Re: NNG--A very different 4-4-0. Sacramento Valley's Pioneer

tgbcvr Wrote:
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> bcp Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------

>
> Neat pic. And so many questions to ask. Late 1850s
> I’d gather, on seeing that the enginemen are
> wearing top hats?

>
> Cheers,
> Ralph

This is not an "in-operation" photo from the 1850s, I was told once that it was staged to commemorate its position as a literal pioneer of California's railroads, sometime in the 1880s or 90s. That Central Pacific combination boxcar is the biggest givaway, since the first 28' cars weren't built until the mid 1870s. The gentlemen in the cab aren't actually operating the engine, they just dressed up in old clothing to look the part, but top hats were not practical when operating locomotives and the railroaders had figured that out by the 1850s.