Forums

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know anything about the Eagle Mountain Railroad operated by Kiaser Steel in California? I believe it went out of business in the '80s. I've ran several Google searches and could only find an issue of Model Railroader from '79, some pictures of the abandoned right of way in Eagle Mountain California, and an abondoned caboose that is now in a museum.

[passengerfan]

memory recall sometimes tricky but I remember it was powered by big GE diesels and crossed Interstate 10 in eastern California. Understand it would take a pretty good four-wheel drive to get to where the interchange was with SP. The ore was hauled from the mines at Eagle Mountain to the steel plant at Fontana, California. I haven't been that far east on Interstate 10 for a number of years now so don't no if tracks still exist. Back in the nineties the tracks were still in place. I understand the locos were sold to the SP when the mine runs ended.

[BNSF6400]

Kaiser Steel used General Electric U30C's (1030-1034) to pull the one hundred car ore trains 52-miles from the Eagle Mountain Mine to the Southern Pacific interchange at Ferrum. Ferrum is located on the Sunset Route along the Salton Sea and is visible from California State Route 111. Most of the route is only accessible via four-wheel drive vehicle. The railroad was constructed in 1946-1947 and was in daily operation until 1983. From 1983 to 1986 the railroad operated only occasionally. In March of 1986, the last 20 ore loads departed the mine. The five U30C's were stored at the Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana until 1995 when they were scrapped. They operated two cabooses, one at the musuem and the other, now just a hulk, is on display at Desert Center, which is about 11 miles from Eagle Mountain Mine. Before the U30C's were delivered in 1968, they used five Baldwin locomotives, two DRS6-6-15's and three AS616's. The railroad tracks still remain in place along the entire 52-mile line, however, in August and September of 2003, flash floods damaged the railroad in at least 26 different spots. Repairs have started but are proceeding slowly. If anybody wants specific information regarding this railroad, send an email to [e-mail] and tell me what information you are looking for. I have collected large amounts of information regarding this railroad along with several images of the railroad in the past and present.