SPNG - Laws

Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Railroad

Bishop
Big Pine
Laws (Formerly Bishop Creek)
Poleta
Bigelow
Black Canyon

Zurich (Formerly Alvord)
Monola
Beneme
Elna
Aberdeen (Formerly Tibbets)
Fish Springs

All material courtesy of Rich McCutchan unless otherwise noted.
See USE NOTICE on Home Page.
train and tower

12/24
Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge VHS

12/22

SPNG Photos from the University of Nevada Digital Archives (Photographer: Hugh Lee)
SPNG Locomotive No. 18 at Laws waiting to leave for Owenyo - 1950	SPNG Locomotive No. 18 at the water tank - 1950
SPNG Locomotive No. 18 on the turntable - 1950	01/23 Small fire at Laws It appears they are using water from a tank car to extinguish the flames. Also note hose left hand bottom image. Looks like the whole town is involved. Image looking north. Looks like the wind was blowing east away from Laws Depot on the left, a good thing I suspect. Note also aprt of the Pumite loading ramp right side of image other side of gondola. Huntley Minerals large building in background center. North yard warehouses other side of Depot. (Photo and test courtesy of Dennis Burke)

03/25

Allan Mac Donald writes:

Ray,

Kudos on your exquisite web page of railroad history. I have family history in railroads and I also have personally lived in Mono County 1974-79. I had a cousin who worked for SP who gave me a 70s era timetable showing the standard gauge line that was into the Owens Valley. Add to that my maternal grandfather worked 30 years for Canadian National to retire in 1957; all steam, no radios! Myself I took a mid-life career change in the northeast US, running long freight trains and later switched to the easier duty of running passenger service in and out of the majestic Grand Central Terminal in NYC. This career change gave me an appreciation for railroading that was hands on and I could only imagine what it was like in the old days. I also worked part time for a few years at a steam railroad in Essex, CT where we have operational and maintained locomotives (ALCO & Tangshan) built in 1920, 1926, 1979. Living in Mono country I had several times visited the museum in Laws outside of Bishop, taking some photographs, imagining the days of #9 making a station stop. Your web page here sort of "tied up the loose ends", for what I had wondered existed for railroads of the Owens valley and into the farther reaches of the mountains. Again, excellent work! Be safe out there, Allan.

February 2025

Tim Shea writes: Laws was named after R.J. Laws rj laws

Harry Ketza writes: On October 21, 1904 in Los Angeles, Herald R. J. Laws, Southern Pacific Railroad superintendent died of a heart attack caused by the strain and excitement of surviving a train accident where the train he was riding rear ended a stalled freight train.

Chris Owens writes: Taken from the Owens Valley History Page: “Regular train service from Los Angeles to Owenyo via Mojave began October 22, 1910. The cost roundtrip was $15.45; the connection to Laws was $19 .50. Unfortunately, this schedule was not conducive to the arrival of the narrow gauge trains at Owenyo, which necessitated an all-night layover, one that even SP men admitted to was not pleasing to valley travel. To add insult to the situation, the "hotel" accommodations consisted of a few boxcars. It need scarcely be mentioned that this circumstance created a profitable business for the auto-stages operating between Owenyo and Bishop, and all other valley points as road improvements continued. In fact, some travelers from Los Angeles would take an auto the entire journey and arrive at Bishop in less time than by train when the twelve-hour layover at Owenyo was taken into consideration.

On April 7, 1911 railroad officials arrived in Bishop and met with local businessmen to discuss possible train schedules that would best serve the valley. It was decided that the southbound train from Owenyo be run at night not only to avoid the layover for passengers, but to afford a better connection for shipments of milk, cream and perishable products so they would not have to endure a day journey through the hot desert. The change was made on the narrow gauge effective February 26, 1912 wherein trains were run to allow layovers at Laws and Mina instead of Owenyo and dairy products and perishables would be delivered the same day.”

Engine #18 Steams Along Once Again at the Laws Railroad Museum (Click and see the Slim Princess in action after being repaired from a blown cylinder on the way to Cascade Station in Colorado, where it was on loan to the Durango and Silverton RR)






	04/23 SPNG #18 at Laws - winter 2022-2023. (Photo and test courtesy of Dennis Burke)

Gallows Turntable at Laws Station. Constructed in 1883 and served until the end of the Carson & Colorado Railroad operations. No. 18 being turned in 1952.	Gallows Turntable at Laws Station. Constructed in 1883 and served until the end of the Carson & Colorado Railroad operations. No. 18 being turned in 1952.
Gallows Turntable at Laws Station. Constructed in 1883 and served until the end of the Carson & Colorado Railroad operations. No. 18 being turned in 1952.	Laws RR yard
Blue Star Mill and Grinding Company 1946. SPNG locomotive is headed towards the camera. Zurich Station is on the other side of the mill. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke and the Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Historical Society Inc.)
Zurich Station - Zurich was first called Alvord. The name was changed from Alvord to Zurich because of the stunning view of the Eastern Sierra Nevada. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke and the Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Historical Society Inc.)
Turning the Schenectady built 4-6-0 on the Gallows turntable.
In a scene that could easily be mistaken for 1954, SPNG #18 is seen at Laws, CA on September 22, 2017 after her full restoration to an operating steam locomotive. (Photo and text courtesy of Rob Sarberenyi - [John West photo])
SPNG #9 (Baldwin #34035) with is auxiliary water car, sits quietly in the sun in Owenyo, CA on December 27, 1958. Built in 1909 for the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad, #9 came to the Owens Valley line in 1928. When diesel #1 arrived in 1954, #9 was relegated to stand-by service and seldo left its track in Owenyo. In 1960, when the narrow-gauge line was abandoned, #9 and a string of cars were left in Laws, CA to form the nucleus of a museum. (Photo and text courtesy of Rob Sarberenyi archives - 1954 postcard)
Engine #18 leaves Laws for Keeler	Engine #18 takes on water at Laws Station - 1953
Zurich Station
"Harp Switch" at Zurich Station was in use on the Carson & Colorado RR up until WWII.
SPNG #9 steaming by Zurich

Laws Railroad Yard

02/22

Laws Railroad Yard
(Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)

SP engines No. 1 and No. 9 at Zurich
(Photo courtesy of eBay)

SP engines No. 9 at Zurich
(Photo courtesy of eBay)

Slim Princess Engine No. 18 with her ancient combine - 1949
SP No. 18 heads across Owens Valley in 1952. An extra passenger car to the consist to accommodate visiting railfans.
Aberdeen water tank and prairie windmill.	Tibbets Depot
No. 6 at Nevada-California state line in 1882.	Rails overgrown with grass at Laws Station.
01/23 The "Little Giant" at Monola just north of Zurich. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
04/23 Number 18 at Laws. (Photo courtesy of Martin Hansen)	07/23 Number 8 at the Aberdeen stop - January 1953. (Photo courtesy of Ronald Grau)
07/23 Number 8 at the Aberdeen stop in the winter - February 23, 1953. (Photo courtesy of Ronald Grau)

The Slim Princess leaves the Blue Star Mine mill at Zurich. Here is a photo of the Blue Star Mill. Looking south towards Owenyo. Depot would have been across the County Rd just on the other side of the Mill. The livestock pens are in the forground. Look close and you can see the two tall posts that show up in your photo (below) that would raise and lower the ramp. The loading ramp and concrete foundation for the Blue Star Mill and Mining Co. which burned down in the late 50's. The ramp was on cables and could be pulled up. This facility was constructed long after the SP purchased the C&C so it actually did not service the C&C RR itself. The spur just under this loading ramp was constructed by the SP. But the old C&C mainline is about where you took the ramp photo from. Different materials were processed here. Unbagged material was shipped out on the SP narrow gauge gondola cars and bagged material were loaded into the narrow gauge box cars. Shipped to Owenyo for transfer to standard gauge trains to be shipped out the Jawbone line to Mojave. Some shipments went to Laws.....Very interesting history at this location. (Photo and text courtesy of Dennis Burke)
Remains of the Blue Star Mine loading ramp at Zurich. (Photo courtesy of Ray DeLea)
Remains of the Blue Star Mine loading mill foundations at Zurich. (Photo courtesy of Ray DeLea)
Heading south at Laws Station.	The "Slim Princess" at Aberdeen Crossing - 1946 (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
Returning from Zurich station with loads of soapstone.	Engine No. 18 switching at Zurich - 1952
Engine No. 18 making a desert run - 1951
The "Slim Princess" at the Laws Station Turntable (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	Filling up the water tender at Aberdeen Crossing (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
The "Slim Princess" #18 at the Laws turntable (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	The "Slim Princess" at Laws (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
Laws Depot - Owens Valley - June 2, 1946 (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	SPNG #18 getting a drink at Aberdeen. (Text and Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
Slim Princess at Laws Station (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
02/22 Slim Princess #8 taking on some fuel at Laws (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	02/22 Slim Princess #9 at the Laws Yard (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
02/22 The auxiliary water tank car is being filled. You can see the water hose coming from the valve at the end of the tank car that led to the water tank on the tender. All the water tank cars had a valve on at least one end. Some of the oil tank cars had this as well but also had a valve under the tank for gravity unloading at places like Laws. (Photo and text courtesy of Dennis Burke)	02/22 Slim Princess #18 at the Laws Yard (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
02/22 1967 Aerial view of the SP Laws RR Yard (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
02/22 Slim Princess #9 at the Laws Yard (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	01/23 Some of us shared images of our C&C box car seals a short time back. Here's an SP employee setting a metal SP seal on and SPNG box car. Note the wire ring in the man's left hand of yet to be used seals... Many cut and discarded seals can be found to date at locations along the line where there was a need to open the car door to remove the material for reloading or processing. Owenyo is the most popular as this was the transfer from NG to SG. Another example is the spur at Zurich where cars were unloaded to be processed at the Blue Star Mill & Grinding Co. Who's concrete foundation and loading ramp are still in place. The North Yard at Laws is another location where the cut off seals can be found.............This image was taken at Keeler looking north. Note the locomotive in the background on the service track which once led to the original engine house. Also the tank car on the oil supply spur which supplied the locomotives with there fuel when needed. Part of the water tank and pump house can be seen just under the mans armpits. Note the spout of the water tank is down which means the tender is being filled......You can learn a lot by studying these little details in photographs and not just focusing on the main subject matter of the print. (Photo and text courtesy of Dennis Burke)
01/23 Here's one of #9 heading south coming out of the Tinemaha Cut. The reservoir would on the other side of the loco and train. This part of the line was relocated in 1928/29. This area is just about 30 seconds off the U.S. 395 Hwy and is worth the visit. You can inspect the rock walls on both sides of the ROW that were constructed 1928 and on the north end of the cut you have great view of the reservoir. (Photo and text courtesy of Dennis Burke)	01/23 SPNG #9 near Aberdeen. (Photo courtesy of Southwest Railway Museum Association Collection) (Jarod Black)
01/23 Slim Princess #9 switching at Zurich - 1959 (Photo courtesy of Southwest Railway Museum Association Collection) (Jarod Black)
01/23 Tinemaha Reservoir Cut - Now (Photo courtesy of Jarod Black)	01/23 Tinemaha Reservoir Cut - Then (Photo courtesy of Southwest Railway Museum Association Collection) (Jarod Black)

Engine No. 18 smokes up the Owens Valley desert.	Extra No. 9 paused between Zurich and Kearsarge - 1956
Ten-wheeler No. 18 making a stop at Aberdeen	Engine No. 18 crossing the Owens River above Aberdeen - 1952
Engine No. 18 crossing the Owens River above Aberdeen - 1954	Engine No. 18 paused at Zurich siding.
A photo of the SPNG Fish Springs Slough trestle - circa 2018 (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	Engine No. 8 enroute between Laws and Owenyo just after WWII.
SPNG Engine No. 18 on the upper Owens River trestle (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
Engine No. 18 heading across the desert near Laws - 1949

No. 18 backs her train northbound past Tinemaha Reservoir in 1953. The Owenyo turntable had been removed in 1948 requiring engines to back all the ways to Laws to turn the engine around on the gallows located there.	No. 18 backs her train northbound past Tinemaha Reservoir in 1953. The Owenyo turntable had been removed in 1948 requiring engines to back all the ways to Laws to turn the engine around on the gallows located there.
Southern Pacific's No. 18 arrives in Laws with a train of ancient wooden cars.	No. 18 switches in the grass covered rails north of Laws, CA - 1952
Laws, CA Carson & Colorado Railroad yard - 1939
Turning No. 18 on the gallows at Laws	Detail of the rollers on the gallows.
Laws railroad depot, Laws, CA -1948

Baldwin 4-6-0 No. 18 switching in the Laws yards	No. 18 switching in the Laws yards - 1953
Slim Princess consist prepares to leave the Laws yard - 1952	SP No. 18 takes on water at Laws - 1949
The crew checks over SPNG No. 18 before heading to Keeler.	Engine No. 8 ready to leave Laws - winter 1953
Engine No. 18 just south of Laws.	No. 18 leaving Laws bound for Keeler - 1949
No. 18 a few miles south of Monola bound for Keeler - 1949

Engine No. 18 being turned on the gallows.	Backing No. 18 off of the gallows turntable at Laws.
Laws, California, during the regime of the Nevada & California. Originally called Bishop Creek, the community's name was later changed in honor of R.J. Laws	Engine No. 8 being turned on the gallows.
Keeler bound train photographed from the combine-caboose.	No. 18 smoking up the skies south of Laws, CA
Railway fans on the Slim Princess in 1948
No. 18 makes a stop at the Aberdeen water tank. The tank was filled by a windmill. When there was insufficient wind, a water car would be coupled behind the tender so the engine could make it between water tanks.	Engine No. 8 crosses over the Owens River near Monola.
Engine #18 boiling out of the terminal yard at Laws in 1946 for a dramatic portrait of action on the last narrow gage common carrier in operation anywhere west of Colorado.	Laws Water and Oil Tanks
Turntable at Laws, CA Turntable Dimensions: Bed width - 14ft, Bed length - 56ft Center support height from top of rail - 22ft Turntable support pit - 18ft square	Time for a water break at Aberdeen - 1947
Southern Pacific Combine No. 401 sitting on the siding while the freight train switches a box car at Monola, between Owenyo and Laws, California; May 12, 1950; This combine was used as a caboose. (Photo courtesy of University of Nevada, Reno - Online Digital Collections)

Leaving Laws in 1954 with a spare baggage-mail car for traveling fans.
Engine No. 9 with a phony stack and headlamp - 1956	No. 9 restored to original operating condition.
Refurbished Engine No. 9 in operation in Owens Valley.
Kearsarge Depot, an original C&C building - 1939	Southern Pacific Engine No. 9 on the gallows turntable at Laws (E-Bay auction item)

Engine No. 22 somewhere in Owens Valley
(Photo courtesy Unknown)

Engine No. 9 somewhere in Owens Valley
(Photo courtesy Unknown)

Laws railroad yard in Owens Valley
(Photo courtesy Unknown)

Zurich depot along the SPNG in Owens Valley.

Engine No. 9 somewhere in Owens Valley (Photo courtesy Unknown)
Engine No. 9 somewhere in Owens Valley (Photo courtesy Unknown)
Zurich Station - 1942
Southern Pacific Map of Zurich (Drawing courtesy of Dennis Burke)	Laws, CA (Photo courtesy of LA Department of Water & Power)
SPNG boxcar at the Huntley Industrial Minerals plant north of Laws	Aberdeen stop along the SPNG in Owens Valley
SPNG water and oil tower at Laws depot	SPNG Engine #9 on the turntable at Laws (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
The SPNG "Slim Princess" heading out of the south gate at Laws (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	SPNG Engine #9 on the turntable at Laws (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
SPNG Engine #8 on the turntable at Laws (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	SPNG Engine #18 on the turntable at Laws (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
SPNG Engine #22 on the turntable at Laws (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)
Here is a photo taken of Laws in 1939. You can spot the depot that is still on site on the left in the distance. The now vintage truck has pulled up to unload some sacks of potatoes to be loaded into the railroad box cars. On the near left are the two out houses with the coal shed between them. On the right is speeder tool shed. This photo is looking north from near the water tank. This is the Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Railroad that began life as the Carson & Colorado Railroad in 1880 and reaached Bishop Creek, now Laws in 1883. Who was "Laws" named after and what was this persons intrest in the Owens Valley? (Photo and text courtesy of Dennis Burke)
SPNG #9 with a compliment of high cars steaming along in Owens Valley. (Photo and text courtesy of Dennis Burke)

SPNG Laws turntable	SPNG Engine #9 at the Laws Depot
SPNG Engine #9 taking on water at Laws	SPNG turntable at Laws (?)
SPNG Engine #9 at the Laws Depot
SPNG Engine #9 at the Laws Depot

01/23

SPNG Engine #9 working the North Laws Yard. Depot in background on right side of image. Corrals other side of locomotive. If you look close enough you can see the Laws locomotive service water tank on the right of the image in the backgound.
(Photo and text courtesy Dennis Burke)

SPNG Engine #9 at the Laws Depot all "dolled up" for a still movie shoot.
(Photo courtesy Dennis Burke)

01/23

SPNG #9 steams through the Owens Valley near Aberdeen, CA - 1957. The train is headed to Laws with a cut
of boxcars for the Huntley Mill. (Greg Maxwell)

Shortly after October 1956 when the #9 returned from a Bakersfield shopping with a backdated "new look." Bakersfield Shop Foreman McCutcheon took it upon himself to back date the #9 with a fake stack and headlamp as well as a Gold, Red, and Aluminum paint job. Crews in the Valley were not very happy with this look and she was shopped back later in 1957. In this image taken in early 1957 she is just entering the Tinemaha Reservoir cut from the south headed to Laws as you commented. HWY 395 is just the other side of the telegraph pole on the right. Apparently there were several railfans photographing the train this same day, one being John Shaw, who snapped very similar images to this one. I love these photos where you can see the contrast between the Owens Valley Hills and the High Sierra......One other note, in these days the train would carry auxiliary water car #350 as the water pump on the tank at Aberdeen, just south of this location, was not working. Thanks for sharing. (Dennis Burke)

(Photo courtesy Greg Maxwell)

SPNG gantry at Laws, CA. (Photo courtesy of Mike Vredenburgh)	SPNG buildings and railcars at Laws, CA. (Photo courtesy of Mike Vredenburgh)
SPNG buildings at Laws, CA. (Photo courtesy of Mike Vredenburgh)	California Electric Power Corp. - Nevada Power, Milling & Mining Co. Hardware for construction of power plants in the Sierra Nevada - 1904 /1908 (Photo courtesy of The Huntington Digital Library)
02/22 The "Little Giant" at Monola (Photo courtesy of Dennis Burke)	California Electric Power Corp. - Nevada Power, Milling & Mining Co. Overhead gantry at Laws for transferring loads off of SPNG flatbed cars. 1904 / 1908 (Photo courtesy of The Huntington Digital Library)
08/22 Catching the railfan photographer's car in the photo was not always a bad thing. Sometimes it told a story, as we see here. The Owens Valley in California can be a very hot area in the summer especially for a railfan waiting for the "Slim Princess" to arrive in view for a photo. This photographer has found just enough shade for his Ford to wait as this narrow gauge gem steams hes way. Southern Pacific #9 is wasting little time as she rolls down the Owens Valley with her train loaded with talc on this fine afternoon. She is carrying an auxiliary water car behind her tender to insure she can make it to next water tank on this lonely line. It is a safe bet that the engineer spotted the Ford parked in the shade as they approached and assumed this had to be a photographers car. He has signaled to the fireman to make some smoke and that gave us the wonderful shot we have here. (Photo and text courtesy of Martin Hansen)

SPNG #9 heading north from Laws, crossing Highway 6 near Jean Blanc Road on 9/25/1942. View looking southeast
(Photo and text courtesy of Ronald Grau)

SPNG #9 recrossing Highway 6, abouit 1 mile south of Chalfant, 7 miles north of Laws. View looking northeast.
(Photo and text courtesy of Ronald Grau)

10/23

LSPNG No. 9, headed south, crossing the loer Owens River trestle - July 1949
(Photo and text courtesy of Ronald Grau)

12/24

Slim Princess #9 at Laws
(Photo courtesy of Mark Van Klaveren)

07/23

Loaded up with soapstone at Zurich. A ramp that was located on the west side of the tracks just south of the County Road and Depot allowed trucks and maybe wagons in the earlier days to unload their materials into the SPNG gondolas. Looks like a little sway in the body of #232. Just a note, the railroad did not have a water tank at this location. The tank you see in the background was a distance from the track on the east side and provided water for the crews at this location.

(Photo and text courtesy of Dennis Burke)

03/25

It is early in the evening on October 13, 1949 and No. 18 has completed her duties for the day and is shown in this image taking on water at the Laws water tank before heading south, east in SP language, to spend the night at either Owenyo or Keeler, to rest up for the next day's chores. The spout of the oil supply tank is visible just behond the crew member and the water supply spout. The stencling on the lower side of the water tank reads, "DON'T WASTE WATER.".
(Photo and text courtesy of the Journal of the Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Historical Society)

03/25

Photos and text courtesy of Martin E. Hansen

It was a cold winter day with fresh show in the Sierra Mountains that Southern Pacific narrow gauge 4-6-0 #8 pulled up to the fuel and water tanks at Laws, California.

By the 1950's the former Carson & Colorado narrow gauge railroad that once ran from Mound House, Nevada all the way to Keeler, California was reduced to being a branch line for the Southern Pacific Railroad. By this time the line ran only from Laws, California to Keeler.
As such, when one of the SPng 4-6-0's arrived with a freight at Laws, the engine needed to be turned to face south for the return trip to Owenyo and Keeler. This was done by use of this wooden gallows turntable we see here.
In the first photo SPng #18 has arrived facing north and is loaded onto the turntable to be rotated to face south as we see in the second photo. This is an "Armstrong" turntable which means the power to turn the table with #18 on it was supplied by the available crew from the train.