Panoramic photograph of Goat Canyon Trestle and Tunnel number 15
Prior to
Spanish governance, there was Native American activity in the area around Goat Canyon;[11] the impact of this activity includes
petroglyphs and
pictograms in Carrizo Gorge.[12] The last Native Americans to live in the area were the
Kumeyaay.[13] Later cattle ranchers utilized the area.[14] Beginning in 1912, construction began on the
San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway in the area.[13] The Carrizo Gorge portion of the line, including Goat Canyon, was the final portion to be completed.[15] A railroad tunnel of The San Diego and Arizona Railway, Tunnel number 15, was built into the side of the canyon but it collapsed in 1932.[16] The collapse was caused by an earthquake, which dramatically changed the inclination of Tunnel number 15.[17] After Tunnel number 15 collapsed, it was decided that it would be bypassed using a wooden trestle.[18] During the construction of the trestle, segments were lowered into the canyon from the partially completed trestle.[19] Construction workers took breaks in a portion of the collapsed tunnel that they called the "mud shed".[20] The trestle was completed in 1933.[21]
In 1976
Hurricane Kathleen's effects impacted the region around the canyon, destroying tracks and other trestles in Carrizo Gorge;[22] the trestle over Goat Canyon was also damaged, with some of its footings destroyed during the hurricane.[23] By 1981, repairs from the hurricane damage were completed.[24] Heavy rains returned to the area in 1982 and 1983;[25] this led to rail service being discontinued over Goat Canyon and through Carrizo Gorge.[26] After repairs were again completed, trains once again ran over Goat Canyon in 2004.[5][27][28][29] In 2008 the trains once again stopped running over Goat Canyon.[27][28][30]
Popular media
In 1999,
Huell Howser traveled to the canyon to visit the trestle over it.[31] In 2017, the canyon was depicted in a "Mysteries of the Abandoned" episode on the
Science Channel.[32]
^
abc"Goat Canyon". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 19 January 1981. Archived from
the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^Price, James N. (Spring 1988).
"The Railroad Stations of San Diego County". The Journal of San Diego History. 34 (2). San Diego Historical Society. Retrieved 29 March 2018. O'Bannon, Patrick (Fall 1979). "Railroad Construction in the Early Twentieth Century: The San Diego and Arizona Railway". Southern California Quarterly. 61 (3). University of California Press: 255–290.
doi:
10.2307/41170830.
JSTOR41170830.