and he notes -
The Keeler Tank supports are iron pipes.
Raleigh in Chilleigh Maineigh...
At 09:52 PM 5/17/2012, Jim and Cheryl Martin wrote:
Hi Bill. These pix are just dripping with
atmosphere. That Keeler water tank has the
skinniest supports I've ever seen. One has to
wonder how did it stand up, empty or full?
Jim Martin
From: scale S only <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 8:08:29 PM
Subject: {S-Scale List} Fw:
[harrimanstandardlines] SP Narrow Gauge in Action 1960--Color Photos
Hi all --
This is especially for the SP narrow gauge guys
amongst us, but the pix are still neat. I
spent 30 years living just south of here and did
my best to survey the remnants which were few
and far between even less now. To have these
shots taken while the line was still active is really cool.
Enjoy!
Bill Winans
------------------------------------
I posted this message and link last month on
some of the Yahoo! Group Lists to which I
belong. Some of you may have see it; I know
Charlie has. I have gotten positive feedback
from as far away as Australia and the Czech Republic.
In January 1960, I was driving to Ft. Benning,
Georgia, for active US Army officer duty. I
detoured north to Lone Pine, CA, hoping to see
the SP Narrow Gauge in action. The next day
(January 11, 1960), I visited Keeler at the
south end of the railroad by Owens Lake but the
diesel powered train had left much earlier. I
thought I'd catch up with it at Owenyo where
the narrow gauge interchanged freight with SP's
standard gauge Jawbone branch. However, I
didn't catch up with it until Kearsage, further
north on the line near Independence, CA.
Altogether, I made 32 color 35mm slides and 2
B&W photos. I got some outstanding shots of
desert railroading but also a few light snow
flurries. I was out of time and could not
follow the train any further, so I resumed my
trip to Georgia. It would be ten years or more before I returned to the area.
2 1/2 months later, at the end of March 1960,
the SPNG quit running forever. The railroad's
town of Owenyo became an empty gravel patch in
the desert. Engine #9, which I had
photographed at Owenyo, was hauled to the
northern terminus at Laws and became part of a
museum setup there. Diesel #1 was sold to a
Mexican mining operation and then eventually was scrapped.
I have posted 36 photos to my photo account at
Picasa under the title "SOUTHERN PACIFIC NARROW
GAUGE (Owens Valley, CA, January 11,
1960)". Also included are scans of four
"average quality" commercial slides which I
bought in Lone Pine back then. They are
marked "Commercial Rights Reserved" so they
cannot be downloaded from the Picasa
site. They are just for viewing. I've also
included scans of two B&W prints which I bought
at railroadiana shows. One of these also
cannot be downloaded. Otherwise, the rest of
the pictures are downloadable from the Picasa site if you wish.
Here's the direct link to these photos on the
Picasa site. It is not necessary to sign in or anything.
<https://picasaweb.google.com/111099367172613506788/SOUTHERNPACIFICNARROWGAUGEOwensValleyCAJanuary111960>https://picasaweb.google.com/111099367172613506788/SOUTHERNPACIFICNARROWGAUGEOwensValleyCAJanuary111960
Enjoy!
With best regards, Hart
