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Still no light at the end of the tunnel
GOOD NEWS from the Mexican operator!! What I'd like to see is where the $1.5 Million dollars that PIR has paid to MTS has gone!! Hopefully its not going back to PIR to keep this HOAX going(My Opinion Only)!! Someone needs to Follow the Money!— November 12, 2014 2:46 p.m.
Pacific Imperial Railroad still can't get through Carrizo Gorge
A few minor corrections on your history of the SD&AE. John D. Spreckels died in 1926, his heirs, not wanting the railroad concluded the sale of the line to the Southern Pacific in 1933. The line was unusable in 1978 due to over $1 Million dollars worth of damage caused by Tropical Storm Kathleen in 1976. As part of the sale of the line to MTDB, now MTS, the SP repaired ALL of the damage and turned over a complete line to MTS, who brought in Kyle Railways to operate the freight on the line. At that time the line was intact between San Diego and Plaster City. Not only did the MTS get the 70 miles of the Desert Line as part of the deal, they also acquired the line between Downtown San Diego and San Ysidro, currently the trolley line to San Ysidro, as well as the line from downtown to El Cajon, also used by the trolley. The sale also included the Coronado Line, including all existing right of way into Coronado and North Island. All of this was included in the $18.1 Million dollar sale. When Kyle left the railroad it was once again severed due to 2 burned out trestles in the Carriso Gorge. Tunnels 8 and 16 were later burned out in 1988 and 1986, respectively. None of MTS's contracted operators bothered to reopen the line until hometown Carrizo Gorge Railway got the line reopened and operating by February of 2004! ALL on it's own dime, I might add!! I was part of the original Carriso Gorge Railway and spent months working to reopen this line, digging out burned out tunnels, repairing the track and operating trains over the railroad, trying to build up the freight business! Once the takeover of 2007 happened and seeing the complete mess it has become at the hands of McHaffie, Jory, Stocklein and yes, I am even including Paul Jablonski at MTS, I am of the opinion that Congressman Hunter and others SHOULD demand a full Federal investigation of Pacific Imperial Railroad, its principals AND MTS!!— September 11, 2014 12:28 a.m.
None
I was part of the team that got the railroad open and operating back in 2004 and while doing so, MTS as the owner of the railroad kept putting roadblocks in our way. We paid 100% of the costs with ZERO assistance from MTS and then were saddled with having to pay 6.9% of our gross revenue to Railamerica, who was previously the operator of record on the line. Railamerica publically stated "They wanted nothing to do with the Desert Line, but as a For Profit Corporation", they demanded their cut. We paid a further $200.00 per car that was routed away from the San Diego and Imperial Valley RR, (Railamerica's local operation) and sent through Plaster City, Ca. to the Carriso Gorge Railway. On top of these fees, we paid a further 1.5% of our gross revenue to MTS, which went into a fund administered by the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Transportation Company, a Nevada Corporation wholeyowned by MTS. This fund was supposed to support the railroad and related projects. Carriso Gorge Railway Inc. was never allowed access to these funds! During 2007, there were 2 hostile takeovers of Carriso Gorge Railway (CZRY), the 2nd was masterminded by Chas McHaffie and others now identified as owners and management of Pacific Imperial Railroad (PIR). Needless to say, the railroad has lanquished under control of the current MTS/PIR and the future is very hazy and getting darker regarding this rail line!— April 22, 2014 6:10 p.m.