Steam & Excursion > 75 Years Ago Pearl Harbor Changed Our Nation And It's Railfans!

We mark this solemn occasion of the 75th anniversary of the attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor with a look back at how that 68-minute long battle changed nearly all aspects of life in this country including the lives of it's railfans.

This photo taken by Army Lieutenant Guy L. Dunscomb of his good friend Army Sargent Al Rose sums up how the world of railfans were changed forever on that December Day in Hawaii. Photography of railroads was generally prohibited during the war as it was seen as dangerous to national security.  Guy and Al could get away with this since they were in uniform when they carried their cameras into the railyards of the West.  Further, with gasoline rationing, it was very difficult for railfans to travel to the usual railroad venues they liked to visit.  For these reasons, we have very few steam photos taken by railfans from 1942 until 1946.

Given the rumors of the impending demise of their beloved Yosemite Valley Railroad, Al and Guy decided to use their weekend pass and travel to Merced, California to follow one of the YV trains from Merced to El Portal where we see them in this photo.  YV 2-6-0 #28 is sporting her war-time "blackout" headlight shield that also gives this photo away as taken during the War.

We all owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to all the young servicemen whose lives were put on hold and then put in harms way after Pearl Harbor some 75 years ago today.  We can also be glad that a few of them took the time out of their service to this nation to record what railroading looked like during the time this Country was at war.

Martin



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/16 05:39 by LoggerHogger.

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How many air compressors does a small steam engine need? It looks like a double cylinder on the fireman's side and a pair of singles behind the front pilot. The plumbing for all the air and steam supply lines must have been complex.

Great photo from a well earned break from military life.

Right away, Sarge. d

Yes, a very important date in history. One good and one bad:

1) The inauguration of the New York Central  new light-weight, streamlined Empire State Express, with two uniquely streamline Hudsons.

2) Pearl Harbor.

For those of you who served...thank you.

And for those who were looking the other way despite warnings, not so much on the thank yous, lost too
many good people that day. RIP and may some good have come out of your and your family's loss.

Out

fbe Wrote:
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> How many air compressors does a small steam engine
> need? It looks like a double cylinder on the
> fireman's side and a pair of singles behind the
> front pilot. The plumbing for all the air and
> steam supply lines must have been complex.
>
>

There were two single cylinder air compressors on the side for the air brake system. The ones on the front were added after the flood of December 1937 to provide compressed air for operating the air-dump cars used to clean up the rock slides in the Merced River canyon downstream from El Portal.

Jack

Notice the pole carried on the tender.

OCV

As Jack mentioned, this day in 1941 was the initial run of the New York Central Empire State Express.  The world events that took place at Pearl Harbor far outshadowed that event, which the Central had intended to publicize greatly.    Saw on TV today that four of the five living survivors who were crewmembers on the USS Arizona that day were in Pearl Harbor for this 75th anniversary.  Their stories of how they managed to get off the stricken battleship were interesting and brought tears.    We lost so many in that war.

CharlesVarnes Wrote:
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> Notice the pole carried on the tender.
>
> OCV

Poling cars was common and legal back then.