During the 1930s, 1940s and into the late 1950s, Leslie Salt Company operated a Salt and Borax mining operation in the Mojave Desert near Amboy, California. Part of their mining infrastructure included several miles of light rail, narrow gauge (36˝ wide) track. The mining operation was terminated in 1958 and many relics of the operation found their way into museums and private collections.

Part of the maintenance equipment for their operation included several small, robust, 4-wheeled flat-bed cars made from wooden decking and side rails which they used to haul everything from spare pump parts & tools to replacement rail parts.  These cars were moved over the rails either manually via a handle on one end of the car or by a motorized vehicle attached to the tow hitch on the other end of the car. These cars were small and lightweight enough to be pushed and pulled easily by two men when fully loaded (about 1.5 tons of payload) over the relatively flat rail bed.

Our 1/8^th scale model is a faithful replica of Leslie’s maintenance car and is provided in two deck lengths – 10˝ and 12˝ as the cars themselves varied in length. The original manufacturer of the cars is unknown but they were probably built in the Leslie Salt Company’s shop on site with components such as wheels and specialty hardware procured from various sources throughout the United States.

The original prototypes at the mining site incorporated a steel scuff plate on  the top of each end of the wooden deck and the model can be built either with or without this feature as a builder’s preference. Some prototypes incorporated only the manual handle while others had both the handle and the tow hitch mounted. All prototypes had grease cups on all four wheel journals.

Our drawing package of construction plans contains 13 “B” sized (11˝ x 17˝) plates generously sprinkled with photographs of the model’s parts and assemblies. Also included with your purchase is a Bill of Materials for the model and a listing of material sources.

As can be seen in the model’s photograph, this model makes a great display platform for collectibles such as mineral specimens, coins, knick-knacks, etc. and is an eye-catching conversation piece when set on the display track built from the drawings. We hope you enjoy building your museum quality model of this legacy piece of mining equipment.