Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

The Barnwell & Searchlight Railway was an Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway affiliated short line railroad running between its namesake towns in California and Nevada, beginning operations in 1906. It became integrated into the AT&SF system entirely in 1911, becoming the Searchlight Branch. The Barnwell & Searchlight Railway map along with the California Arizona & Santa Fe right of way it met at Barnwell, CA. ( MojaveDesert.net )  Like many desert railroads, it owed its existence to gold speculators, but unlike others that were simply designed to tap into available ore mines, this had a little more complicated history. The Desert Gazette notes that this line was built by the Santa Fe and separately incorporated, spurred by efforts of promoters in the mining camp of Searchlight to built their own railway connection to the Salt Lake Route at Nipton." So, rather than have a competitor build a road, the Santa Fe beat them to it. With the 20/20 vision that is hind...

The San Joaquin and Eastern Railroad connected Gordon, CA (north of Fresno) and the Southern Pacific Railroad with Big Creek in the foothills of California, with a total line length of just over 57 miles. ( Right of way ) Online Archive of California , "Scene of San Joaquin Eastern Railroad" at Huntington Lake, CA 1918. A.C. Mudge Photographer. It first started operating in 1912, and was part of the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project , where it transported men and supplies to project camps in order to complete the dam. Despite its singular purpose, it was a common carrier railroad, and thus freight and passengers unrelated to the project used the railroad as well. It also served the logging industry in the region and provided a critical link between the forested mountains and the mills and markets in the San Joaquin Valley. 4491 Steam Shovel, 9-27-1918. Photo: Huntington Museum, part of an incredible photo album of the San Joaquin & Eastern! The line was considered one of ...

The Herald News, "Fall River Rail Line Being Reclaimed After 60 Years of Inactivity".  Jack Foley, Photographer. Like any piece of infrastructure, or facility, a railroad line has a finite time of existence. A line is built, and functions as long as it is properly maintained and there is traffic on the line. Once that ends, it is either left in a dormant state , or the rails are dug up and sold for scrap. Dead railroad lines continue to stay dead, generally speaking, and their remnants sometimes make for some interesting discoveries decades later . As I've learned over the course of my abandoned railroad research , the abandoned railroad network is even more vast than our current network. Streetcar tracks discovered during a construction project in Elgin, IL.  Image: City of Elgin. As railroad lines were consolidated, and continue to be consolidated, especially since the beginning of the 1970's, the scenario described reflects the vast majority of the lives...

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park was a small, family owned park that was located in Mercer County, WV. Despite being closed in the 1960's, it remains frozen in time, unable to shake its dark reputation. Image:  Visit Mercer County Before discussing the park though, it is important to discuss the history of the land. The history of this place plays out almost like a Stephen King novel. In 1783, the area was the sight of a bloody turf war with American Indians after a European father attempted to settle the land. The Natives killed three of his children, leading him to murder several Native Americans. Historical Marker on the Land . Image: Lost Amusement Parks Once the fighting stopped however, the next hundred plus years would be relatively quiet for the area, and in the 1920’s, businessman Conley T. Snidow purchased the farm and developed the area into an amusement park. A swing set, swimming pond and Ferris wheel were the first attractions. Nothing unsettling here. ( NY Daily News ) ...

CB&Q 14351, on display. St James Farm  is a 200 acre preserved farm that has been owned by the DuPage County Forest Preserve since 2007, located on the northeast corner of IL-56 (Butterfield Rd) and Winfield Rd.  Sign facing IL-56. According to the Forest Preserve, the property was acquired by Marion McCormick in 1920, nephew of McCormick Place namesake Cyrus McCormick. Interestingly, another McCormick, Robert, owned the nearby Cantigny Park . Marion passed the property to his son Brooks, who bequeathed the property to the Forest Preserve upon his death in 2007. I had been meaning to visit this place for sometime, and on a day that I simply felt like going for a walk, as opposed to tracing, photographing, and researching abandoned railroad lines, I decided to visit this place, not knowing a thing about it.  Wanting a nice, solitary walk, I did get that from this place, and you will too. About a quarter way through the trail that loops around the...