The Impossible Railroad!!! The San Diego & Arizona Railway, Last Transcontinental Railway completed in the US! Artwork

False Summits: A History Podcast about the American West

The American West has been capturing the imagination for hundreds of years. Hollywood being one of its biggest promoters it gave it an almost mythical status in minds worldwide. Depicted as a rough and tumble place but with a bit of grit and termination on could achieve love and prosperity. Dose the realty hold up to the image? And if so, does it the same ring true today?

Dive into the blurry side of the American West with this darkly comedic history podcast. Join Mason Orlando, Jess Leigh, and Marcelo Aguilar as they explore the wild, weird, grim often terrifying events that create what the American West is today.

From bizarre outlaws and forgotten massacres to eccentric hermits and religious followers attempting to create utopia, this podcast takes a sharp, absurdist twist on Western American history. With a blend of dark humor, historical insight, and a dash of heathy commentary, each episode we cover weird, unsettling, and sometimes hopeful stories that may challenge your conception of the wild West.

All Episodes

False Summits: A History Podcast about the American West

The Impossible Railroad!!! The San Diego & Arizona Railway, Last Transcontinental Railway completed in the US!

June 20, 2025 • Mason Orlando - Jess Leigh - Marcelo Aguilar • Episode 31

Let us know what you think

Mason takes the gang on a ride through the history of the planning, construction, and operation of the only transnational railroad in North America.

Learn about how San Diego City founder John D Speckles secretly conspired with southern pacific railroad man Edward Harriman to build the long-awaited line from San Diego to Yuma. What started as a practical idea, turned into battle against nature as construction crews slowly carved the line through a desert mountain landscape facing both the elements and at times hostile revolutionaries to complete 146-mile line. Find out why from almost opening day the line faced a constant struggles against the harsh desert climates and economics of a changing world.

#Californahistory #Railroadhistory #SanDiegohistory #Westernhistory #sandiego&Arizona railway #Southernpacificrailwaymuseum #Johndspreckels # EdwardHarriman #Carrizogorge #GoatCanyonBridge

Sources:

The Imposable Railroad

KPBS San Diego 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id2y3eT5dC8

The Imposable Railroad

All Around Nevada/ by Howard Goldbaum

https://allaroundnevada.com/impossible-railroad/

History of the San Diego and Arizona: San Diego’s “Impossible Railroad”

Railway Historical Society of San Diego/ by Richard V Dodge

https://www.psrm.org/sda/

John D. Spreckels (1853-1926)

The San Diego History Center