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
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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
Enjoy!
With best regards, Hart
