The importance of transportation in our nation's history can not be over estimated. The early road network of the United States was simply not up to the task of moving goods and services through a rapidly expanding economy. At the time of the American Revolution it was cheaper to send goods from New York City to Europe than to cart that same cargo 100 miles inland. Canals, such as the famous Erie Canal, provided the first effective transportation system and in some places reduced the price of moving goods by up to 1000%. Suddenly bulky commodities like food could be competitively moved to growing East Coast cities, creating one of the preconditions for a market economy and our Industrial Revolution.

Building canals, however, was difficult. They required lots of water, and there were severe geography constraints on where they could run. Railroads solved this problem by providing a transportation system that could link up the entire nation. It made a national economy possible.

The Burlington Northern/Santa Fe (formerly the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railway), borders the southern portion of Mojave National Preserve. This line was a component of one of the early transcontinental railroads (the first was the Central Pacific, completed in 1869). The last segment was linked in 1883, just outside of the city of Needles, California. With this action the eastern Mojave Desert region was now connected to the national transportation system. It created a boom time, particularly for the many mines in the area.

Soon branch railroads began spinning from the mainline. The most important for what is now the Mojave National Preserve was the Nevada Southern Railway. It left the Santa Fe at Goffs, crossed the Lanfair Valley and eventually ended in the Ivanpah Valley. Another segment, the Barnwell and Searchlight Railway, connected - you guessed it - the towns of Barnwell and Searchlight. The developer of the Nevada Southern had great plans to extend it all the way to Utah, but like many promoters results fell far short of goals. Until it closed in 1923, this line was the main economic lifeline for the high country in the eastern Mojave. Mining, ranching and homesteading all benefited tremendously from this line.

Another railroad that connected with the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe line was the Tidewater and Tonopah Railroad. This route commenced at Ludlow, traveled north through Baker, Death Valley Junction, before terminating in Beatty, Nevada. Traveling this route today, mostly on rugged 4- wheel drive roads through uninhabited desert, one can scarcely imagine that a railroad and several communities were situated here. The Tidewater and Tonopah never made much money and struggled through the Depression before closing in 1938. During the Second World War the tracks were dug up for scrap.

The Nevada Southern Railway had great plans to reach Utah, but never did. The line that did was the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, now the Union Pacific. Proponents had pushed for a railroad between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles soon after the Civil War, but only small segments had been completed. In 1901 real work began when not one, but two railroad interests began dueling over the potential line. In Nevada the road would have to pass through some narrow canyons, and the two companies fought to see who could build first and gain control of the route. Eventually, the two financial interests came to an understanding and construction of the entire line began in earnest. The railroad was finished in 1905 (It was responsible for the founding of Las Vegas), and provided a new transportation link for an enormous area. It goes right through the middle of the Preserve, and it is this line you will see from the beautiful Kelso Depot.

Today, the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe remain. They are both busy and modern railroads, moving cargo for our modern American economy.

Kelso photo Courtesy of Theo Packard

Lanfair photo Courtesy of Mojave Desert Archives