San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway

The San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway is a short line, standard gauge American railroad (AAR reporting mark SDAE) founded in 1933 by the the Southern Pacific Transportation Company as a direct successor to John D. Spreckels' San Diego and Arizona Railway (SD&A). Financial problems forced Spreckels' heirs to transfer their share of SD&A ownership to Southern Pacific (SP) for $2.8 million. The SD&AE utilizes approximately 108 miles (174 kilometers) of the original SD&A trackage, broken into four distinct segments. In 1979, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System purchased the SD&AE from Southern Pacific to establish the San Diego Trolley, an interurban light rail passenger line. Throughout the intervening years and into 2013, a number of different transportation concerns have been engaged to provide freight and limited passenger service on the lines.