The desolate silence is temporarily interupted by the whine of dynamic brakes, as three EMDs bring a cut of empty covered hoppers back from the Union Pacific interchange at Searles. The geologic formations in the distance are the Trona Pinnacles. These tufa spires are made of a form of calcium carbonate, and were created during a period thousands of years ago, as glacial waters flowed into the valley and formed Searles Lake. The water brought with it most of the minerals on the periodic table, and it is these minerals that are currently mined from below the surface of the dry lakebed that are the lifeblood of the railroad.
