Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads - Railroads

Mystery Streetcar near Acton, California

Michael F Ballard — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:12:40 +0000

Back in 2004, I noticed something odd about a structure I saw alongside Sierra Highway (former US 6) in Soledad Pass just east of the summit. The building looked like an old gas station, possibly a Mobil Oil station, which made sense for the location. However, upon closer inspection, I saw something very unusual inside. ...

Old State 136 near Keeler, CA

Michael F Ballard — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 22:38:21 +0000

The Owens Valley in Inyo County, California is home to many fascinating highway relics. One road in particular toward the southern end of the Owens Valley southeast of Lone Pine, State Highway 136, had a very unique and rare feature – old railroad grade crossing markings. Until 1964, it was known as State Highway 190 ...

Streetcar Tracks Exposed – Part 2

Michael F Ballard — Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:01:24 +0000

Ongoing roadwork in the North Park neighborhood in San Diego has exposed yet more streetcar tracks. This work is a part of a bikeway project which will add raised median islands and pedestrian signals to enhance safety along the route. The tracks for the #2 San Diego Electric Railway line are temporarily exposed on 30th ...

San Diego Electric Railway Exposed in North Park

Michael F Ballard — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 01:40:13 +0000

The City of San Diego has a project underway known as the University Avenue Mobility Project. This will add a median to University Ave from Florida St to Boundary St and a transit lane in both directions. This work, which has begun in earnest in the past few weeks, has exposed more of the San ...

Featured Image – 10/29/2020 – Magic Mountain Train Station

Michael F Ballard — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 03:45:31 +0000

Back in the 1970’s, long before it was known as “Six Flags Magic Mountain”, it was simply known as “Magic Mountain” and had an area known as “Spillikin Corners”. At the time, it had a train which ran in a loop, not unlike so many other parks of the era. The train was gone by ...

San Diego Electric Railway #11 line at El Cajon Blvd

Michael F Ballard — Sat, 23 May 2020 00:29:14 +0000

Recent utility work on Park Blvd has indirectly revealed that the tracks for the former SDERy #11 line (Downtown to Kensington via Park and Adams) are still buried beneath Park Blvd, at least at El Cajon Blvd. Looking at video from 1970 of Park Blvd wasn’t really helpful in spotting the tracks as they seem ...

Featured Image – 8/20/2019

Michael F Ballard — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:11:12 +0000

On September 5, 1876, the golden spike was driven near Lang, California on the Southern Pacific Railroad line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. That line would bring the sleepy town of Los Angeles into a spotlight that persists to this day. A small train station was built near the site, which served as an ...

Featured Image – 8/14/2019

Michael F Ballard — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 23:56:39 +0000

Completed in 1876, this loop still stands as an engineering marvel and a unique way of keeping the grade steady while climbing over the Tehachapi Mountains between Bakersfield and Mojave.

Guide to Truss Bridges

Michael F Ballard — Sun, 21 Jul 2019 16:42:24 +0000

The Historic American Engineering Record, a part of the National Park Service, produced a very detailed poster for identification of truss bridges. While these bridges aren’t as common in southern California, they still get plenty of use. Railroads are the most common user of these types of bridges, specifically the Pratt Truss.

Cajon Pass Tour – August 12, 2017 – Review

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 05:38:14 +0000

The tour began at Devore, CA at about 8:30 am after meeting a friend, who ended up being the only person to show. After a quick briefing on what we were to see, we headed south to Verdemont, where we inspected a freeway overpass that had remained mostly intact from its original 1950’s construction. The ...