Number 90 postedI'd feel safe in calling the train No.40. Notice the early afternoon shadow.I have commented more than once on the Rock Island universally rough track. There just was not enough money to go all the way around, and "good enough" had to suffice for a railroad which could never afford to be excellent. On the photo of you standing by the track, notice the "tired" condition of the ties and the very frugal application of rock ballast. Notice the dust cloud being stirred up by the train running at 79 MPH on that thinly-ballasted track. And this was the Golden State Route -- one of Rock Island's good lines!
Thank you for sharing these photos, and to everyone who has been sharing memories.
Thanks, Tom. Yes! The short early afternoon shadow. I have thought of that pic as being noon-ish but couldn't put my finger on why. You [I'm sure correctly] figured it out. It also fits with the way Dad did things. He would have set this up as a lunch break (we were camping and had a large ice-box) and then watched for the train.
The dust proves two things, doesn't it? That he was moving at speed and that the ballast was tired and had a lot of fines in it. I have the three pics on the train room wall one above the other telling me the little story every time my eyes focus on them.
