Re: More Chili Line Abandonment Info

Jerry Day Wrote:
> Not being critical, but a lot of authors rush
> their research in an effort to get something on
> the market. The newspapers are filled with items
> on the branch, but most authors do not do a
> thorough job of reading the papers as it is very
> time consuming. Same with going thru the records
> at the various museums and libraries. You can slap
> together a photo book with semi-accurate captions
> quickly, but these books only tell a tiny portion
> of the story and leave so many unanswered
> questions.
>
> Off my soap box...


I have been enjoying reading the microfilms of the old newspapers along the route of the old Carson & Colorado. And also the on-line newspapers from Reno. In many cases you become familiar with the people who worked for the railroads and their families as reported in the weekly newspapers. The small town of Hawthorne, Nevada, was both a county-seat and a division point of the railroad. By the the 19-aughts one has become familiar with both families of the marriages reported.

By reading the newspaper I have found out which C&C locomotive was the first equipped with air brakes, the date the first all air braked train arrived in town. Also that the locomotives did not get their stacks changed when they were converted from wood to coal -- that came later.

And a Reno newspaper provided information on the renaming of one of the N-C-O sleeper-buffet cars.

Newspapers are a great source of information. Look at the postings of John Bull in regard to the Rio Grande.

Hopefully, I will be able to get my findings into print.

Brian Norden