Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Once Upon a Time in Placerville No.13: Some More Trains

Good morning. Tina here. 

I am going to share a few vintage photos of trains in and around Placerville. 

I like this photo from the fifties because it is located on Mosquito Road where I once worked.  Just about where this Southern Pacific Excursion 2728 is sitting is where the little bus depot sits now, at the Clay Street extension.
 An older postcard from the sixties showing our beloved 1771.
Above is our 1771 at work before it came to Placerville for its extended visit.
The caption to this photo dates this Southern Pacific Excursion to 1957. This is the Bedford Street walkway overpass to Highway 50.
This photo shows "newer" Placerville Depot at Mosquito Road, where the bus depot is now at the Clay Street extension.
This photo from 1967 was shared by a facebook friend who grew up in Smith Flat. A decade later I lived in a small cabin in Smith Flat just below the tracks, just a bit East of here.
 This photo above was shared on facebook. This couple and their son are inspecting the inside of 1771.
 Another facebook friend shared photos of our dear friend Southern Pacific 1771 leaving Placerville. It was going to Sacramento to the railroad museum to be reconditioned.  And there it still sits, rusty and in pieces.
I had always heard that 1771 did not work in Placerville, so I went to my brother-in-law to find out if that was true. His answer gave some hope that it may have actually been here on the job: Tina, I would imagine that 1771 got up to Placerville, on occasion in freight service. The 1771 saw a lot of use on local trains to Lodi and Tracy via Lathrop. Also used a lot on the Walnut Grove branch which ran down to Isleton from Sacramento.

2 comments:

Heidi Ann said...

Love the photos and postcards - and the quote from my husband, LOL! Glad he could be of some help! He does know an AWFUL lot about the trains.......

farmlady said...

I wish that we traveled more on trains when I was young. I love them. My son met us in Reno two years ago. He came from Oakland. He said the trip was wonderful. The Prospector and I want to go on a train trip to Glacier Nat. Park. There is just something about them. Thanks for the history post and photos.