One day there was a pile of old rail that had probably been dug out by the crews who were refurbishing Congress Springs Park in Saratoga. The railheads were all peened over and in layers so they were well used. Cast into the rails were abbreviations for Lackawana Iron and Steel and Carnegie Steel, and the accompanying dates were from the 1890's or so. My guess is that they were part of either the old trolley line to Congress Springs or the SP branch to Palo Alto. I keep hoping to find some artifact that's more portable but so far no luck.
Back at the end of March I also watched a 4 unit train roll through Campbell with 30 open hopper cars, 24 of which had a visible coal load. There was also another 14 covered cement hopper cars.
With all the cement making activity that these coal loads imply it won't be long before they dig a big enough hole in the hills that I'll be able to watch an ocean sunset from my place in San Jose.
Steve
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Steve,
Sounds like you have been walking the branch line. I saw a 4 unit train
with 34 cars going up to the cement plant a few weeks ago, mostly all coal
cars. Look forward to seeing you.
Gary
