In the early 1880s, the California Southern Railroad was formed to connect San Diego to San Bernardino. Eventually, the CSRR was to continue north through the Cajon Pass and meet up with its parent railroad, the Santa Fe, creating a second transcontinental railroad to Southern California (the first being the Southern Pacific). Residents and businessmen in San Diego had tried numerous times to get railroad access beforehand. it seemed like there might be a chance.
Starting in National City, the CSRR built up the coast through San Diego, eventually coming to the vicinity of Mission San Luis Rey where present-day Oceanside was founded. There, the railroad turned northeast and headed inland, entering what would become Riverside County in Temecula Canyon.
Railroad construction was slowed greatly by the rockiness of the canyon. Eventually, the railroad emerged from Temecula Canyon and headed north toward Laguna Grande, or today’s Lake Elsinore.
Approaching Laguna Grande, the railroad was faced with a decision — continue north through Temescal Canyon, then northeast through Riverside and on to San Bernardino, or use a shorter way by going through what is today the Perris Valley, around Box Springs Mountain, then on to San Bernardino. The first route was championed by businessmen and residents in Riverside whose town still had no direct rail access.
The latter was advocated by residents in San Diego and San Bernardino as a much shorter route. This route had already been surveyed by Fred Perris, chief surveyor of the CSRR. The railroad chose the Perris route.
Therefore, after Laguna Grande, the railroad led northeast through what was then called San Jacinto Canyon after the San Jacinto River that flowed through it. With the coming of the railroad, the name was soon changed to Railroad Canyon. Once the line was finished through Railroad Canyon, it emptied out onto the vast plain to the east, and eventually connected to San Bernardino to become part of the Santa Fe Railroad.
Why is there no railroad in Railroad Canyon?
In 1884, heavy rains fell on inland Southern California, and a lot of the runoff emptied through Temecula Canyon. The railroad was washed out for miles and had to be repaired at great cost.
This happened again in 1891, and at that point, the Santa Fe abandoned the inland route south of Temecula in favor of a new one that continued up the coast from Oceanside to Los Angeles, then inland. The old CSRR continued to serve towns along it as far south as Temecula for several years, but in 1927, even that line was abandoned south of the town of Perris (which had been named for Fred Perris years before). In the ensuing years, the track was removed, and Railroad Canyon lost its railroad, but kept its name.
This cache is a small Lock & Lock, large enough for small items. Enjoy the view of the entrance to Railroad Canyon while at the cache.