18 years after Union Pacific's acquisition of the Southern Pacific who would have ever guessed that scarlet & grey SD40s could still be found earning a living in Southern California? Tucked away i... (more)

From a lonely vantage point on top of a pile of rocks, seven classic EMD's are seen guiding Trona Railway's daily outbound train of hoppers winding up the grade through the desert approaching The ... (more)

The rumble of classic EMD 645 power reverberates across the Searles Valley on a late summer afternoon as a Trona Railroad turn brings in another load of soda ash for processing. The train is passi... (more)

The shadows grow long in the desert as seven vintage EMD's lead the Trona Railway's daily train to Searles up the grade past the spectacular rock formations known collectively as the Trona Pinnacl... (more)

As this is posted the Southern Pacific has been a part of the Union Pacific for over 18 years, however the once familiar scarlet and grey livery of the once mighty SP can still be found being put ... (more)

Running light after having shoved a set of international cars up to Inyokern on the remnants of the old UP Lone Pine Branch, the Trona turn heads back into Searles to build its train of empties.

The weekday Trona turn to Searles comes around the curve passing an old water tank, a vestige of a time when there was a town here and locomotives were serviced. This is yet another shot I owe the... (more)

The weekday Trona turn to Searles is seen departing its namesake town (and mine) as it begins it trek through some of the most desolate areas in the USA.

Four Trona Railway SD40 based locomotives lead a westbound train of 26 loaded hoppers through the facilities at West End on their trip to Searles where they will interchange with the Union Pacific... (more)

The inbound Searles Turn passes a holdover from the steam era in the form of a water tank at Searles. This location was once a bustling interchange between the Southern Pacific and Trona Railway. ... (more)

The Trona Railway's Searles Turn departs Trona behind four EMDs, including three still in SP paint. Trona is an interesting place, the area contains 98 of the 104 known chemical elements, making i... (more)

Two Trona Railway units briefly idle at Searles, as they wait to be coupled to the rear of a loaded coal train for the downhill trip back to Trona.

Four aging Trona Railway EMDs shove a cut of covered hoppers out of Searles toward the end of Union Pacific's Lone Pine Branch. The cars are loaded with soda ash, and will be tied down until Unio... (more)

Classic 2nd generation EMD power from SP and UP seems right at home as the engines lug a train of potash empties across the floor of the Searles Valley near the Pinnacles natural landmark.

Heading back to Trona, former SP and UP power haul a string of potash empties as the train approaches the Searles Station Cutoff.