C & C (SP) Narrow Gauge Then & Now photos #30

Here's the last set of "Then and Now" photos until my next trip to the C&C country (probably next spring). This is a photo courtesy of Brian Norden and the California State RR Museum. The "Then" shot shows a wrecked water car in the canyon below Basalt. According to Brian Norden this car got loose in Basalt and rolled about 4 miles downgrade until it derailed on this sharp curve and apparently turned itself into kindling. There is no date given for this photo, but the clothing suggests 19th century. Interestingly, all of the workers are asian except the man on the left (who is possibly the foreman).
The "Now" shot was taken on June 19, 2010. It was impossible to exactly replicate the photo location as the canyon has been filled with several feet of debris from flash floods and rock falls, but I'm very close to the original location. Notice how the two hills in the distance come together in a "V". Also notice that the lower part of the left hand hill has been cut away for the modern highway. There were no signs whatsoever that a railroad had ever run here due to the numerous flash floods.





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2010 10:34PM by Dave Peterson.