Beal was a

railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

on the

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern California ...

line between

Needles, California Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the Californian border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is a ...

and

Topock, Arizona Topock ( Mojave: Tuupak) (pronounced ''/'Toe-pock'/'' by locals) is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population within the CDP was 2. Topock a ...

from 1889. It was located 5 miles north on the railroad line to Needles from Mellen. Needles Quadrangle, Arizona, California, U. S. Geological Survey, Edition of 1904, reprinted 1919
from lib.utexas.edu accessed July 21, 2015.

History

The bridge across the Colorado River constructed at Eastbridge station in 1883 was washed out or undermined by the spring flooding of the river in 1884, 1886 and 1888. Finally they changed the railroad route southward to Beal then to Mellen, where from 1889 to May 1890 they built the

Red Rock Bridge The Red Rock Bridge was a bridge across the Colorado River at Topock, Arizona, Topock, Arizona that carried the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. It was built in 1890, replacing a wooden bridge dating to 1883 that was repeatedly washed out during spri ...

, a

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

, on rock foundations, unlike the previous site. The section of track between where the line changed direction to the new bridge, to the station of Powell and the bridge and station at Eastbridge, was abandoned in 1890.Richard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852-1916, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978

Current status

As of 2021, the site of Beal is abandoned, with no visible ruins.

References

External links

Map of the 5th Operating Division of the Western Division, Atlantic & Pacific R.R., From Peach Springs to Needles. W.A. Drake, Acting Chief Engineer. Drawing No. J-2-902.
from davidrumsey.com accessed July 20, 2015. This map was one of a set of six hand-drawn maps made in 1882 on semi-transparent waxed linen with some color, illustrating the route Lewis Kingman surveyed from Albuquerque to Needles. It was intended to be printed but never was, due possibly to the problems at the bridge at Eastbridge, shown on this map, from 1884 to 1890.
Map of the 6th Operating Division of the Western Division, Atlantic & Pacific R.R., From Needles to Mojave. Saml. M. Rowe, Resident Engineer. Drawing No. J-2-902, 1882
from davidrumsey.com accessed July 20, 2015. This map was one of a set of six hand-drawn maps made in 1882 on semi-transparent waxed linen with some color, illustrating the route Lewis Kingman surveyed from Albuquerque to Needles. It was intended to be printed but never was, due possibly to the problems at the bridge and station at Eastbridge which was abandoned in 1890, shown on this map that shows the change of route south along the west bank to Beal, and to that new bridge at Mellen and the abandoned station Powell that can be seen partially erased on the map. Former settlements in San Bernardino County, California Ghost towns in California Lower Colorado River Valley Mojave Desert {{US-ghost-town-stub