All attempts to communicate to Mexicali with the outside through a railroad , were focused to come out somewhere in the Sea of \u200b\u200bCortez, either pump, San Felipe and San Luis Gonzaga in Baja California, or Port Elizabeth and Otis Port in the Sonoran coast.
The possibility of crossing the desert of Altar was an almost unattainable goal. Taking into account these considerations, exalts the merits of General Lazaro Cardenas, who decisively gave instructions to build a railroad across the desert, with the main objective of communicating to Baja California with the rest of the country, although some doubted how the project was profitable.
Based on that decision, the July 11, 1936 a brigade under the command of the Engineer Topographic Carlos Franco was commissioned by the Territory for the 15 month work started tracing the line in the Altar Desert. We can imagine the great effort required, knowing the regional weather conditions during those months. The line started from Dunes Resort.
On March 20, 1937 began laying track, having made an official ceremony for laying the first nail, which was attended by Mr. Ulises Irigoyen, Director General of Railways Construction, on behalf of President Cardenas, the Governor of the Northern Territory of Baja California, Colonel Rodolfo Sanchez Taboada and other officials. In this railroad was named at that time, Railroad Sources Brotantes-Punta Peñasco.
The continued hard work and July 2, 1937, to be correcting the stroke of the French engineer, lost in the desert died of thirst: the Engineer Jorge López Collada, the Cadeneros José Sánchez Torres Islands and Jesus Burciaga, and the Gustavo Sotelo driver.
The laying of the track came to Puerto Penasco at km 240 +300, 10 April 1940, as a first stage initial project.
normal train service between Mexicali and Puerto Peñasco began on May 5, 1940, with a mixed train powered by a diesel electric locomotive and a Moto-channel with capacity of 45 passengers painted white, called La Paloma. The tour of Rocky Santana, making continued through passenger trucks, trucks and cars, there was also some movement of peasants from Michoacán who were transferred by boat via Puerto Penasco, into the valley of Mexicali.
Although I was using the section of track Reel-dunes to the movement of trains, was until June 1941 that it acquired National Railways International Railway Southern California.
The construction of the line is continued in Puerto Peñasco to Benjamin Hill, but when entering the United States in World War II road construction virtually stopped since the iron material was supplied with that nation where all resources were used in the manufacture of military equipment.
When the war ended, the work continued and in June 1946 resumed the laying of rails, opening up two fronts in opposite directions, one from Puerto Peñasco and the other of Benjamin Hill to the west. In this way, 16 December 1947 the two made contact rail ends at km 327 from Mexicali.
The official opening of the Sonora-Baja California Railway took place on April 7, 1948 in Benjamin Hill, with the assistance of President Michael German, the Governor of Sonora General Abelardo L. Rodríguez, Secretary of Agriculture Nazario Ortiz Garza, among others. Miguel German President officially opened the road moving from Benjamin Hill to Mexicali on the Train Olivo, who was at that time, the Presidential train.
The Sonora-Baja California amply fulfilled its mission of linking to Baja California with the mainland of the country and for almost thirty years was the most important means of transport millions of passengers and tonnes of freight were moved by it. There was a fast train which they named La Bala, was very popular among the people of Mexicali. Everything was going well until the road opened San Luis Rio Colorado-Santa Ana, because services were established, passenger and freight trucks which meant a lot of competition for the railway.
the late nineties, the Sonora-Baja California was acquired by Ferrocarril Mexicano SA de CV, has suspended passenger service on February 18, 1998, apparently unaffordable and, La Paloma and La Bala became Railroad history Sonora-Baja California.
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