The Eagle Mountain Railroad (EMRR) was a private, 51 mile long railroad owned by Kaiser Steel which was used from 1948 to 1986 to move iron ore from the Eagle Mountain Mine in Riverside County to an interchange with the Southern Pacific Railroad. One of the longest privately owned railroads in the country, it is currently owned by Kaiser Steel's successor, Kaiser Ventures.
This railroad bridge is where the rail line crosses the Bradshaw Trail not far from the Salton Sea.
Two Burt Lancaster movies were filmed along a portion of the Eagle Mountain Railroad. In 1966 Columbia Pictures filmed several scenes for The Professional and in 1986 Touchstone Films filmed the movie The Tough Guys along stretch of the rail line.
While doing some research on the railroad I discovered that the ghost town of the Eagle Mountain Mine supposedly has more standing buildings than the well-known town of Bodie, but that very few people know about it and it doesn't get many visits. I can't wait to go find it and will be planning a trip for it soon.
Nothing after the jump.
Stumbled upon your site while learning the ways of SmugMug/Blog integration. Yours is especially nice. Job well done!
ReplyDeleteRegarding your Eagle Mountain Rail photos...very beautiful. As an aside, did you know that the Eagle Mountain Mine will likely be the home of a regional rail served mega landfill in the not too distant future? It's a very well-planned facility, but 20,000 tons of garbage per day will turn just about any landscape into an eyesore. Might want to make that trip to the town sooner rather than later!
Hope that doesn't put too much of a damper on your day. Again, I've really enjoyed your blog :)
Here's some related reading:
http://www.lacsd.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2904
Great info KC (although sad to hear). It appears that the landfill has been approved since 1992 but hasn't happened yet. Hopefully I have time to get out there before yet another remote location is spoiled. Thanks for the link, and the kind words about my blog.
ReplyDeleteI read that there is also a private prison located there now. Guess I should take some friends along for the adventure.
Both the prison and the landfill are dead. I think access to the townsite is restricted.
ReplyDeleteI just shot some photos of the Ferrum end the line (http://www.socalrailfan.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4279). It's a fascinating story. I'm thinking about hiking into the bridge about a mile north of ferrum.
Enjoyed your site.
Hello Lori --
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this article! As a huge fan of Astrophotography I have been looking for spots to shoot in the desert and came across Eagle Mountain RR bridge. Do you have any more recent info on the location? Is this something that is accessible without an off road vehicle?
Thanks much!
Steve
Hi Steve, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for making me realize that this post is so old that I needed to update the links to the photos.
DeleteI haven't been on the Bradshaw Trail in several years. I know that a section of it was re-aligned a few years ago due to the military base expansion and I hope to get back out there soon so I can write about the trail for DrivingLine.
Other than the end of the line at Ferrum on the Salton Sea and the section that goes underneath the I10, you will need a vehicle capable of driving in deep sand. The railroad line runs through remote desert terrain, and the bridge here spans a wash. The sand can be very deep and loose. Nothing that requires 4WD, but airing down your tires and knowing how to drive in deep sand is a must.
I believe that this bridge is the Salt Creek Bridge. This site has a nice map of the Eagle Mountain line with the location of the Salt Creek Bridge marked. If you change the map to Satellite view you can see the terrain through which you would need to travel to reach the bridge. http://www.abandonedrails.com/Eagle_Mountain_Railroad
Sorry that's probably not what you wanted to hear. Good luck in your adventures searching for unique locations for astrophotography!