Eagle Mountain Railroad - The End

The End

In the late 1970s increased environmental concerns at the Fontana Mill and stiff foreign competition resulted in decreased demand for Kaiser Steel products and thus resulted in a reduction of output at the Eagle Mountain Mine. This dropped the population at Eagle Mountain to a low of 1,890 residents. In Summer 1980, the mine shutdown briefly, reopening on September 23. Only 750 workers were brought back to the town with 150 on furlough.

On November 3, 1981, Kaiser Steel announced the phasing out of half the Fontana Mill and the closure of the entire Eagle Mountain Mine over the next few years. The population dwindled as layoffs began. The grocery store closed in October, 1982 and the post office, which had been active since 1951, closed in January, 1983. In June 1983, the last official graduating class celebrated their commencement at Eagle Mountain High School, followed by closing of both the mine and mill a few months later.

The Eagle Mountain Railroad saw a reduction on operations that mirrored the reduced production at the mine. During the early 1980s, the railroad was only operating a single ore train three to five times per week, with each train consisting of as little as 40 cars. When the mine closed in 1983, the railroad was barely operating three trains per week.

While the Eagle Mountain Mine had stopped all mining activity in 1983, they still had a significant stockpile of processed iron ore sitting on the ground in Eagle Mountain. It was decided to ship this product out since it was high-quality concentrated iron-ore, which is very valuable. The railroad operated two trains per week from mid 1983 until early 1985 when operations shutdown for a brief time. When operations resumed, they only operated a single train per week, usually 50 to 60 cars in length. When the stockpiled ore was gone, the railroad shut down. The last ore train operated on March 24, 1986 when 20 cars of ore where shipped out. Once filming of the Tough Guys movie was completed, the last two remaining locomotives were sent to the Fontana Mill. The railroad was now silent.