Western Railroad Discussion > Two Trains at Cobre, Nevada

So, my work today took me out to the Montello area, on the old Southern Pacific main line just west of the Utah border.  Late this afternoon I was coming down out of the mountains right on the Utah border, as the railroad came into view I saw a long westbound stack train approaching the Nevada border.  UP, and SP before it, has parallel main lines from Lucin, Utah, west to Valley Pass, Nevada, which they use essentially as a long passing siding to alleviate congestion on the mostly single track across the Great Salt Lake.  As I watched this train I realized it was on the track normally used by eastbound trains, which is a bit unusual. 

I almost caught up with the train passing through Montello and did get stopped for a while at the grade crossing just west of town, I then continued on my way south on Highway 233 back towards I-80.  As I came over the top of Loray Wash the reason why the stack train was on the "wrong" track became apparent, a short but very slow manifest freight slugging its way up the grade on the "normal" westbound track.  I was only a mile or so from the Cobre turnoff, so I pulled in to the old townsite, hoping I might get to see the much faster intermodal train passing the manifest. 

For those who might not know, Cobre was up until 1983 the interchange between the Nevada Northern Railway and the SP, and the small shop building the NN built to house their SD-7 #401 and a small section shed are about the only buildings left standing in the old townsite.  The old interchange yard is long gone, but the rest of the small NN yard and wye are intact, though they haven't seen a train since 1983.  The story on the name is that when the NN was in discussions with SP about establishing the interchange they were casting about for a station name, and one of the Nevada Consolidated Copper officials who had just come back from South America suggested Cobre, the Spanish word for copper, which was (and is) the principle commodity mined in the Ely area.  Everyone liked it, so the name stuck.  

I initially positioned myself at a point I could maybe get the two trains passing the old NN structures, but the manifest showed up first and slipped past.  The intermodal train arrived up four minutes later, by that point I had walked around a bit and found an old car body that I thought might add a nice touch to the scene, I think it did.  I got several pictures of both the head end and the mid train DPU from that vantage, and once that train passed I got back on pavement.  The intermodal train did overtake and pass the manifest before the double track ended at Valley Pass, and the intermodal beat me to the top of Moor Summit just east of Wells, but it also had a much shorter path there distance wise than I did sticking to pavement.  

Thanks for looking!

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV 

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Jeff,
Nice looking trio.  I agree, the car body (maybe a Plymouth) really adds to the picture.  IIRC, SP suffered a fatal wreck near Cobre long time ago.  Does anyone have more info on this?  Thanks for sharing.

Kent in CArmel Valley

Nice! How was the road? That stretch can get pretty nasty. Maybe winter turns that deep talc into something a bit more manageable?
I’ve based my explorations in Montello several times- Pilot Motel. Room 1. Key under the mat…
SR

Neat series!

Nice series Jeff! If the weather cooperates this is a great place to photograph. Thanks for sharing....

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Both tracks are signalled both ways?

Good stuff Jeff!
This story about Cobre reminds me of the times I would hunt for old dump sites that were usually somewhere on the outskirts of these old towns along the railroads in Nevada, Utah and Idaho.
Wells used to have a pretty big one. Lots of interesting old colored glass, bottles, appliances, car parts, etc...
Also bits or pieces of RR China mixed in with the ballast or dirt along those tracks too.

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/24 09:49 by RailRat.

Looks like the Bonnie and Clyde auto with a few bullet holes.
I'm surprised no one has latched on to that and made a street rod of it!

timz Wrote:
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> Both tracks are signalled both ways?

Lucin to Valley Pass is two main tracks. The Lucin to Montello stretch is 9.14.2/ABS, which is basically ABS signalling in both directions on both tracks. The Montello to Valley Pass stretch is two main track CTC.

DynamicBrake Wrote:
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> Jeff,
> Nice looking trio.  I agree, the car body (maybe
> a Plymouth) really adds to the picture.  IIRC, SP
> suffered a fatal wreck near Cobre long time ago. 
> Does anyone have more info on this?  Thanks for
> sharing.
>
> Kent in CArmel Valley

On Montello Hill. Happen about 83. One w/b rear ended another with a helper on the rear

Thanks to all who replied.

SR, to your question, the road was fine, but I was not far off pavement and stopped short of the usual bottomless bug dust pockets through Toano.  Things were still a soupy mess up to a couple weeks ago but had dried out, at least until widespread thunderstorms returned to the area today.  Lots of moisture in the forecast today through Saturday, so things are going to be messy again for a bit. 

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

SP8595 Wrote:
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> Neat series!

hey there fellow Tennessee Pass railroader. This run is my regular assignment. Cobre is pretty cool, as it's the top end of the old Nevada Northern. 👍