Nostalgia & History > The "Overland" rolling through Selby

The westbound "Overland" passing the giant smelter that once stood at Selby, California in 1960. All is gone now including the town. I shot this from the top of what was once tunnel two. This train was powered by two PA's.

Robert Morris Photography
http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/index1.html

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Wonderful image! I am a great fan of images like this one, images which place the train in a larger context. Even better when they show an environment that is so dramatically changed -- real time travel, as it were. Interesting to see the Daylight obs on the rear, too. Thanks much for posting it.

MC
Columbia, Missouri

Bob,
Reminds me of the steel mills that used to exist when I was kid. The mills and new in 1965 blast furnace excepting the rolling mills have been gone nearly 50 years and the coke plant 40 years. Now its just weeds and trees except for a newspaper printing plant.
Gonut

Great shot! Complete with the Reno Parlor Car on the end.

Another excellent look at the way things used to be.
JB

What material was smelted at Selby. Gold, silver, lead, copper?

I love it!

The guys at Ozol called it "Selby Tunnel".

usmc1401 Wrote:

> What material was smelted at Selby. Gold, silver,
> lead, copper?

Selby handled some gold and silver concentrates, but its bread and butter was lead. (Prop 65 warning: don't eat leaded bread and butter.)

ironmtn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wonderful image! I am a great fan of images like
> this one, images which place the train in a larger
> context. Even better when they show an environment
> that is so dramatically changed -- real time
> travel, as it were. Interesting to see the
> Daylight obs on the rear, too. Thanks much for
> posting it.
>
> MC
> Columbia, Missouri

Amen! Amen! AMEN!!!

The area to the right is now covered in asphalt, looks like a giant parking lot. Think it's to keep the dirty dirt from blowing around or leaching out. Had no clue it used to be a smelter until Bob posted some photos a few years ago. Nice picture Bob, look at all of that online traffic that doesn't exist anymore.

Nathan

Great photo, but surprised to see a Daylight parlor observation on the back of 27 at this late date. I know the unassigned cars after the Noon Daylight was discontinued would make occasional trips on the back of 27 and 28 between Oakland and Reno/Sparks in the early 1950s, but I thought that was only in the early 1950s. I wonder if this is either a special/charter or the car simply being transported back to Oakland from the Sacramento shops. Interesting to ponder!

Lee Hower - Sacramento

Also note the absence of a dome. The February 1960 guide still shows 27-28 as carrying a dome, but I understand sometime in 1960 it was shifted to the CoSF, which seems a curious choice given that train's largely nocturnal passage through the Sierra.

Dave

Lee, my guess too: deadhead from shops. Quick move at Sacramento, as opposed to cutting in at the head end. Plus, quite common. But other shop transfers, say Suburban ICs, didn't blend quite as well and announced themselves as deadheads much more obviously than this nice bit of punctuation.

~ BZ

Pros and Cons to industries like the ASARCO smelter at Selby. Much economic activity - many environmental issues.

http://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/regulators/deliverable_documents/9833622574/Selby%20Slag%20Fact%20Sheet%207-21-08.pdf

There's also this possibility: that the photo shows a time when the Overland through cars for the CoSL were added back to the train from the COSF, and the Parlor (SP 2951) was being used for special round trips to Reno (Sparks).. This would date the photo some time after February 1961.

A buddy who's quite on top of such things says the consist is a typical one for that period, with a Lounge and Coffee Shop. On the headend behind the two baggage cars is the SP 9500, former blunt-end Sleeper Lounge for the "Lark," being used as a dormitory for crew -- you can see the distinctive twin antennas on the roof. Behind that would be the thru 6-6-4 sleeper. During this period, the Parlor Observation SP 2951 was still available as an extra, since the two Coast Daylight and Shasta Daylight cars were still in service.

The Parlor Observation's sister car SP 2950 had been used for parts in 1954 to build the prototype SP Dome Lounge, SP 3600.

~ BZ

Great shot, Bob.

~Ryan

Bob,

Thanks for sharing yet another of your fine photographs. The tall smokestack of the Selby Smelter was a landmark around this part of the Bay Area, and I had an uncle who was on the crew that repainted the stack periodically. Nice to see the "Overland" with PA's up front, a decent number of cars, and the Reno parlor observation on the rear. Thanks again for sharing...

ShastaDaylight