Nostalgia & History > Altamont, March 1970

Altamont, March 1970

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What is that device that the train is rolling under?

silagi Wrote:
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> What is that device that the train is rolling
> under?


They're called telltales; they're used to alert crew members riding on top of the cars that the train is approaching a tunnel. Obviously the photographer is standing on top of a tunnel portal

I was standing on top of a highway overpass. The old Altamont Road used to go up and over the SP here. The overpass was removed shortly after the tracks were pulled up.

There appears to be another train on a parallel track in the upper right part of the picture. What railroad is that?

That is an outfit (work) train on the parallel Western Pacific. That line is still in use by the UP and is the route of the ACE trains.

Nick Wrote:
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> silagi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > What is that device that the train is
> rolling
> > under?
>
>
> They're called telltales; they're used to alert
> crew members riding on top of the cars that the
> train is approaching a tunnel. Obviously the
> photographer is standing on top of a tunnel portal


Actually from the angle, Drew, it looks like you're standing on the phone/telegraph lines to the left, good balancing act!!

I haven't been out there for a while. Is the steel shed and water tower still there?

The shed is still there (was last week), but not sure about the tank...

This is a present day pic of the Altamont.. This was taken about 1 week ago. Is that the water tower to the left of the tracks?

Garrett

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Yes, that's it and the shed...

And about 200 feet beyond that large metal shed in the background lies the concrete ring that surrounded the old turntable pit. At least it was still there in 1976 when I walked around it. The pit was mostly filled in with dirt and had not been used for some time even before the end of steam in 1956.

OK somewhat off-topic, but not completely....is this where the Altamont Speedway and it's infamous 1969 concert took place?

Same area, but the speedway is several miles to the South and East of this location and on the other side of Highway 580. Altamont is the general area between Livermore on the West and Tracy on the East.