Nostalgia & History > Al Rose: Any telltale clues as to the location?

Like a lot of us, it seems that Al Rose didn't always label his photographs thoroughly.  A lot of his prints and slides now at the Western Railway Museum Archives have nothing written on them at all, and some only have a date stamp.  His negatives are a bit better, with many having the date, location and subject written around the edges.  Unfortunately, the negative containing the image below does not, and I'm not having much luck determining the location. 

The clues I have are these: it was filed among his Santa Fe negatives, and Santa Fe did have telltales of that style, so it's probably on the Santa Fe.  Rose shot the vast majority of his photos in central California, so assuming it's not a trader (no indication that it is), it was likely taken somewhere in the Golden State in the 1930's - 1950's.  Telltales were erected to warn trainmen on the tops of freight cars to hit the deck because the train was approaching an overhead structure, so there is presumably an overpass, truss bridge, or some other head-bonking hazard behind the photographer.  The condition of the track suggests it is a lightly used spur or branch, and in the blowup view, it's clear that the track doesn't proceed straight ahead to the horizon, as that path is blocked by bollards.  It also appears that there is another track running left-to-right across the frame, protected by crossbucks, and it seems likely that the track in the foreground curves to join it.

Can you tell I'm likely, maybe, probably grasping at straws?  I'm pretty sure it's not Riverbank, CA looking west down the Oakdale Branch, or Empire, CA looking east on the M&ET, or Hammond looking west on the former Fresno Interurban, or Calwa looking west on the Visalia District, or the Visalia District track approaching the SP at Visalia or Tulare. 

Anyone recognize where this photo was taken?

---

---

After wandering around a bit, I'm guessing
if it is SFe, it's not California, assuming
the telltale is there for a reason. Anyone
find an overpass over any SFe branch
in the state, not in a city?

What are elevators like that used for?
How common are they in the Central Valley?

The trees suggest a street beyond the
bollards, in line with the track. Why the
bollards, anyway? What are they intended
to guard against?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/23 14:20 by timz.

It looks like there may have been a diamond ahead at one time, like this track once went straight. Maybe the diamond was removed, and it was connected to the crossing track, hence the curve. Good Luck!

I tried to find the building on the left without any luck but that is the key to the location.

tell tale may have just been there for the overhead wires? 

I see bollards I think train station. 

Western Pacific tell tale at 3:50 into the video:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1188476,1188476#1188476

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Evan,

There's a peculiar object hanging from the lower cross arm (left side) on the second utility pole from the right in the photograph.  If you could zoom in on the negative at that object, identifying it may provide a clue.

Oliver Barrett 

The headhouse of the grain elevator features an interesting and, from what I can tell, unique cornice. Seems distinctive. Maybe a grain elevator fan can help us. We shouldn't give up on this mystery! 

ShoreLineRoute Wrote:

> There's a peculiar object hanging from the lower
> cross arm (left side) on the second utility pole
> from the right in the photograph.  If you could
> zoom in on the negative at that object,
> identifying it may provide a clue.

Sorry I missed this request.  Here's a somewhat belated blow-up.  No idea what that object is...and still haven't figured out where it is.

---

That object looks to be a street lamp over a pedestrian path or walkway.

James R.(Jim) Baker
Whittier, CA

I'm still interested in this thread and even joined a grain elevator group on Facebook and maybe one day this one will show up in there with the location data we so desperately seek. I got a little excited when I saw this thread here now with an update--thought maybe at last it has been solved. 

What if the telltale was for a bridge? Would that bring up any ideas--branch/spur/junction with a bridge on the way out of town?

Maybe the Stockton waterfront?

https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ca1390.photos/?sp=5#

https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ca1390.photos/?sp=1&st=gallery

View would be looking north up a spur roughly in alignment with Edison St.

Behind the photographer was a thru truss over Mormon Slough.


 

Yes! PCRC I went through so many websites looking for "grain elevator". Corn elevator...should have been looking for corn elevator. Thanks for solving this mystery. Nice job!

PCRC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe the Stockton waterfront?
>
> https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ca1390.photos/?sp
> =5#
>
> https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ca1390.photos/?sp
> =1&st=gallery
>
> View would be looking north up a spur roughly in
> alignment with Edison St.
>
> Behind the photographer was a thru truss over
> Mormon Slough.
>
>
>  

Here's some aerial photage from UCSB Framefinder site. This is a 1928 aerial. https://mil.library.ucsb.edu/ap_images/c-163/c-163_f-7.tif

 

---

---

I wonder if the little building there with the mullioned windows is a scale house. 

Excellent!  Thank you so much for the answer!  I would never have guessed.

A gallery of photos of the elevator inside and out with a few views of the rails serving it. Anyone know whose tracks they were? 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sperry_Corn_Elevator_Complex

phthithu Wrote:

> A gallery of photos of the elevator inside and out with a few views of the rails serving it.

Thanks for that.  Guessing the building didn't last much longer after those 1985 photos were taken, which is probably why they were taken.  At the other end of its life, here's an article about the elevator and the Sperry Flour Co. from the December 11, 1920 Stockton Record:

---

---