Yup, I stumbled upon that page while looking for yours, so I figured I'd use it. The pictures of the construction and reconstruction of that bridge are pretty neat.
The railroad is still active today and going strong known by another name. This is how the line looked in 1910. Bonus if you can tell the location of the picture.
I'm certain it's not-But this sure makes me think of the old Great Northern near Wellington, WA. Looks like there is further right of way on the hill above. Which should eliminate my guess. Boxcab E50
You should go with your first instict here is a link with a bunch of cool pics of that area: http://home1.gte.net/mvmmvm/picts/pre1910.html You are completly right
Well, since it's been a while, I'll try one. This railroad was built around 1910 to serve two county seats in northeastern Texas. One of its customers was an oil refinery that burned down in the 1940s. It was abandoned in 1956. Even after 50 years, you can still see most of the ROW from the adjacent US highway. Some say it should have been built as an interurban instead of a steam road. IIRC, one of its steamers is still in existence at the Texas State Railroad. Guesses, anyone? Bonus points if you can name the town the refinery was in.
Well, I'm late to the game. Having hit a correct answer, a couple of days ago, I should have posted one. But could not find the photo in mind. Until just now. Darn thing had managed to slide behind another in an old album! Here it is: It might not be hard to identify the railroad. But then you might be fooled. Then, where are we? And why? Boxcab E50
That looks something like Snoqualmine Pass in Washington State on the Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound Railway. When the Snoqualmine Pass tunnel was opened between Hyak and Rockdale in 1915 this place was bypassed.
Hmmm. Someone must have had inside knowledge..... mg: It is on Snoqualmie Pass. But the station name is Laconia. This view was taken late the first winter of operations. Some time after March of 1909. View is looking west. There is no water tank as yet. Much construction equipment is material is still present. And the little Class C telegraph office has not been altered. The building at right stood well into my lifetime. Burning down a couple of decades or so ago. Otherwise, everything here is a distant memory. And a four lane road in the Summit ski area is atop this site. Boxcab E50
Russ- you guessed correctly!! The refinery was at Talco, and shipped asphaltic oil. IIRC, there are still oil wells in the TAlco area. The late, lamented Journal of Texas Shortlines had a complete writeup of the Pa & Ma back in the late 1990s.
Once again I have to answer two questions to get to ask one. Ken, I can't help it if that place looked familiar. I think I helped dig the tunnel at Snoqualmie Pass in a past life. Bob, my sister in law is from Talco. I thought that must be an old right of way along US 271.
This railroad was chartered in the late 1800s to serve a sugar cane plantation in Texas. One of the founding partners, in both the railroad and plantation, was a one armed Civil War veteran and the other was an entrepreneur who got his start selling dry goods from the back of a wagon. They started out using horse drawn wagons on a crude rail line until a real locomotive and freight cars could be purchased. The railroad interchanged freight with both the MKT and Santa Fe. After one partner bought the other out, the relationship soured and led to a hostile feud where the one armed Civil War veteran was killed in a shootout with his former partner aboard a passenger train on another railroad. The feud continued with the friends and relatives of the dead partner trying to avenge the killing by hunting down the other partner. He decided to sell the railroad in the early 1900s and move to San Antonio to avoid being shot. When the sale was first announced, the local press jumped to conclusions and published that it was the MKT that had gained control. However they had to make a correction when it turned out that it was the Santa Fe.
Russ: You can follow the old P&MtP ROW from just north of Pattonville to just north of the Sulphur River bridges. I'm not sure where the ROW goes thru Talco, but if I can find that issue of Journal of Texas Shortlines I'll find out. The Pa & Ma was one of five railroads that called on Paris until 1956, the other four being the Texas & Pacific, Santa Fe, Frisco, and Teaxs Midland. Now there is but one (Kiamichi), reaching Paris from the north over the remnant of Frisco's Arthur Sub.