Western Railroad Discussion > Black Rock, UT: train, abandoned building, and trackside grave

On my way to Cedar City I took the long way through Milford to see some trains. I pulled off the road at the former railroad town of Black Rock. Shortly after I arrived a northbound train of empty coal hoppers rushed by before I had a chance to get to a good spot to film. Another train came by shortly after, I managed to get a decent video.

There is an old structure out in the brush that is well preserved.

Just off the road is a burial site with two graves. A little online searching reveals that this is the burial site of a railroad worker and his wife. It is a peaceful little spot surrounded by old trees.

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Here's some more angles of the building and some hopper cars that clearly haven't been on this siding long, someone left the red blinky magnetic light on the end car (not FRED). It had either turned off or ran out of battery.

I found a cell phone in the brush along the dirt road. It had clearly been there for some time, it powered on when charged. I will try to find the owner.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/24 23:11 by Paniolo_man.

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In Milford I stopped to take a picture of the old hotel. If Desert WInd makes a return as the FRA has proposed, this hotel may again have the chance to see travelers.

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Wonderful shots! I’ve always said I just want to ride trains so I can watch the world go by out a train window, and it’s shots like these that I mean! Thank you.

Posted from iPhone

I've always appreciated old abandoned structures in the desert.  The builders in those days didn't have the modern machinery of today.  thanks for sharing a bit of history.

Kent in CArmel Valley

Milford UT was a meal stop for the old Butte Special connection that continued on towards Los Angeles.  Before that the UP worked one diner for the pair of trains, shuttling from Milford to Las Vegas.
My wife and I rode it at least twice.  There were command voice announcements about getting back to the train because it would leave on time whether we were on board or not.
The Mrs. was very pensive about ordering anything at the coffee shop, fearing being stranded here.  I was watching the Conductor and was able to convince here is we ate at the same pace and walked back to the train, our ride to Las Vegas would wait for us.  And of course it did.
We rode it in the late 1960s when it was only two coaches and some times a baggage car as the Post Office had just abandoned railway mail service.  I think a majority of the passengers were pass riders.
It was along the long, straight parallel road and railroad that we saw more than once a UP enginner would dim the headlight for approaching highway traffic, We appreciated that.

Great stuff!! Thanks for sharing your discovery!!