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The Yuma Valley Railway 3/17/2001

I bought each new issue of the Tourist Railroad and Museum Guides and kept seeing the Yuma Valley Railway listing. Since Yuma was only four hours from Santa Ana, I suggested to my long-time friend Jeff Hartmann that we should go and ride it. Jeff picked me up early on St. Patrick's Day and chose a route that went via San Diego.

Our first stop was in Plaster City where we found Southern California Railroad GP38-2 2000, ex. National Railway Equipment 3076, exx. Progress Rail 3076, nee Denver and Rio Grande Western 3076, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1967, sitting out in the perfect morning light.

We made our way on Interstate 8, pulling off just before Winterhaven to catch Union Pacific 6174 West entering California then drove across the Colorado River into Arizona and saw the Yuma Valley Railway train then found an an information booth which gave us a noon departure.

The Yuma Valley Railway train. With over two hours until departure, we visited the Yuma Crossing State Historical Park.

Southern Pacific 2-8-0 2521 built by Burnham Williams in 1907. It worked on many different duties across the Southern Pacific system well into 1956 and was retired in November that year.

Southern Pacific maintenance-of-way wooden coach 1643 1913, ex. Southern Pacific 1643 1891, exx. Southern Pacific 84 1886, nee Southern Pacific X7 built by the railroad circa 1895. It was abandoned on a siding in the Yuma Valley and three cars were located near the Redondo Ranch. Two of the cars were evidently destroyed by fire. In the early 1960's, the remaining one was located by Don Trigg at a private residence and he gained ownership. On May 10, 1991, Mr. Trigg donated the coach car to the Yuma Crossing Foundation and moved it near its present location. On July 1, 1996, Arizona State Parks acquired possession of the the coach. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

We toured the rest of the museum which I would recommend to anyone visiting or passing through Yuma, then drove to an Arby's for an early lunch before returning to the railway's parking lot to wait to buy our tickets for the ride along the levees of the Colorado River.

The Yuma Valley Railroad, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific constructed the line in 1914 from a connection with the SP Sunset Route at Yuma to the border town of San Luis at Milepost 23.95. For a majority of its route, it ran parallel to both irrigation canals in the area and the Colorado River, and served local ranches along the line. The line was cut back from San Luis to Gadsden at Milepost 18.08 in 1952, with the remainder of the line abandoned by SP in 1980. However, local interests purchased the existing line (from Yuma to Gadsden) for the purposes of running a tourist excursion train during the fall, winter and spring seasons. The ride offers a two-hour narrated excursion in restored Pullman passenger cars behind a vintage GE 44-tonner, viewing local wildlife and agriculture along the route.

This line was owned by the Dept of Interior/Bureau of Reclamation as it resides atop the levee on the Arizona/east side of the Colorado River. It was actually built for the construction of the levee system for the Yuma Valley. Rail service was petitioned for and then operated by the SP until end of service.

Our train consisted of the Yuma Valley Railway 44 ton switcher 3, nee United States Marine Corps switcher built by General Electric in 1943, 2931 "Waldo E. Forster", a 1923 Pullman chair car formerly a US Army ambulance car, "Fugitive Snowboard II", a former Metro-North commuter car and observation car 644 "Jersey Lil", ex. Apache Railway "Alchesay", exx. White Mountain Scenic (McNary, Arizona), nee Missouri-Kansas-Texas coach, number unknown, built by American Car and Foundry in 1923. In 1969, the car had its vestibule removed, an open platform installed and the rear end converted to a parlour carplatform observation car.

Jeff and I purchased our tickets before we sat "Fugitive Snowboard II and at noon, the horn was blown and we slowly started west. At the main road into town, just west of the loading area, we were flagged across and stopped traffic with funny looks from the cars, then started our running on the levee that once protected the surrounding area from flooding before Hoover Dam was built. We passed homes and a new park before escaping the city and proceeded out into the farmlands along the Colorado River.

Below the levee are farmlands which stretch over to the river with Pilot Knob in California and over on the Union Pacific mainline, we saw a freight making its way west into California. We travelled slowly but it was an enjoyable pace as we swayed back and forth over the jointed rail. We turned south moving next to the river and Algondones, Mexico across the river with Vincente Guerrero (Algondones), Mexico coming into view.

We passed Morales Dam as we had farmlands to our right and was interesting watching the Border Patrol agents driving below the tracks along the river. The two of us were having a nice time as the train rocked back and forth along the levee.

We entered the Cocopah Indian Reservation as we curved off the levee and passed through farmland.

Off to the west, the Mexican end of the sand dunes could be seen, which stretch all the way to near Niland along the Salton Sea in California.

Our train turned left before running south where the condition of the right-of-way changed, then passed the location of the former siding where ties were still in the ground and went through a former switch as the tracks jogged. We passed through Somerton while rounding a large "S" curve before running straight and back up onto the levee, where there was a siding that went back north where the railroad stores the train and equipment.

This is either Yuma Valley Railway 30DM-37 1, ex. Yuma Valley Railway 41, exx. Southwest Forest Products 41, exxx. Pacific Car and Foundry, exxxx. Alcoa 1, nee Chicago and Northwstern 201 built by Whitcomb in 1941, or Yuma Valley Railway DE-44 2, ex. Tank Car Company of America, nee United States Amry 1235 built by Davenport in 1953.

We made our way back with entertainment provided by the Border Patrol and closer to Yuma, a couple of Union Pacific freight trains in California. As we returned to the parking area, another westbound Union Pacific freight blew out of town.

Would we see him again? Jeff and I drove back on Interstate 8 then took a local road north along an old Holton Interurban route and cut over to California Highway 86, returning to the tracks at Niland. As we approached Ferrum, I looked back and saw a headlight a mile behind us.

We pulled off to catch Union Pacific 7551 West then stopped at Carl's Junior for dinner before continuing home after an enjoyable excursion on the Yuma Valley Railway.

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