Nostalgia & History > Lone Pine Branch, today

Are there any portions of the Lone Pine branch that are still visible from US-395? This of course would be areas north of the Trona operations.

About a mile and a half North of the crossing at the Junction is all that's
left in rail. There are a number of spots where the ROW can be seen crossing
395 at grade North of there.

Still a few traces left of what once was

Fred Harrison
Central Point, OR
CORPpower/JSS/EORS

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Yah, but you've got to buy an airplane to see them.

Or bring up a satellite view on the internet--something that would have been Sci-Fi when I started railfanning.

Lots to see from the road as you are entering the Owens Valley at at the bottom end. The railroad grade crosses the highway and then begins a series of fills and cuts, look for missing bridges, easy to spot. Sometimes it can be confused with the aqueduct.

As far as I know one side of the tunnel is still not caved in (the west side) and can be accessed via the right of way which is now a fire trail, easiest way looked to park near the old summit restaurant / hotel complex at Montgomery Pass and walk or mountain bike back to it. Haven't done it but want to. If anyone here has any advice towards that let me know.

-Mike

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

The Lone Pine branch was used in the film Bad Day At Black Rock...(NOT filmed at Gerlach as popularily thought)...

Going east of Lone Pine, you can still see a few of the buildings that were in the movie...and you can drive a dirt road that is adjacent to the ROW, a mile or two east of Hwy 395...

Where is the photo of the wye taken? The only wye I know of on the Lone Pine branch is at Searles and I'm pretty sure that's not Searles.

JDE

Steamjocky Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Where is the photo of the wye taken? The only wye
> I know of on the Lone Pine branch is at Searles
> and I'm pretty sure that's not Searles.
>
> JDE


As we know Searles did not have all of the vegetation as seen in the photo... I believe Lone Pine had a wye.. I will give the Godfather a call and pick his brain...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/12 08:08 by SanJoaquinEngr.

The picture is at the original end of the Lone Pine Branch at Owenyo, CA, where it interchanged with the SP narrow gauge line. I think that last few miles of the branch beyond Lone Pine Station to Owenyo was abandoned along with the narrow gauge line around 1960 or so.

Here's a Google Maps link for Owenyo, CA. http://maps.google.com/?ll=36.678573,-118.044995&spn=0.007305,0.012757&t=h&z=17



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/12 07:13 by sgtfhrn.

SanJoaquinEngr Wrote:
>I believe Lone Pine had a
> wye..

There appears to have been a wye just north of Lone Pine Station. http://maps.google.com/?ll=36.624276,-118.040757&spn=0.00731,0.012757&t=h&z=17