Here’s an interesting site I found that has pics and info about the Tonopah & Tidewater RR and other defunct desert short lines…
http://www.ttrr.org/tt_tocs.html
Some very cool stuff there. Be sure to check out the Death Valley link to see the “baby gauge”, a two-foot mining railroad that operated as a tourist line for a while after the mines ran out.
The Tecopa Railroad served some of the mines that I visited during my trip in August.