Does anyone know the name of the UP line that runs along the Salton Sea or if it even has a name? Also does anyone know what subdivision it is?
Thanks
Sunset route. Yuma sub (Indio-West Colton)
This was the main route out of LA for the SP. It went to Yuma…Tuscon…Lordsburg…El Paso. It is now an even busier UP line. Recently the line has seen some new double track (2MT CTC) added around West Palm Springs and they plan on adding more in the future. The line dips below sea level from Indio to Niland. The running next to the Salton Sea is the lowest point on the UP (if not all of north america?).
This line,near the Salton Sea,dips to 200’ below sea level.
SP called it the East Line, it is part of the Sunset Route.
According to the Western Regional Timetable I have, the lines that make up the Sunset Route from LA to El Paso are:
West Line: Burbank Junction, CA to West Colton, CA
East Line: West Colton, CA to East Yard (Yuma, AZ)
Gila Line: Yuma, AZ (a 4.7 mile overlap) to PFE Yard (Tucson, AZ)
North Line: Tucson, AZ (a 2.7 mile overlap) to El Paso (Cotton Avenue), TX.
There is a map of the Yuma to Los Angeles SP line on pages 60 and 61 in the Aug 1988 Trains. Only underground electric mining railroads go lower. The lowest spot is -201 feet at Salton, shown on the map on page 42 of the April 2004 issue. My 1987 SP ETT shows -202 feet at Wister. 67 miles of the mainline and part of the Calexico Branch are below sea level. Before 1905 the SP line was 79 feet lower. The Colorado river burst through a canal and formed the Salton Sea until it was stopped in 1907. SP had to raise their line 7 times. The map in the Aug. 2003 issue shows the Eagle Mountain Railroad. This was a private Iron Ore hauling road owned by Kaiser Steel for their Fontana mill. It operated 52 miles of line between Aug. 1948 and March 1986. During April 1986, Disney filmed the movie Tough Guys on this line, staring SP 4449. Also starring were Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Charles Durning, Alexis Smith, Chad Thomas, Darlanne Fluegel and Eli Wallach.
UP currently rosters between 43-45 trains per day on this line. Is predominantly intermodal. They have demand for more, but the line is up to max capacity right now. They are investing several hundred million $$ in the next 3 yrs to work on double tracking more and more of this route. The pass between the LA basin and the Salton Sea basin is called Beaumont Pass (a little east of Colton). You can follow a lot of the RR from the adjacent highway. Its pretty easy to railfan. If you go there, be prepared for temps in excess of 100 degrees. I was there a few years ago and it got monster hot. Over 90 by 9AM and steadily climbing. Hit 112 one day. Salton Sea is “almost” the lowest place in the continental U.S. Badwater Basin in Death Valley is a little bit lower - but there are no trains there.