Exploring the Mojave Desert: The abandoned Saltdale works on Union Pacific's Lone Pine Branch

[@adventureseeker9800]

I've always been fascinated by the Southern Pacific jawbone branch. Very early 80's, as a kid driving to Mono County with my parents, I got to see a couple S.P. locals headed south from Lone Pine. I'm guessing not too much business up there as recently as 40 years ago. I think there were 5 or 6 cars in all. Years later when U S. 395 was modernized and widened and Southern Pacific/U.P. yanked up the line, that was very sad. I have studied everything about the Owen's Valley and I had never heard of SaltDale. That's a new one. So many fun facts about that area up there. The google earth image of Owenyo still shows the traces in the dirt of the end of the line "Y" track up there. I'm also a big fan of Spencer Tracy's Bad Day at BlackRock! Seriously cool to see the Southern Pacific Daylight up there!

[@hermandarr6224]

Hi Mark, nice video of an abandoned salt works. Many of these operations sunk wells out on the lake bed and pumped the brine into ponds and let the water evaporate. The salt residue was scraped off and loaded into small railroad dump cars and processed in the mill and then loaded into railroad cars for shipment to the customer. The locomotive appears to be appears to be a 5 or 8 ton Plymouth. The Nevada County Narrow Gauge RR Museum at Nevada City, CA where I am a volunteer has one of each Plymouth, 5 and 8 ton which are our primary motive power. I put many miles on the 5 ton in years gone buy. Thanks for a look at another little known industry and the railroad that served it.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and for checking it out. It was a long, hot shoot!

[@japajodo]

Morton salt was there, hauled salt from there to Albers Milling in Fresno.

[@kylephillips155]

I work at the facility now, please do not trespass on the property due to hazardous material being processed here.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

What facility?

[@kmcc01]

There are small bits of railroad china South of the Mojave Wye. I'm sure it's been picked through.

[@paulsto6516]

Great adventure! Thanks for sharing.

[@JoeOsborne-fg4ed]

That area is owned by Alpha Dyno Nobel that is ammoniim nitrate in the train cars.

[@rynetreatch9558]

I just looked this place up on Google Maps and it even looks wet on there. Not sure when the images were taken but I was able to follow along with your video on Google Maps. Those center flow hoppers are even there in the same spot!

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Cool! I never thought of that. I follow a few abandoned explorers. I'll have to try that. Thanks for checking it out!

[@jasquarles]

that area that looks like a subdivision is a part of Cantil according to Google, no houses but they put in perfect streets, and its by the RRR Ranch. They are off Munsey Road

[@georgegong6813]

You're most forgiving & trusting then I am! Any one responsible for personal property of mine especially in a County Fair, I'd not donate or provide anymore of my personal items for display unless they return what was lost to me!

[@stripervince1]

Really enjoying your videos. When I wasn't working I would ride my dirt bikes out there all the way from Palmdale. Love this area. Wish I still lived there. I'm in Florida now for the last decade but I'm wanting to move to Nevada soon.

[@davec9244]

This a double back in time, for me pre Covid! by a few months. Hope we all can look back at the last few years and say let's NOT DO THIS AGAN! thank you stay safe

[@pacset2]

Very cool Mark

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Thank you! And thanks for checking out my channel! I'll be doing Garlock in the near future.

[@davidurban6813]

Just wondering does anyone have any pics of the narrow gauge equipment. Was it steam engines or diesel engines. What ever happened to the narrow gague equipment? Whose got them.now? Just wondering. Have a safe and happy Labor Day everyone.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

This was strictly a system that moved light loads around. It used small, gas powered Plymouth engines. There are pix of the equipment in Phil Serpico's book "Jawbone", about the Lone Pine branch.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

If you e-mail me, I'll send you a couple of the pix of that site.

[@baldypalmsrailroad]

Nice exploration, Yeah I would not walk out on to those salt beds either. Good save your hide tip... Ron//

[@heidiappe]

Beautiful video! I was just there today, could not find the remains of the narrow gage railroad. What direction do you head from the loading car area? Thank you very much.

[@th1799]

What happened to the Saltdale landing strip?

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

I didn't know there was one out there, nor do I see anything on Google Earth , so I couldn't tell you!

[@th1799]

I worked for SP RR from 1966 until 1978 When I moved to Topeka, KS .I asked about the Saltdale landing strip when I thought I was having to land my sailplane June 29, 1976. I have the Trains magazine dated August 1983 with the article RX for a Broken Jawbonne. It features Wally Kelly my boss. at Mojave.@@MarkClayMcGowan

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

I knew Wally pretty well. I knew his son, Tom, who was one of the greatest desert racers of the mid to late 70s, pretty well from those days.

[@th1799]

Do you know anything about the landing strip about 5 miles west of Dove Springs?@@MarkClayMcGowan

[@th1799]

I have a few pics of Tom when I lived in Mojave around 1975 that he would probably like to see@@MarkClayMcGowan

[@kathydinisi]

How do you get here from high desert?

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Saltdale is on Redrock Randsburg Road, about five miles off Hwy. 14. The GPS coordinates are in the description below the video.