I wonder whether there is any interest or attempt to revive an abandoned part of the old Southern Pacific narrow gauge between Laws and Keeler in California's Owens Valley? The tracks have been removed but the right of way still exists and it seems to me that 20 miles of it, from the junction with the standard gauge line at Owenyo and the southern tip at the Sierra Talc works would be an ideal stretch of historic railroad to revive as a tourist run. Spectacular scenery and an epitome of the mixture of Sierra and desert chracteristic of this part of California. Any group or organization taking it up would probably find it appealing to Crowd Funding among railfans and Westen history Buffs.
It's kind of far from anywhere. People aren't going to go that far for a train ride if there's nothing else to do in the vicinity.
In that regard the preservation group for SP 18 typically takes it on the road to other 3-foot-gauge railroads to be able to run it.
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/811688/
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/805108/
Backshop It's kind of far from anywhere. People aren't going to go that far for a train ride if there's nothing else to do in the vicinity.
The nearby town is Lone Pine. The two main activities are hiking up Mt. Whitney (highest peak in the lower 48), and movie making in the varied terrain of the locality. I remember some older movies included SP narrow gauge trains. The town attracts some foriegn visitors going Las Vagas, Death Valley, Mt. Whitney, Yosemite. Its also on the way from LA to Eastern Sierras, Tahoe, Reno.
duplicate post
Re-assembling the corridor and getting it all back under one owner would probably be a nightmare. The NARPO cockroaches would come streaming out from everywhere.
In fall of 1992, I drove quite a bit of the ROW in the valley as well as driving from the summit of Montgomery Pass to where the ROW met u with Highway 6 (though did take a short cut to bypass the colapsed tunnel. Would have loved to have ridden a train over the pass.
The depot at Owenyo was still in fairly good condition then, though the remants of an old septic tank was a potential booby trap.
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