Background

On June 20, 1879, the Santa Fe Railway received a land grant from the Mexican government that allowed them to extend their reach through the valley of Sonora through to the coastal town of Guaymas on the Gulf of California.^[9]: 14 The Sonora Railway (an operating subsidiary) allowed the Santa Fe to effectively compete with the Southern Pacific Railroad for business on the West Coast of the United States. Traffic on the line, however, was light, and Santa Fe pushed further westward in search of a suitable Pacific terminus. Since 1845, the citizens of San Diego (then essentially a sleepy fishing village) had attempted to establish a direct rail link to the east without success.^[9]: 239 The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego. The T&P had a significant foothold in Texas by the mid-1880s but construction difficulties delayed westward progress until American financier Jay Gould acquired an interest in the railroad in 1879. The T&P never reached San Diego but instead met the Southern Pacific at Sierra Blanca, Texas, in 1881.

In the wake of this setback, the Santa Fe was approached by the Citizens Railroad Committee of San Diego, who had formed a syndicate for the purpose of building a rail line to connect with the A&P in eastern California. Santa Fe provided financial assistance to the group, which also founded the California Southern Railroad Company (CSRR) on October 23, 1880.^[10]: 18 A roundhouse, workshops, and classification yards were built in National City, a suburb of San Diego. A wharf was also constructed to accommodate ship traffic. Initial plans were made to construct 18 miles (29 km) of main line track extending north from the new complex. As of January 12, 1882, the California Southern commenced regular passenger and freight service between its National City terminus and Fallbrook Junction, just north of Oceanside.^[11]

Tracklaying continued and proceeded steadily northward until August 14, 1882, when a connection was made with the Southern Pacific's line in Colton. The California Southern's attempts to cross over the SP tracks a year later led to a frog war that ended on August 11, 1883, with a court order in the CSRR's favor. A track extension to San Bernardino was completed and the first regular passenger train arrived on September 13.^[10]: 20 The line became part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad's transcontinental rail line in 1885 via an extension of the California Southern from Colton north over the Cajon Pass to Barstow. Santa Fe completed the "Surf Line" run between Los Angeles and San Diego under the auspices of its subsidiary, the Southern California Railway (a different subsidiary from the California Southern), on August 12, 1888.^[12] The route was initially referred to as the Los Angeles—San Diego "Short Line" as it replaced the circuitous inland route through Temecula Canyon.

California Southern's San Diego passenger terminal as it appeared toward the end of the 19th century. An early predecessor of the San Diegan is waiting to depart.

A real estate boom in the spring of 1887 brought thousands of people to Southern California, many of them traveling on "The Santa Fé Route" to San Diego. The California Southern constructed a new Victorian-style depot to handle the throngs of people coming to the Southland.^[13]: 208 The structure sported dark red paint with dark green trim.^[14] Recurring washouts in the Temecula Canyon, however, often disrupted service; in response, the Santa Fe began construction of its 126-mile (203 km)-long "Surf Line" between Los Angeles' La Grande Station and the National City depot. From 1886 to 1888, the Riverside, Santa Ana and Los Angeles Railway built a branch line from Highgrove southwest via Riverside, to Santa Ana and from Orange northwest to Los Angeles. Also in 1888, the San Bernardino and San Diego Railway completed its line from Oceanside north to Santa Ana, completing what was originally called the "Los Angeles-San Diego Short Line." The inland route was finally abandoned in 1891, leaving the newer, coastal route as the only line to San Diego from the north.

It was generally felt that with the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, San Diego would logically become the principal port of call for the Atlantic-Pacific sea trade. To that end, the City decided to stage an international exposition in celebration of the opening of the Canal, and to tout San Diego as the first U.S. port for ships traveling north after passing through the facility. But San Diego, even with its natural landlocked harbor, was 100 miles (161 km) farther south than Los Angeles, which translated into an additional day of travel for both freight and passenger trains; in order for Santa Fe to compete with the Southern Pacific Railroad, the company needed a port closer to its rival's transcontinental terminus. Santa Fe transferred most of its engine terminal yard to San Bernardino in 1887, then established an interim port facility in Redondo Beach the following year. But when the railroad relocated its port operations to San Pedro's newly dredged, manmade harbor in 1911, it effectively ended San Diego's hopes to become the West Coast's southernmost commercial port.^[10]: 45

Santa Fe Depot

The clock tower of the original Santa Fe depot at Bay and Broadway is pulled to the ground by a steel cable attached to two yard locomotives as part of the grand opening celebration on March 7.

Though the elegant California Southern depot had served San Diego for nearly three decades, the station was not adequate to handle the expected flood of visitors through the "Silver Gate" in 1915. In fact, the Santa Fe had considered replacing the aging "D" Street station with a larger, more modern edifice.^[13]: 19 Plans were drawn up for a new station complex in the Mission Revival Style, befitting the upcoming Exposition. The large, graceful palm trees that graced the old depot were boxed and stored for re-planting alongside the new building. Construction began on a site just east of the existing structure on January 15, 1914, and was completed on December 31, at a total cost of $300,000 (equivalent to $8.76 million in 2022 adjusted for inflation). A Fred Harvey Company lunch counter and dining room were incorporated into the floor plan. The old wooden structure was razed during the few days before the opening; the clock tower was ceremonially toppled on March 7, 1915.

The facility opened for business on March 8.^[9]: 245 Oliver J. Stough, the last surviving veteran of the Mexican–American War, was given the honor of purchasing the first ticket.^[14] At the outset, the Santa Fe had three daily local trains and one express train running between Los Angeles and San Diego. During the exposition nine scheduled trains ran on during the week (eight only made stops at Fullerton and Santa Ana, while the ninth was a local that stopped at all of the "Surf Line" stations). Twelve trains operated on weekends, many running in multiple sections. Four helper locomotives were assigned to the Sorrento Grade to help trains over the hill for the duration of the Exposition.

The first SD&A through passenger train "arrives" in San Diego on December 1, 1919 to officially open the line.

John D. Spreckels' San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy) made regular stops at the station since its opening, and continued to do so until April 24, 1949, when San Diego adopted an all-bus transit system.^[15] Spreckels' other rail-related concern, the San Diego and Arizona Railway (built in part to provide San Diego with a direct transcontinental rail link to the east by connecting with the Southern Pacific Railroad lines in El Centro) was invited to make use of the facility. The first SD&A passenger train arrived in downtown on December 1, 1919.^[16]: 80 In 1936 the Santa Fe ordered a six-car trainset from the Budd Company specifically for the initiation of a new, streamlined named train between the LAUPT and San Diego. On March 27, 1938, the company inaugurated the San Diegan route, operating on a two-hour-and-30-minute schedule. A second San Diegan consist entered service on June 8, 1941, doubling the schedule to four daily round trips.^[9]: 247 Freight service consisted of one scheduled overnight train per day, though extras were run as required (sometimes numbering as many as 10–12 per day). The United States' entry into World War II saw a significant increase in rail traffic to and from San Diego, both in the form of troop movements and transport of military vehicles and supplies.^[17]

The San Diegan, pulled by a pair of back-to-back ALCO PA units, reaches the end of the line at San Diego's Union Station on October 26, 1963.

While freight shipments dropped precipitously after the War, passenger demand remained high, and traffic on the "Surf Line" ran second only to the Pennsylvania Railroad's New York–Philadelphia corridor.^[18] Passenger service on the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (a successor to the SD&A) ended on January 11, 1951, due to years of continued declining patronage.^[16]: 125 The front portico was removed in September 1954 to allow for the construction of a parking lot.^[13]: 209

On May 1, 1971, Amtrak took over operation of the San Diegan line, which operated its route between Santa Fe Depot and Union Station in Los Angeles. Santa Fe trainsets usually ran with no cabcar in the days before Amtrak took over the operation of the San Diegan. To make this work, Santa Fe trains backed up, and turned the trains around at the Washington Street Wye, just about 3 miles north of the station near the San Diego International Airport. The wye is not longer in service today, and has been torn up and removed from the site. After more than sixty years of service, the San Diegan was rebranded as the Pacific Surfliner, reflecting extensions of the route over the past two decades to the Central Coast. Since the nearest wye is now 16 miles away in Miramar, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains operate in push-pull mode, with an engine at one end and a cabcar at the other end.

In 1972 Santa Fe proposed to demolish the station and replace it with two 12-story buildings. After protests from the Save Our Heritage Organization, the city's Historical Review Board, and Mayor Pete Wilson, Amtrak agreed to preserve the station if the city would redevelop the surrounding neighborhood.^[19]

San Diego Trolley

The San Diego Trolley, a modern light rail version of the San Diego Electric Railway Association (SDERy) streetcar service, commenced operations on July 26, 1981, with its northern terminus at the station. Relocation of the Santa Fe mainline between the depot and Old Town San Diego in 1991 allowed for an extension of the Trolley to Mission Valley. The Trolley has continued to expand since that time.

The Trolley portion of the Depot was renovated from early May^[22] until October 2012,^[5] as part of the Trolley Renewal Project.^[23]

Santa Fe Depot is served by the Trolley's Blue Line and Green Line.

Commuter, intercity and freight rail

The Santa Fe Depot serves as the southern terminus for the NCTD COASTER commuter rail service, which began weekday service on February 27, 1995. The station is located about forty-one miles (66 km) from the COASTER's northern terminus at Oceanside Transit Center.

NCTD Coaster BiLevel cab car manufactured by Bombardier Transportation, with downtown San Diego in the background.

In addition to COASTER service, the station also serves as the southern terminus for Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, successor to the San Diegan. It runs from San Diego through Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo, though the great majority of trains run along the "Surf Line" from San Diego to Los Angeles, the second busiest rail corridor in the United States after the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak passenger figures from Santa Fe Depot reached a decade-high 777,961 boardings in 2017 (see List of busiest Amtrak stations).^[24]

Daily freight trains, operated by BNSF, also run through the station, often at night when there are fewer passenger trains. The BNSF freight yard in San Diego is about two miles (3.2 km) further south, near Petco Park and adjacent to the 12th & Imperial Transit Center and Naval Base San Diego.