Eagle Mountain Railroad
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| Eagle Mountain Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Riverside County, California |
| Dates of operation | July 29, 1948 – October 6, 1983 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | |
The Eagle Mountain Railroad (EMRR) was a California private railroad owned by Kaiser Steel. The EMRR built northeast for 52.55 miles in 1948 from an interchange with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Ferrum (latin for "iron") which was located adjacent to the Salton Sea in Riverside County. The line terminated at the Eagle Mountain Mine (also known as the Iron Chief Mine) at Eagle Mountain, California.
In 1962 the EMRR was leased to the Southern Pacific Railroad. October 6, 1983 was the last time a revenue train operated over the line.
Contents |
[edit] History and future of the line
In the late 1930's, Kaiser decided to build the West Coast's first fully-integrated steel mill. In 1942, Kaiser built such a mill at Fontana, California which is located 112 miles (180 km) west of the Eagle Mountain Mine. Today the Fontana mill is the site of the California Speedway. Kaiser then purchased the idle Eagle Mountain mines from the Southern Pacific as a source of high grade iron ore.
The Eagle Mountain Railroad was built between 1946 - 1947. Production at the Eagle Mountain mine began in 1948 and a mining town was constructed below what was soon to become Southern California’s largest iron mine. It connected to the Southern Pacific via a 51-mile-long (82 km) railroad branch from that ran northeast from the shore of the Salton Sea, just north of the Riverside/Imperial county line and terminated at the Eagle Mountain mine. Ore shipments to Fontana steel plant began in October, with five to eight 100-car trains running weekly.
Increased environmental concerns in the 1970's led to a reduction in output and a reduction of the population to a low of 1,890 residents. In the summer of 1980 the mine shut down briefly, reopening on September 23. Only 750 workers were brought back to the town with an additional 150 in furlough at Indio, some sixty miles (97 km) west.
On November 3, 1981, Kaiser Corporation announced the phasing out of half the Fontana works and the entire Eagle Mountain Mine operation over several years. The population dwindled as layoffs began. The grocery store closed in October, 1982 and the post office, which had been active since 1951, closed in January, 1983. In June of that year the last official graduating class celebrated their commencement at Eagle Mountain High School, followed by closing of both the mine and mill.
1986 saw a resurgence of Eagle Mountain when the California Department of Corrections proposed placing a unique privately operated prison for low-risk inmates in the town. The shopping center was converted by 1988 into just such a facility. That same year saw the proposal to turn the gigantic 1.5 mile (2.4 km) long by half-mile (800 m) wide open-pit mine into a massive, high-tech sanitary landfill. Trash would be shipped by train from the metropolitan Los Angeles area via the abandoned Kaiser railroad line. The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved the project in October 1992 after EPA approval of the project. However, as of 2005, the project has yet to begin. State budget problems led to the closure of the prison in December, 2003. Talks resumed in 2005 to reopen the facility.
Eagle Mountain is accessible by Riverside County road R2, twelve miles (19 km) north of Desert Center, midway between Indio and the California/Arizona state line along Interstate 10. The town's relative youth and brief time of abandonment make Eagle Mountain among the country's best preserved ghost towns.
[edit] Traffic
- Iron ore
[edit] Trivia
Eagle Mountain is the birthplace of Kaiser Permanente. It was at this industrial mining town that Kaiser created company owned medical clinics that would later serve as a model for what is known today as Health Maintenance Organizations.
[edit] Route
- Ferrum (Interchange with Southern Pacific)
- Summit
- Hayfield Lake (east side)
- Ealge Mountain Mine
[edit] References
- Fickewirth, Alvin A. (1992). California railroads: an encyclopedia of cable car, common carrier, horsecar, industrial, interurban, logging, monorail, motor road, shortlines, streetcar, switching and terminal railroads in California (1851-1992). San Marino, California: Golden West Books, 39. ISBN 0-87095-106-8.
- Walker, Mike (1997). Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - California and Nevada, Post Merger Edition, Faversham, Kent, United Kingdom: Steam Powered Publishing, 45. ISBN 1-874745-08-0.
- Eagle Mountain, California
[edit] External links
- List of California railroads
- San Diego Railway Museum Photo of EMRR Caboose
