
The Randsburg Railway was a branch line railroad in California's
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
. It originated at the main line of the
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...
(AT&SF) at Kramer Junction, California, and terminated at
Johannesburg, California
Johannesburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, in a mining district of the Rand Mountains. Johannesburg is located east-northeast of Randsburg, at an elevation of . The terminus of the Randsburg Railway was here ...
, with a stop at
Atolia. The Railway served as a supply link to the
Rand Mine, which produced more silver than any mine in California. The Rand mine closed in 1929, as it was no longer profitable.

The line was completed on January 5, 1898, and began operation on January 17, 1898. The railway was acquired by the AT&SF in 1903. During its 35-year history, the Randsburg Railway served a number of local mining operations; it also provided passenger service.
The Randsburg Railway ceased operations on December 30, 1933, a victim of the Great Depression
and a decline in the mining industry. The rails were removed the following year. Portions of the grade are still visible along
U.S. Route 395 between Kramer and Johannesburg.
[Myrick, David F. ''Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California, Volume II, The Southern Roads,'' p. 793-8, University of Nevada Press, Reno, Nevada, 1993. ]
See also
*
Trona Railway
The Trona Railway is a short-line railroad owned by Searles Valley Minerals. The TRC interchanges with the Lone Pine Subdivision of the Union Pacific Railroad (former Southern Pacific Transportation Company) at Searles, California.
History
The ...
*
Calico and Odessa Railroad
*
Death Valley Railroad
The Death Valley Railroad (DVRR) was a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge railroad that operated in California's Death Valley to carry borax with the route running from Ryan, California, and the mines at Lila C, both located just east of Deat ...
References
External links
Randsburg/Johannesburg Railroad*
Defunct California railroads
History of the Mojave Desert region
Predecessors of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Railway companies established in 1897
Railway companies disestablished in 1911
Mining in California
History of Kern County, California
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