Thank you for explaining so much about this fascinating area. You answered a lot mysteries left over from my road trips on 395. I have walked through the Searles tunnel and watched the Trona tunnel motors pick up cars there without really understanding what I was seeing. Now I think I know where the next road trip will be.
What a fascinating look at Espee's Lone Pine branch! When I was a teenager in the late '70s, I had the privilege to visit the Searles area (shown at the end of your video) where the Trona Railway split off from the Espee. My mom had a friend, Ken Davert who worked for Hampton Teeter Electric, whose off-site construction trailer camp was situated there near the junction of U.S. Highway 395 and Searles Station Cutoff while a new Kerr-McGee plant was being built in Trona at the time, to which Hampton Teeter was an electrical subcontractor. During our visits there, we'd travel on sightseeing adventures along U.S. 395 all the way up to Lone Pine, where the Espee tracks were still intact and had crossed over the highway several times by then. Even then and still today, U.S. 395 continues north far beyond Reno, Nevada, all the way to the Canadian border in eastern Washington. Back in the 1940s & 50s before the Interstate highway system was built, U.S. 395 even went all the way down south to San Diego, California. Between Olancha and Lone Pine, the Espee branchline served some industrial plants on the western edge of Owens dry lake, where the tracks had crossed over to the east side of U.S. 395. Old rusty remnants of those production plants remain there today visible from the highway. I wonder what those plants produced. 🤔 Maybe you can do a future video segment about those industrial plants on the northernmost end of this Southern Pacific standard-gauge branchline. Perhaps you could even look explore where the Southern Pacific standard gauge switched to narrow gauge just north of Lone Pine, where Espee's "Slim Princess" forked in one direction southeastward to mines east of Owens Lake and, in the other direction, northward across the White Mountains into Nevada to other mines and eventually all the way to Carson City and beyond, connecting with the original line of the first transcontinental railroad constructed across northern Nevada by the Central Pacific Railroad, predecessor of the Espee. The "Slim Princess" was Southern Pacific's only narrow gauge line and has a fascinating history, which you can learn more about at the Laws Railroad Museum in Bishop, California. This museum was be another great place to feature in one of your upcoming videos. Indeed, this entire arid region east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range holds some incredible railroad history just waiting to be uncovered. Thank you very much for bringing this video to UA-cam. It brought back some wonderful memories from my youth. -from Tom Pilling
I was a signalman for SP in the 1980s out here. Love this area. I've followed this track (what's left of it) and right of way around 1990on dirtbike all the way to laws rr museum in bishop. I think that's where it ended. Excellent video
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I will do a video on the abandoned section at some point. I'm planning on getting a dual sport to aid in some of these shoots! The standard gauge connected with the narrow gauge at Owenyo and the narrow gauge went to Mina, Nv. I've seen sections of the roadbed as far as Benton but have never been past there. So many ideas, so little money! Thanks for checking out my channel!
Ammonium nitrate is used in road construction and strip mining. You drill deep holes to pour it into, then pour in diesel fuel with it. The diesel fuel turns it into a very potent explosive.
way back in the mid 1950's we used to go up to the Last Chance Canyon Mine and explore around the mine and stuff around there, went again a couple times while in jr.College and camped overnight one time up by the mine. I still have some videos from one of those trips. My dad had a movie camera.
Scorpions, not really. I've only seen a few over the years, but I do keep my eyes peeled for them. They're not deadly, but I've heard their sting is very painful! As for snakes...Here is a video I did about snake safety and awareness. ua-cam.com/video/dliaryn0X_c/v-deo.html
@@MarkClayMcGowan You're welcome! I got really curious when you started talking about it. Thankfully it didn't take long, I've had a lot of practice finding old railroad stuff on Google maps. Haha. I'm surprised we never crossed paths between Fresno and Mojave before you retired, I've been all over shooting railroad related photography for 5 years now. I'm no Foamer though. :p
I'm planning a piece on the abandoned line to Lone Pine. That will be at least a three or four day project. I actually bought a dual sport KTM to get out in the boonies but I am waiting for my ortho to release me so I can ride it. Maybe this year I'll get the upper section done. Thanks for checking it out!.
I have not. Between injury, illness, family, travel, life in general, and all the interesting things happening on the Tehachapi, I simply haven't had the time. That will be a multi day adventure, but I did get a dual sport KTM to help me explore the abandoned part of the branch, since much of it is remote. Now I'm waiting for it to cool off! Thanks for checking it out!
I've been over there a few times and haven't noticed it. I'm going to be shooting my piece on the Trona RR soon. I'll see if I can spot it. Thanks for checking out my channel!
Thank you Mark, very interesting
loved Loved Lone Pine. I live in Mono County. Love your videos. Keep up the good work. Love the CP videos also!!
I hope to get some videos up the Owens Valley of different things in the near future. Thanks for checking it out.
Thank you for explaining so much about this fascinating area. You answered a lot mysteries left over from my road trips on 395. I have walked through the Searles tunnel and watched the Trona tunnel motors pick up cars there without really understanding what I was seeing. Now I think I know where the next road trip will be.
What a fascinating look at Espee's Lone Pine branch! When I was a teenager in the late '70s, I had the privilege to visit the Searles area (shown at the end of your video) where the Trona Railway split off from the Espee. My mom had a friend, Ken Davert who worked for Hampton Teeter Electric, whose off-site construction trailer camp was situated there near the junction of U.S. Highway 395 and Searles Station Cutoff while a new Kerr-McGee plant was being built in Trona at the time, to which Hampton Teeter was an electrical subcontractor. During our visits there, we'd travel on sightseeing adventures along U.S. 395 all the way up to Lone Pine, where the Espee tracks were still intact and had crossed over the highway several times by then.
Even then and still today, U.S. 395 continues north far beyond Reno, Nevada, all the way to the Canadian border in eastern Washington. Back in the 1940s & 50s before the Interstate highway system was built, U.S. 395 even went all the way down south to San Diego, California.
Between Olancha and Lone Pine, the Espee branchline served some industrial plants on the western edge of Owens dry lake, where the tracks had crossed over to the east side of U.S. 395. Old rusty remnants of those production plants remain there today visible from the highway. I wonder what those plants produced. 🤔
Maybe you can do a future video segment about those industrial plants on the northernmost end of this Southern Pacific standard-gauge branchline. Perhaps you could even look explore where the Southern Pacific standard gauge switched to narrow gauge just north of Lone Pine, where Espee's "Slim Princess" forked in one direction southeastward to mines east of Owens Lake and, in the other direction, northward across the White Mountains into Nevada to other mines and eventually all the way to Carson City and beyond, connecting with the original line of the first transcontinental railroad constructed across northern Nevada by the Central Pacific Railroad, predecessor of the Espee.
The "Slim Princess" was Southern Pacific's only narrow gauge line and has a fascinating history, which you can learn more about at the Laws Railroad Museum in Bishop, California. This museum was be another great place to feature in one of your upcoming videos.
Indeed, this entire arid region east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range holds some incredible railroad history just waiting to be uncovered. Thank you very much for bringing this video to UA-cam. It brought back some wonderful memories from my youth.
-from Tom Pilling
I was a signalman for SP in the 1980s out here. Love this area. I've followed this track (what's left of it) and right of way around 1990on dirtbike all the way to laws rr museum in bishop. I think that's where it ended. Excellent video
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I will do a video on the abandoned section at some point. I'm planning on getting a dual sport to aid in some of these shoots! The standard gauge connected with the narrow gauge at Owenyo and the narrow gauge went to Mina, Nv. I've seen sections of the roadbed as far as Benton but have never been past there. So many ideas, so little money!
Thanks for checking out my channel!
Hey mark, how come i dont know you? Your name doesnt even sound familiar. Did you work out of bakersfield tehachapi? Or mojave?
Ammonium nitrate is used in road construction and strip mining. You drill deep holes to pour it into, then pour in diesel fuel with it. The diesel fuel turns it into a very potent explosive.
Regarding lone tie left behind: crossbar to restrict erosion on a grade.
Thank you was wondering about the tunnel? thank you stay safe
way back in the mid 1950's we used to go up to the Last Chance Canyon Mine and explore around the mine and stuff around there, went again a couple times while in jr.College and camped overnight one time up by the mine. I still have some videos from one of those trips. My dad had a movie camera.
Do you ever worry about snakes or scorpions making these videos? :P Also thanks for making them!
Scorpions, not really. I've only seen a few over the years, but I do keep my eyes peeled for them. They're not deadly, but I've heard their sting is very painful! As for snakes...Here is a video I did about snake safety and awareness.
ua-cam.com/video/dliaryn0X_c/v-deo.html
Maybe do the Narrow Gauge also.
Very Interesting video, Mark. Your attention to detail is Off the Charts. Keep up Strong 💪 Effort.👍
Hey Mark! I found the old wye you were talking about near Garlock. It looks like it's about two miles west of Garlock south of Redrock-Randsburg road.
Thanks! Yeah, another subscriber sent me a Google earth image of it. I'll put it in the piece I do on Garlock itself.
Thanks again!
@@MarkClayMcGowan You're welcome! I got really curious when you started talking about it. Thankfully it didn't take long, I've had a lot of practice finding old railroad stuff on Google maps. Haha. I'm surprised we never crossed paths between Fresno and Mojave before you retired, I've been all over shooting railroad related photography for 5 years now. I'm no Foamer though. :p
@@benharban8545 well, maybe we'll run into each other now!
@@MarkClayMcGowan Maybe! If you ever see a blonde guy zipping around in an older bright red Ford Focus hatchback, There's a good chance it's me.
@@benharban8545 I'll keep an eye out. You know what my GMC looks like!
another cool video thanks.
My pleasure! Thanks for checking it out!
Good work mark on the pine.
Pan round and let us see the end of track and the abandoned railbed. In the next one?
I'm planning a piece on the abandoned line to Lone Pine. That will be at least a three or four day project. I actually bought a dual sport KTM to get out in the boonies but I am waiting for my ortho to release me so I can ride it. Maybe this year I'll get the upper section done. Thanks for checking it out!.
Mark, have you had a chance to complete, for lack of a better description, "Exploring the Lone Pine Branch, Part III?
I have not. Between injury, illness, family, travel, life in general, and all the interesting things happening on the Tehachapi, I simply haven't had the time. That will be a multi day adventure, but I did get a dual sport KTM to help me explore the abandoned part of the branch, since much of it is remote. Now I'm waiting for it to cool off!
Thanks for checking it out!
@@MarkClayMcGowan Thanks, Mark.
Have you ever seen rattle snakes out there
Good Stuff MCM !!
Very interesting to see both parts of this. Is this the area where Bad Day at Black Rock was filmed?
What the lone pine operation? Is it CTC, TWC, ABS
DTC
Anyword on if Tronas SP Kodachrome still switches around the yard?
I've been over there a few times and haven't noticed it. I'm going to be shooting my piece on the Trona RR soon. I'll see if I can spot it.
Thanks for checking out my channel!
Mark: Is the phone number shown on the blue sign at the railroad crossing the same over the whole USA?