cars. Don't know why they were there
I don't know if you knew this Ryan but those Metra trains were based in Joliet and were on the former Rock Island line. The service went threw off of the southwest suburbs. I took it from Joliet to Downtown in my first solo trip into the City when I was 13 and many times more afterwards. I loved those double decker cars and durning the week they were always packed with commuters going to and fro . It used to cost 1.00 for a ride and you better have had your ticket for the Conductor to punch or they'd make you buy another. Those were fun days. Always wondered what happened to them because there were a lot of them.
Nope….the car number was shown in the video - 7773. That’s not an ex-Rock Island car, rather a Chicago & North Western car. A little research finds that these are all former green & yellow C&NW cars.
Those bi-level cars were formerly owned by the C. & N. W. then became property of METRA. All of the other Budd bi-level cars, I believe, such as on the C. B. & Q, were stainless steel sided cars.
@@axlealex3352 They may well have. They had a lot of those old dinosaur single level coaches for years after Budd introduced the bi-level cars. I think it was Ben Heineman, former CEO of the CNW, who got together with Budd to make the bi-level. He wanted to streamline commuter operations to stem the losses but did not or could not get rid of commuter service so he tried to make it more efficient.
IIRC didn't Amtrak operate Budd bi-levels for a time as well on some routes (I THINK out of Chicago)? Not sure if they were from the C&NW or CB&O though.
Love all the different stories tied to Chicago you find. Keep it up 👍 We also have on old Metra train (Nashville Star) here in Tennessee but it still runs.
No what you have are some old Metra Passenger CARS When they were planning the Nashville Star system Metra actually gave them to them or sold them for $1 each because they were going to another Transit Authority. At about the same time they purchased some retired BN Metra E Unit Locomotives to pull them. By the time the Nashville Star was about to commence operation Amtrak had made available some retired F40 Locomotives that were much newer than the BN E Units which were then sold off. However one was kept for the RR Museum in Downtown Nashville. I lived in Nashville at the time.
I also volunteered at PSRM back in the late '80's to mid '90's! As a docent you had to study the history and lead the tours. It was fun. Hiked this section of track a couple times from Jacumba to Dos Cabesas. Some Chinese labor was used in the construction of the line. I remember there was a good Chinese restaurant in Tecate when we took a tour train there. Some Chinese settled in the area after the line was completed. There was also a Chinese architecture style house on hill in Jacumba. Italian and German prisoners of war were housed at Camp Lockett which is adjacent to where the PSRM Campo museum is located. Some Italians stuck around too after the war was over. There was an Italian restaurant in Tecate called Passetto's I remember. Descendants of the POWs ran it. Love history. Thank you Ryan.
12:10 Interesting at around this time, I was working for Nippon Sharyo USA. We were in the test-build phase of manufacturing the new Cal-Trans cars. However, these cars failed the FRA crush test, despite the cars being of a new design, and being tested several times. As a result, Nippon Sharyo USA lost its Cal-Trans contract. Rumor had it that a train building company in New York took over the project. It should also be noted that when Nippon Sharyo USA opened, there was mass protests at the Nippon Sharyo plant in Japan. During the first at round of Metra passenger cars built at Nippon Sharyo USA, the price per unit was inflated, so when the first project was completed, the property was paid off. As a result of a lost Cal-Trans contract, Nippon Sharyo USA shut down, and no longer exists.
I've taken Metra countless times from growing up in the suburbs of Chicago and now I live in Southern California. Probably a couple hours drive from this train trestle though but still very interesting. As someone from a big railroad city It's really cool to see all sorts of trains in the desert
I remember those trains paint schemes. I don't think they use the bright orange seats anymore but I remember being a little kid when they did. They had the seats that can flip so you can face either way. I would sit up top and the conductor could walk around the bottom and reach up for the tickets. I remember being given a big stack of used ticket stubs once. (I've in Peora for the past 10 years now but this was back in the early 90's.)
Very interesting and well done, thank you. It's a shame that they are abandoned, train history should be preserved. I know I wouldn't mind having one or two car.
Excellent video! We released a Goat Canyon Trestle video last week. Great minds think alike! Such a fascinating site. Anyways, always love your excellent research.
I was so excited because I saw your video last week and was curious about these cars but Google didn't give me much, so when I saw the It's History video on my feed this morning it was a instant play.
Fascinating! You mentioned Wisconsin And Southern Railroad, I watch videos from Roman's Milwaukee Roads , he has excellent footage of that railroad. Greetings from Port Saint Lucie, Florida.
I rode my bicycle out to the trestle on the hottest day of the year, over 120 degrees. Stopped and walked through the train on the way out. There is a nudist camp close to the start of the ride.
I was there just over a year ago. Didn’t see the Goat Canyon trestle bridge but did see the abandoned rail cars. They are really neat to see and easy to get to.
These appear to be early Metra repaints of CNW equipment. Metra has sent these type coaches to the annual "Galesburg Railroad Days" held in June. I rode them there in the 1990s, and in Chicago as well (Northwest Line 1978-1989). Would never have believed they could end up sitting in a southern California desert. Museum yes, desert no. Thanks for the video!
10:05 this is a British freight train homie. I will say, there has been a big improvement of using the correct photos/videos for the subject. Almost there.
Chicago and NorthWestern first introduced the "gallery" design circa 1956; it then spread to other Chicagoland commuter roads which were merged into Metra in 1984. The design spread to San Francisco, where SP operated them for what became Caltrain, and Montreal, Canada for CP, whence they passed to what is now Exo. Today the gallery design is largely out of favor; it's limited to low platforms, is not accessible, and cannot easily be made so. Starting with Toronto's GO Transit in 1977, cars with 2 full decks became the norm.
Although I will probably never have a chance to hike this railroad, at least I can drive a train along the line in Trainz Simulator. Definitely do a video on Southern Pacific’s Tillamook line in Oregon and it’s eventual demise.
Not in this sense,but yes in heraldry. Used here, it is a set of repeating twin legs with horizontal crossbeams, all joined together to form the complete structure.
Lived in chicagoland area (1996-98) and took the Metra daily from North Suburbs (Des Plaines/Park Ridge/Evanston) to Union Station (Downtown). These look like some of them. Cool story.
I love Carrizo George. He lives near the Carrrizo Gorge, right? Just south of the San Juan Gorge (or is that San Juan George? So hard to read and write English, especially for professional narrators).
I commuted into Chicago for a good few years in trains that look exactly like the one in thumbnail. Very strange to see where they ended up. I probably didn't ride in those exact cars, but I could have.
Weird. I’ve lived in LA for 20 years. I moved here from Chicago. About 30 years ago-until ‘96- I worked on Canal Street. What is now Ogilvie Station yard runs past the back of the building I worked in. My work space was at the back on the 2nd floor. My window looked out onto that yard. Those Metra trains in that paint scheme-light grayish white, muted brownish stripe and muted rust orange stripe-ran in and out of that station yard, within mere feet away, past my office window.
It is sad to see such a railway in which a huge investment has been made, how it sits abandoned instead of being lost in the tourist circuit. A pity of such splendor
So sad that some people feel a compulsion to deface abandoned historical things with their amazing graffiti. Yeah, I know it can sometimes be artistic, but c'mon - not every single thing needs to be a canvas. I wish they had a little more respect.
That bridge prob needs to be a brick built concrete filled viaduct or a steel lattice deck atop concrete pillars, last 100 years come rain or shine with little maintaining needs.
Train Tracks are Never really Abandoned. They are still Own by the Railroad Company that buys the route/tracks. While they could be Left unused for Many Many Many Years. Until the Tracks are actually Removed. They are not Abandoned and are still Own by the Company. Also Note 9:15 is the Start of the Actual Video Title of Why There are Metro Trains There. The Rest was not really needed in the video. As it did Not Explain anything about the Chicago Metro Trains Currently there.
The passenger cars of which some were set on fire, were sitting on a spur track back from the main track. Someone released the brakes and some if not all of the railcars rolled down and across the main track derailing. This most likely would have damaged all of the trackage and railcars making it nearly impossible to salvage anything.
Metra is moving traffic from weekends and rush hour to mid day. The passenger traffic pattern is changing to mid week shoppers from early morning office workers.
I enjoy your blurbs but this one did not seem to answer the Q - how those cars got out there. Why/when did Metra sell them? How did they get out there? What was the plan? Did someone actually anticipate enough passengers on this route? Why not mothball them, like passenger jets parked out in Arizona desert?
Carrizo Gorge has a railroad, their 3 locomotives (2 F units with the big "SPIRIT" text and 1 alco unit), they're all stored at Jacumba Yard, they rarely try to repair something on the SD&AE railroad nowadays. Bonus Fact: There's a VHS video on RUclips showing the arrival of the Chicago Metra's train cars.
A few of us just rode this line on our mountain bikes two weeks ago up from Dos Cabazzas from the north. Some idiots set the 3 passenger cars from Montreal on fire that sit north of those Metra cars. Why do people have to be morons?
I saw a special on Huell Howser California gold that showed that line and those cars being used for a day trip from a San Diego train museum to the Tecate beer factory in Mexico.. Also I believe those cars were going to be bought by the failed. X-train project from LA to Las vegas. Then the entire project fell through. Just going by best recollection. Maybe it was on another SD rail line, not sure.
Thanks for the video. It was good to hear about Mr. George. Maybe he needed to hire more good operators. 😂 I am sure you have heard about the George thing enough, and Jacumba. Thanks for pronouncing Baja right though, that might have did me in. A little info for you. A train isn't a train without a locomotive. Those would just be cars, or passenger cars, or rail cars, or train cars. Think of it like a Semi. A trailer isn't a semi, but it can be a semi trailer. Also, a locomotive by itself isn't a train. Sadly, the three Montreal metro cars, TPHX 801, 817, and 835, that are on a siding further up the line have been set on fire. It is sad the difference in a video from 12 years ago to a video from 1 year ago. 12 years ago they appeared to be in great condition, now they are just scrap.
There were several lines that have tunnels and bridges, and recently in the last 5 years the state put up iron gates to block the entrances to the tunnels They also dynamited the tunnels to further block the entrances to the tunnels. They don't want people on the tressels As far as I know, except for the most experienced hikers who can scale the mountains and climb over the tunnels, no one else can see the tressels
i live near here in san diego, i remember when i first started hiking in the desert near these cars they were pristine, north of Jajamba. but the moved them further north near the nudest colony and then the word was out. covered with graffiti ever since. careful, it is CA desert. i almost got shot there but could not convince sherifs to intervene.
My god, I have seen the metro cars sitting outside the Wisconsin Southern yard in Horicon, WI. Did not realize they were connected story to those in California
I love how this channel feels like an OG History Channel or Discovery show. back in the late '90s/ early 2k's . Even the intro gives it that vibe.
Keep up the amazing work
very true...Nowadays those networks literally show anything but good programming.
Carrizo George was frequently mentioned. What a character he must have been!
It was a deep George too.
Costanza!
Yeah, I cringed every time he mispronounced "Gorge."
@@AegisDivision01 What about Jacumba?
@@casinoboyeric "Ha-cum-ba"!
Thank you for making this video! I volunteer at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum and our goal is to preserve this railway. I'm glad to see a really good and in depth video on our "impossible" railroad!
Thank you for all your efforts!
Thanks
I hope we can preserve this bit of history because I'm looking forward to visiting the trestle bridges again. It's a fascinating site to see.
"Impossible" being the key word?
This line would make for a killer set for Western movies or even a western experience of riding a steam locomotive on portions of it, having an authentic Western town built on the line near Dos Cabezas, riding horses everywhere else, and having a drink the saloon. I would pay to get brought in on a Steam train and spend a weekend hanging out in a town like that.
We can dream, but that’s about as far as it will go.
Real life west world lol
The wrecked cars on the side of the ''george'' were actually part of a movie set. I was surprised that he didn't mention that.
Didn’t they use that bridge in “lion of the desert”?convoy ambush scene
Wow - I do remember the design of these Chicago cars... way back in 1989/90 I was in the Navy and stationed at Great Lakes, IL. I and my shipmates would ride in these double level cars down to Chicago to out and experience the real world and then come back to the station by the base. So many of those mates are gone now... thanks for the story of what we were riding and where they ended up!
A handful of those bi-level cars are still running on Metra, and several have been modified to carry bicycles.
My line mdw are still doubles
@@GodBlezzAmerica Yes, all Metra cars are bi-levels. I was referring to that specific type of bi-level car--the former C&NW ones with smooth sides.
@@genevarailfan3909yeah my line has the new cars during rush hour but on the off peak rides they still have the older ones with the leather seats. The new ones kinda look like airplane seats
@@GodBlezzAmerica I believe those are actually old cars with new seats. Hopefully new cars coming in a couple years won't have airplane-style seats!
*Just* took a METRA train for the first time ever about 30 minutes ago, great to see a video here on them. Such an interesting experience to ride on the second floor.
Upper deck. 🙂
Neat trains huh? I used to go from otc to Harvard IL regularly.
Thank you, Ryan, for all the history. I knew about the cars, I knew about line and trestle, but I didn't know all of that... As someone who really likes trains and train history, I really appreciate it. You know, I think we got some of those old metro cars around here.
I believe those are the same class of chicago metro cars that I got to ride in a time two. I believe they're the same type as the one's Iowa Interstate bought for their IAIS 6988 & IAIS 7081 2-10-2 "Santa Fe" Chinese steam locomotive... I went for a ride in them a couple of times back in 2011 once round trip at Rock Island Train Fest, Rock Island, IL to Walcott, IA I believe and once at Planes Trains and Automobiles, fest. Geneseo, round trip from Geneseo, IL to Annawan, IL. I'm not sure if they're still making any runs with those old locomotives or not. 🤔 I think they are, I'm gonna have to look it up. I would sure love to go on another ride sometime. I wish they'd still have that trained festival in Rock Island, that was a one time in history awesome amazing event.
How interesting, let us know what you discover after looking into this more. I really appreciate your comment.
You should try to make a historical on the city of New Haven, CT my hometown. It's got tons of history. It's the hometown of Yale University. This city is rich with history. You might like what you find.
@@harveystrodejr.0351 If Yale wasn't there, New Haven would be just another hick town in the North East homie.
Ya know?
I don’t remember subbing to your channel. I know of you guys due to Indie N. and his Great War series.
Honestly you’ve become on of my favorite channels. So many different topics that one would never know of.
Love it!
We are honored to have you with the show! Don’t miss the D-Day special we did with the Indie and the guys last month 😎
Gorge, not George.
Was going to say something.. Glad I wasn’t the only ne that caught that.
Love all the effort that Ryan puts into these videos - but a simple mispronunciation kinda takes the shine off them, especially when repeated multiple times.
No this is Patrick.
@@phloughtgnarpsehs7263 only one, not only ne.
First G is hard, second G is soft.
I remember those cars well. They were putting together a tourist and dinner train and running the train as a test. There was also a dining and kitchen car (Amtrak?) attached to that consist. They left the cars sitting on the track and vandals somehow released the brakes. The cars rolled downhill and derailed on a curve. The kitchen car overturned. We hiked there a couple of days after the derailment, and I marveled on how fast they repaired the tracks. I thought it was strange that they even re-used the old spikes in making the repair. Shortly after that the dining and kitchen car were removed and the other cars left on the siding where they remain today.
In 2015, I was traveling through Cadillac, MI, and something caught my eye just off the U.S 131 Business Route, so I pulled onto a side street to check. On a railroad siding on the north end of town, was a series of Chicago Metra train cars. Don't know why they were there
I don't know if you knew this Ryan but those Metra trains were based in Joliet and were on the former Rock Island line. The service went threw off of the southwest suburbs. I took it from Joliet to Downtown in my first solo trip into the City when I was 13 and many times more afterwards. I loved those double decker cars and durning the week they were always packed with commuters going to and fro . It used to cost 1.00 for a ride and you better have had your ticket for the Conductor to punch or they'd make you buy another. Those were fun days. Always wondered what happened to them because there were a lot of them.
Nope….the car number was shown in the video - 7773. That’s not an ex-Rock Island car, rather a Chicago & North Western car. A little research finds that these are all former green & yellow C&NW cars.
Those bi-level cars were formerly owned by the C. & N. W. then became property of METRA. All of the other Budd bi-level cars, I believe, such as on the C. B. & Q, were stainless steel sided cars.
Very cool insight
Didn't the Rock Island have some of those types of cars also? I thought I saw some in a couple old videos
@@axlealex3352 They may well have. They had a lot of those old dinosaur single level coaches for years after Budd introduced the bi-level cars. I think it was Ben Heineman, former CEO of the CNW, who got together with Budd to make the bi-level. He wanted to streamline commuter operations to stem the losses but did not or could not get rid of commuter service so he tried to make it more efficient.
@@axlealex3352yes. Rock Island had a bunch of the smooth sided cars. They were painted Red with a Yellow stripe..
IIRC didn't Amtrak operate Budd bi-levels for a time as well on some routes (I THINK out of Chicago)? Not sure if they were from the C&NW or CB&O though.
Amazing story. The Chicago effect is huge. Thanks for sharing. ❤
Hearing you pronounce gorge (hard G) like George (soft G) is grating to listen too. Other than that it is a really interesting and informing video.
Thanks for the helpful feedback and thanks for watching our new video! - Socash
I'm starting to think he purposefully chooses a word to mispronounce in his videos so as to drive engagement in the comments.
I think so, too. It seems like every video has at least one or two that really stand out.
Like wearing goofy hats?
Carrizo George is Yosemite Sam's cousin, I guess.
I miss the Spreckles Factory, the name fits sugar perfectly and the sign on the factory was a landmark. The package design and logo were cool.
Love all the different stories tied to Chicago you find. Keep it up 👍
We also have on old Metra train (Nashville Star) here in Tennessee but it still runs.
No what you have are some old Metra Passenger CARS When they were planning the Nashville Star system Metra actually gave them to them or sold them for $1 each because they were going to another Transit Authority. At about the same time they purchased some retired BN Metra E Unit Locomotives to pull them. By the time the Nashville Star was about to commence operation Amtrak had made available some retired F40 Locomotives that were much newer than the BN E Units which were then sold off. However one was kept for the RR Museum in Downtown Nashville. I lived in Nashville at the time.
I also volunteered at PSRM back in the late '80's to mid '90's! As a docent you had to study the history and lead the tours. It was fun. Hiked this section of track a couple times from Jacumba to Dos Cabesas. Some Chinese labor was used in the construction of the line. I remember there was a good Chinese restaurant in Tecate when we took a tour train there. Some Chinese settled in the area after the line was completed. There was also a Chinese architecture style house on hill in Jacumba. Italian and German prisoners of war were housed at Camp Lockett which is adjacent to where the PSRM Campo museum is located. Some Italians stuck around too after the war was over. There was an Italian restaurant in Tecate called Passetto's I remember. Descendants of the POWs ran it. Love history. Thank you Ryan.
12:10 Interesting at around this time, I was working for Nippon Sharyo USA. We were in the test-build phase of manufacturing the new Cal-Trans cars. However, these cars failed the FRA crush test, despite the cars being of a new design, and being tested several times. As a result, Nippon Sharyo USA lost its Cal-Trans contract. Rumor had it that a train building company in New York took over the project. It should also be noted that when Nippon Sharyo USA opened, there was mass protests at the Nippon Sharyo plant in Japan. During the first at round of Metra passenger cars built at Nippon Sharyo USA, the price per unit was inflated, so when the first project was completed, the property was paid off. As a result of a lost Cal-Trans contract, Nippon Sharyo USA shut down, and no longer exists.
That's unfortunate, their Caltrain Bi-levels are quite nice
I've taken Metra countless times from growing up in the suburbs of Chicago and now I live in Southern California. Probably a couple hours drive from this train trestle though but still very interesting. As someone from a big railroad city It's really cool to see all sorts of trains in the desert
I remember those trains paint schemes. I don't think they use the bright orange seats anymore but I remember being a little kid when they did. They had the seats that can flip so you can face either way. I would sit up top and the conductor could walk around the bottom and reach up for the tickets. I remember being given a big stack of used ticket stubs once. (I've in Peora for the past 10 years now but this was back in the early 90's.)
Very interesting and well done, thank you.
It's a shame that they are abandoned, train history should be preserved.
I know I wouldn't mind having one or two car.
Several are preserved. Metra is still using a handful of that type, and three operate at the Illinois Railway Museum in their original C&NW colors.
I didn't know this recent history of this trestle. So sad. It was a very cool part of RR history.
Gorge, not George.. Amazing story. The Chicago effect is huge. Thanks for sharing. .
Excellent video! We released a Goat Canyon Trestle video last week. Great minds think alike! Such a fascinating site. Anyways, always love your excellent research.
I was so excited because I saw your video last week and was curious about these cars but Google didn't give me much, so when I saw the It's History video on my feed this morning it was a instant play.
Oddity Odysseys - Beth and Drew! I love your channel!
Love the video, but it's not "George" as in the man's name. It's "Gore"ge.
I’ll try to remember that next time.
Yeah, that mispronounciation surprised me
@@ITSHISTORYhow could you not know how to pronounce “gorge”?
There's an occasional mispronounced word or two but his videos are so good and researched thoroughly I recommend them to everyone !!! 💯
Fascinating! You mentioned Wisconsin And Southern Railroad, I watch videos from Roman's Milwaukee Roads , he has excellent footage of that railroad. Greetings from Port Saint Lucie, Florida.
We have a FL video coming up soon! I’d also like to do some episodes about WI. Thanks for your support🙏
@@ITSHISTORY I look forward to seeing them.
I rode my bicycle out to the trestle on the hottest day of the year, over 120 degrees. Stopped and walked through the train on the way out. There is a nudist camp close to the start of the ride.
It's not nude anymore. They went clothed.
this is the tracks next to the nudist camp right?
Yep!
Just to the north of the camp! ⛺️
Former nudist camp.
I was there just over a year ago. Didn’t see the Goat Canyon trestle bridge but did see the abandoned rail cars. They are really neat to see and easy to get to.
These appear to be early Metra repaints of CNW equipment. Metra has sent these type coaches to the annual "Galesburg Railroad Days" held in June. I rode them there in the 1990s, and in Chicago as well (Northwest Line 1978-1989). Would never have believed they could end up sitting in a southern California desert. Museum yes, desert no. Thanks for the video!
Current Metra cars on the Heritage Corridor line look almost identical. Some of the most uncomfortable seats on all the Metra lines around here.
10:05 this is a British freight train homie.
I will say, there has been a big improvement of using the correct photos/videos for the subject.
Almost there.
As a Chicagoan, those trains look very familiar. It used to be the illinois central line When I was a kid. We called it the I.C.
Chicago and NorthWestern first introduced the "gallery" design circa 1956; it then spread to other Chicagoland commuter roads which were merged into Metra in 1984. The design spread to San Francisco, where SP operated them for what became Caltrain, and Montreal, Canada for CP, whence they passed to what is now Exo. Today the gallery design is largely out of favor; it's limited to low platforms, is not accessible, and cannot easily be made so. Starting with Toronto's GO Transit in 1977, cars with 2 full decks became the norm.
Although I will probably never have a chance to hike this railroad, at least I can drive a train along the line in Trainz Simulator.
Definitely do a video on Southern Pacific’s Tillamook line in Oregon and it’s eventual demise.
Hey it’s dippy fresh
Are trestles traditionally tripod supports relying on support from horizontal frames?
Not in this sense,but yes in heraldry. Used here, it is a set of repeating twin legs with horizontal crossbeams, all joined together to form the complete structure.
The vast number of trestles have been wood, even big ones.
Hi hope all is well with you and your family too. Great video very interesting. Question Did they finally remove that abandoned train? Just curious
Lived in chicagoland area (1996-98) and took the Metra daily from North Suburbs (Des Plaines/Park Ridge/Evanston) to Union Station (Downtown). These look like some of them. Cool story.
@@ADxG1369 park ridge is a very nice town. Been through there a couple times and it stood out to me for some reason
I love Carrizo George. He lives near the Carrrizo Gorge, right? Just south of the San Juan Gorge (or is that San Juan George? So hard to read and write English, especially for professional narrators).
I commuted into Chicago for a good few years in trains that look exactly like the one in thumbnail. Very strange to see where they ended up. I probably didn't ride in those exact cars, but I could have.
Very interesting and informative information! T. Y. Too you and all behind the scenes! T00 make this video possible! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Thanks so much! These videos take passion from many people to make!
Great history and thank you for sharing this video
Great video and great history... Thanks !
Thank you for this explanation. I have seen videos of exploration of this canyon and bridge and the passenger cars.
Thanks for the lesson & the lead ima take a Turbo-S down there & paint a Fr8!I love stuff like this!!!
Great job. Love the creepy music. Sounds like the music in the film dual😊😊😊😊
Weird. I’ve lived in LA for 20 years. I moved here from Chicago. About 30 years ago-until ‘96- I worked on Canal Street. What is now Ogilvie Station yard runs past the back of the building I worked in. My work space was at the back on the 2nd floor. My window looked out onto that yard. Those Metra trains in that paint scheme-light grayish white, muted brownish stripe and muted rust orange stripe-ran in and out of that station yard, within mere feet away, past my office window.
A great story, well told.
It is sad to see such a railway in which a huge investment has been made, how it sits abandoned instead of being lost in the tourist circuit. A pity of such splendor
Your trademark mispronunciation: it is Carrizo GORGE, not George.
So sad that some people feel a compulsion to deface abandoned historical things with their amazing graffiti. Yeah, I know it can sometimes be artistic, but c'mon - not every single thing needs to be a canvas. I wish they had a little more respect.
I have been waiting for this for a long time.
Well George we have a preserved tressle in damp old UK! In Malden Essex it must be the smallest! And too damp to combust!
I wonder how far you could get with a hand rail car?
That bridge prob needs to be a brick built concrete filled viaduct or a steel lattice deck atop concrete pillars, last 100 years come rain or shine with little maintaining needs.
I've traveled all over our country and never understood why the people of California "TAG" everything up ?? Even in their parks n nice places.. smh.
Been to Manchester UK lately? Same problem, there is stupid in all countries.
@@MegaBait1616 not just California.
@@LynneWilliams-bi1tx , Yeah mostly in Blue States
@@MegaBait1616 Sorry, what is a Blue State?
Awsome 😊
Train Tracks are Never really Abandoned. They are still Own by the Railroad Company that buys the route/tracks. While they could be Left unused for Many Many Many Years. Until the Tracks are actually Removed. They are not Abandoned and are still Own by the Company.
Also Note 9:15 is the Start of the Actual Video Title of Why There are Metro Trains There. The Rest was not really needed in the video. As it did Not Explain anything about the Chicago Metro Trains Currently there.
Thank you 😊
The passenger cars of which some were set on fire, were sitting on a spur track back from the main track. Someone released the brakes and some if not all of the railcars rolled down and across the main track derailing. This most likely would have damaged all of the trackage and railcars making it nearly impossible to salvage anything.
I can just imagine a scenic railroad or a railroad preserve society grabs those cars and fully restores them
Very Interesting..👍👍👍
Some other RTA semi-bi-levels wound up rolling on the Virginia Railway Express commuter service into Washington DC.
And the worst part is that Metra could use those cars
Chicago news just said they are cutting service
@@ronsblahblahWhere did you read that? They just announced plans for a service to Rockford today.
Metra is moving traffic from weekends and rush hour to mid day. The passenger traffic pattern is changing to mid week shoppers from early morning office workers.
I enjoy your blurbs but this one did not seem to answer the Q - how those cars got out there. Why/when did Metra sell them? How did they get out there? What was the plan? Did someone actually anticipate enough passengers on this route? Why not mothball them, like passenger jets parked out in Arizona desert?
I to enjoy this connection, since I'm originally from Chicago but now live in San Diego.
Carrizo Gorge has a railroad, their 3 locomotives (2 F units with the big "SPIRIT" text and 1 alco unit), they're all stored at Jacumba Yard, they rarely try to repair something on the SD&AE railroad nowadays.
Bonus Fact: There's a VHS video on RUclips showing the arrival of the Chicago Metra's train cars.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
being from this area and watching this is very entertaining
Theres even used to be 3 old amt 800 series cars from montreal. Unfortunatly 2 were set ablaze recently.
13:10 It's 7773, at least that's the number on the train in the picture, not 7774
A few of us just rode this line on our mountain bikes two weeks ago up from Dos Cabazzas from the north.
Some idiots set the 3 passenger cars from Montreal on fire that sit north of those Metra cars.
Why do people have to be morons?
Is that portal music in the background?
Was that before or after #collegedropout was released explain please DC PA Chicago & Michigan
I remember the seats moved so you could sit facing front or backwards.
Was hoping for some videography but cool video
I saw a special on Huell Howser California gold that showed that line and those cars being used for a day trip from a San Diego train museum to the Tecate beer factory in Mexico.. Also I believe those cars were going to be bought by the failed. X-train project from LA to Las vegas. Then the entire project fell through. Just going by best recollection. Maybe it was on another SD rail line, not sure.
Another place where I made my comedy the Stupid Orange and the Flintstones right from that abandoned train.
❤❤❤ from Edgewood BC Canada 🇨🇦 😍 ❤❤❤
Thanks for the video. It was good to hear about Mr. George. Maybe he needed to hire more good operators. 😂
I am sure you have heard about the George thing enough, and Jacumba. Thanks for pronouncing Baja right though, that might have did me in.
A little info for you. A train isn't a train without a locomotive. Those would just be cars, or passenger cars, or rail cars, or train cars. Think of it like a Semi. A trailer isn't a semi, but it can be a semi trailer. Also, a locomotive by itself isn't a train.
Sadly, the three Montreal metro cars, TPHX 801, 817, and 835, that are on a siding further up the line have been set on fire. It is sad the difference in a video from 12 years ago to a video from 1 year ago. 12 years ago they appeared to be in great condition, now they are just scrap.
Sad, but also fascinating story.
it’s pretty sad that someone torched one of the ones I had a chance to walk through at this very place
Would be some nice drone area footage.
I totally agree
youll at the goat Cayon Tressel hike trail
Think what’s more crazy is these same damn cars are still in operation…
And they feel their age lol
NO STOPS BETWEEN AURORA AND SAN DIEGO! PLEASE NOTE - NO STOPS BETWEEN ...
Do the abandon locomotives down the line in el centro
There were several lines that have tunnels and bridges, and recently in the last 5 years the state put up iron gates to block the entrances to the tunnels
They also dynamited the tunnels to further block the entrances to the tunnels.
They don't want people on the tressels
As far as I know, except for the most experienced hikers who can scale the mountains and climb over the tunnels, no one else can see the tressels
i live near here in san diego, i remember when i first started hiking in the desert near these cars they were pristine, north of Jajamba. but the moved them further north near the nudest colony and then the word was out. covered with graffiti ever since. careful, it is CA desert. i almost got shot there but could not convince sherifs to intervene.
I love Metra trains ⚠️👀💯
Imagine Scar telling Mufasa that Simba is down in the “George” during the stampede.
I rode those trains while at Great Lakes naval yraining center.
Thanks. toronto canada
In the railroad. We don’t call it abandoned, they are “unused”. Because someone still owns them.
Cords?
My god, I have seen the metro cars sitting outside the Wisconsin Southern yard in Horicon, WI. Did not realize they were connected story to those in California
That kinda looks like the bridge from the movie “ The Cassandra Crossing “.
The television presentation format works on television because you can’t fast forward. Swing and a miss.
The "mystery" is why RUclipsrs even watch this video beyond the first 30 seconds.
Yeah there's that west coast flavor I've been craving!