Nostalgia & History > Need some help with WP RDC locations

Among the negatives in the Jeff Moreau collection at the Western Railway Museum Archives are some views of one of Western Pacific's RDC cars on what appears to be the eastern end of the system.  These negatives have no dates or locations, and most also don't have the photographer's names.  I'm pretty sure the first one below (88545) is Elko, NV, but corroboration would be good, and any help on the others would be appreciated.  I'm also wondering if some of these might have been taken during a February 22, 1955 excursion that used car 375 from Salt Lake City, UT west to tour the Dolomite, Flux, and Warner branches.

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More.  88570 and 88571 appear to be the same place, and seeing lots of people boarding where there is no platform makes me suspicious that this is an excursion.

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This is the flyer for the February 22, 1955 trip and a one page article about it in the April 1955 issue of the WP magazine Mileposts, which shows car 375 and a bit of snow on the ground.

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Photos 1,2,5, and 6 all look almost certainly to be Elko.  Picture 4 is Salt Lake City, that's the North Temple bridge.  I have no real idea where the third picture is. 

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

Nice to hear that Mr Frimbo was on board to get the mileage. 

JDLX Wrote:
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> Photos 1,2,5, and 6 all look almost certainly to
> be Elko.  Picture 4 is Salt Lake City, that's the
> North Temple bridge.  I have no real idea where
> the third picture is. 
>
> Jeff Moore
> Elko, NV

The photographer is standing on the outside platform of Grant Tower itself, looking to the northeast. The location is three blocks north of the joint WP-D&RGW Salt Lake City depot. The California Zephyr traveled the same track.

Don Strack

Yeah, the third picture I am pretty sure is Salt Lake.  I believe that is the same UP boxcar in both photos (has similar graffitti on it) and the line of wires along the tracks looks the same.

Neat photos!

Z

JDLX wrote:

> I have no real idea where the third picture is. 

Don Strack replied:

> The photographer is standing on the outside platform of Grant Tower itself, looking to the northeast.

Doesn't this response apply to the fourth photo, not the third?

donstrack Wrote:
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> The photographer is standing on the outside
> platform of Grant Tower itself, looking to the
> northeast. The location is three blocks north of
> the joint WP-D&RGW Salt Lake City depot. The
> California Zephyr traveled the same track.

Yes, the third photo is also at Grant Tower in Salt Lake City. On the ground, looking southeast. The WP/D&RGW depot is in the distance.

I had completely forgotten about the overhead walkway between the UP depot and Grant Tower. It is where the photographer is standing in the fourth photo. It was a public walkway from the north side of the UP depot, directly to Grant Tower. It was how people who lived on that part of Salt Lake City's west side were able to cross over all those tracks serving UP's passenger depot, and their freight depot.

Don Strack



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/15 11:38 by donstrack.

I'll be honest, Salt Lake City was going to be my guess for the third photograph, it was late and I was tired...

It appears the fourth photograph, the one showing the North Temple bridge, was probaby taken from the overhead walkway in Picture 3...

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

In photo 88570 there is what appears to me to be a 58 Ford, and maybe a 57 Desoto or Dodge so that one is not of the 55 excursion.

Luke

Good catch! It's a 1957 Plymouth, and that does appears to be a 1958 or possibly 1957 Ford further down the row. Early model releases during that era mean it could be as early as fall of 1956. As Plymouth said: "Suddenly it's 1960!"

~ BZ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/15 16:32 by Notch16.

The WP depot in Elko shown in the first photograph was a two-story wood building until 1959, indicating the first photo dates from at least that time, if not into the 1960s.  Of course, the mixture of eastbound and westbound Zephyrettes shown in Elko in these photographs suggest different days anyway...

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

The details in these photos are fascinating , not to take this off track but assuming you guys apparently are fans and know a lot about the WP I have to ask-
1. The door mounted headlight light cans supplementing the twin sealed beams over head, I noticed they're evident both front and rear albeit red on the rear, are they the same appliances with just different colored lenses? Were they oscillating or had variable intensity lamps?
2. The boxy vent shrouds "drooping" from corners of the roof ? To keep the carbody or restroom ventilation fans from sucking in diesel smoke? 
3. Likely a dumb question but the hung marker lamps; is this just WP's way of saying those small factory lenses on the cab face don't cut it or is it a regulation that they got to be there? I understand RDC's have a tendency to be virtually invisible approaching at grade especially in broad daylight unless they had/have a lot of  "extra's" added.   
Pete

The door mounted lights were, IIRC, the same light with just a colored lens for the red.  They were unpluggable and were just swapped end to end, hanging on a bracket or railing from the door.  In photo 5, you can clearly see the plug.

I think the marker lamps were a rule at least on the WP.  

Z


Atlpete Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The details in these photos are fascinating , not
> to take this off track but assuming you guys
> apparently are fans and know a lot about the WP I
> have to ask-
> 1. The door mounted headlight light cans
> supplementing the twin sealed beams over head, I
> noticed they're evident both front and rear albeit
> red on the rear, are they the same appliances with
> just different colored lenses? Were they
> oscillating or had variable intensity lamps?
> 2. The boxy vent shrouds "drooping" from corners
> of the roof ? To keep the carbody or restroom
> ventilation fans from sucking in diesel smoke? 
> 3. Likely a dumb question but the hung marker
> lamps; is this just WP's way of saying those small
> factory lenses on the cab face don't cut it or is
> it a regulation that they got to be there? I
> understand RDC's have a tendency to be virtually
> invisible approaching at grade especially in broad
> daylight unless they had/have a lot of  "extra's"
> added.   
> Pete

That's a '57 Ford on the left in photo 6. It only has one "target" hood ornament on the center of the hood. The 58 Fords had two targets, one each on the driver side and passenger side fenders.

Dave

JDLX Wrote:

> The WP depot in Elko shown in the first photograph
> was a two-story wood building until 1959,
> indicating the first photo dates from at least
> that time, if not into the 1960s. 

Thanks.  That pretty much narrows the date to 1959-60, since the Zephyrette was canceled in late 1960.  That might also explain the somewhat tattered condition of the end emblems.  I see from past discussions that Elko was a meal stop, which would explain the car being serviced and people reboarding.  What would the hose from the truck in 88544 be supplying?

<What would the hose from the truck in 88544 be supplying?> I would say fuel, either gas or diesel. upkpfan

Photo 88571 is definitely Elko.  The giveaway is the place called "Shorty's Club" on the left.  A GOOGLE search of "Shorty's Club Elko Nevada" brings up all sorts of stuff.  

What an amazing excursion and for the price of just $5.00.  Frimbo obviously felt it was worth coming from New York.