Eagle Mountain Railroad - The Route

The Route

The Eagle Mountain Railroad starts at a remote location called "Ferrum" (Latin for "iron") which is located adjacent to the Salton Sea in Riverside County and terminates 51 miles (82 km) away at the Eagle Mountain Mine (also known as Iron Chief Mine).

Ferrum is located at Milepost 0.0 and is the location of a five track yard that was used to interchange with the Southern Pacific Railroad. Also located at Ferrum is a wye and maintenance equipment shed. The interchange yard parallels the present-day Union Pacific Railroad Yuma Subdivision main line, the main transcontinental railroad line between California and Texas. The main track heading to Eagle Mountain starts at the east end of the yard.

Upon leaving the Ferrum interchange yard, the track immediately climbs up "Last Chance Hill" (so named since it was the last chance to derail a train before arriving in Ferrum). The short climb up this hill is a 2.0% grade. Once reaching the top of the hill at Milepost 1, the track drops down a 1.0% grade to a small wooden trestle bridge located just past Milepost 2. The track now heads east over mudflats while climbing a 1.0% grade that will increase to 2.0% just before Milepost 4. Also located just before Milepost 4 is the small wooden trestle bridge over Dos Palmas Wash. At Milepost 6.6, the track crosses the Coachella Canal on a three span steel bridge. Many trains returning to Eagle Mountain would stop here while the train crews enjoyed lunch next to the cool waters of the canal.

The tracks continue climbing the mudflats east until Milepost 10 where they turned north on a sweeping curve nicknamed "Salt Bend Curve" by train crews. Continuing north, the tracks cross the Bradshaw Trail before passing through a small cut and entering the first of two horseshoe curves. After this horseshoe curve, the tracks run east along the foothills of the Chocolate Mountains while the Salt Creek Wash parallels the tracks on the south side.

After curving along the Chocolate Mountains for two miles (3 km), the tracks turn south and cross the Salt Creek Wash on the railroad's longest bridge. The "Salt Creek Wash Bridge" is located at Milepost 14.4 and is 500 feet (150 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) high. The original bridge located here was a wooden trestle, but after a fire destroyed that bridge an all-steel bridge was constructed. After the bridge, the track enters the second or upper horseshoe curve. At the start of the horseshoe curve, the track is located on a high fill, but by the end of the curve, the track is located in a deep cut.

At the end of the horseshoe curve is "Gravel Pit", located at Milepost 15.0. While nothing remains here today, originally a short side track located here was used to load gravel for the railroad's construction and later for maintenance projects. After Gravel Pit, the tracks head northeast with the Salt Creek Wash paralleling the line on the north side. Between Milepost 15 and Milepost 20, the tracks cross numerous small washes with either small wooden bridges or cast iron culverts allowing any water to pass. At Milepost 20, the uphill grade, which has remained at a constant 2.0% ever since before Milepost 4, reduces to 1.0% for the last five miles (8 km) to the top of the grade.

The railroad reaches the top of the long climb from Ferrum at "Summit", which is located at Milepost 25. A 3,000 feet (910 m) long passing siding and a short storage spur are located here. A maintenance shed is also located here. Prior to 1976, there were numerous maintenance sheds and material stockpiles here as this was the track maintenance base for the entire railroad. In 1976, the track maintenance base was moved to Eagle Mountain and only one maintenance shed and a couple rail stockpiles remained.

After Summit, the track begins a long down hill run that will go almost the entire way to Eagle Mountain. This downhill descent is a constant 1.0% grade. Just past Summit, the tracks turn north and head towards Interstate 10. Just prior to crossing under Interstate 10, there are three small maintenance sheds. The "Interstate 10 Underpass" is located at Milepost 31.4 and is located at the Red Cloud Road Exit. After the underpass, the tracks curve east and start running along the foothills of the Eagle Mountains. At Milepost 35.8 is "Entrance", the location of a short 450-foot (140 m) storage track. Shortly after Entrance, the tracks curve north again and head for the Victory Hills. Just before arriving at the Victory Hills, the tracks cross Eagle Mountain Road, the original access road to the mine. This is the first paved road (other than Interstate 10) that the railroad has crossed.

The Victory Hills are a chain of small hills that run east of the Eagle Mountains and provide a minor obstacle to the railroad. The railroad passes through these hills by going through a deep cut in the low part between two hills. This deep cut, nicknamed "Victory Cut" by train crews, is visible from Interstate 10 if one knows where to look. The tracks actually level out here for about a mile before resuming a 1.0% downhill grade. After crossing Eagle Mountain Road for a second time, the tracks arrive at "Telephone Pass". Telephone Pass is named for a rural telephone line that once ran between two small mountains. The railroad today passes between the same two mountains. Telephone Pass is the end of the downhill grade from Summit and for here to the mine is all uphill.

The uphill climb from Telephone Pass to the Eagle Mountain Mine is called "Caution Hill" and is so named because its 2.15% grade is the steepest on the line and descending it with a loaded ore train required great caution. It got is name after a loaded train runaway here in the early days of the railroad. All loaded ore trains descending Caution Hill were restricted to 15 mph (24 km/h) and were required to come to a complete stop at the bottom for 5 minutes to cool their brakes before proceeding. During the climb up to Eagle Mountain, the tracks cross Eagle Mountain Road for a third time and then cross Aqueduct Road. Immediately after Aqueduct Road, the railroad crosses an underground section of the Colorado River Aqueduct. Fears that vibrations from the heavy trains would damage the underground concrete aqueduct, the railroad crosses the aqueduct on a 50-foot (15 m) steel bridge. While this bridge appears to cross over nothing since the desert sand covering the aqueduct covers the lower part of the bridge, its does serve a vital function. As the tracks approach Eagle Mountain, they cross Eagle Mountain Road for the fourth and final time before looping around the base of the mountains and arriving at the Eagle Mountain Mine.

"Eagle Mountain Mine" is located at Milepost 51.0 with the end of track located at Milepost 51.3. There are four long tracks used in the loading ore process located here, along with a two track maintenance shop, a wye, and a few storage tracks. All the railroad facilities are located immediately west of the Eagle Mountain townsite.

While the maximum speed allowed on the Eagle Mountain Railroad was 35 mph (56 km/h), most trains never exceeded 25-30 MPH. Loaded ore trains climbing up the hill towards Summit would routinely be operating at only 15 mph (24 km/h).