Re: Fred Jukes: Photographer; Jukes Tree - NOT!!

Back in the 1980's (when I lived in Rich Braden's house), I worked with a guy named Greg Monroe on an article which appeared in Railfan Magazine about Juke's Tree(s). I had come to the same conclusion that the well known pic is not the same tree as seen by the Chama River. I later walked out to MP 343 and framed up a shot of the train heading out of town with the MP in the corner - direct hit. The angle below the track is correct, the shallow hill behind the train is correct, the track is in a bit of a sag just before the hill starts (note that 417 is not working very hard, the fireman is on the deck building up the fire in the ten wheeler's cab.

I hiked all over the hill behind the train looking for a rotting stump, to no avail, I did find a couple of 6' high ponderosa pines that might be the tree's children. Perhaps in another 400 years one of them might be big enough to recreate the shot.

Jukes DID take a pic by the tree down at the bridge. You can see it in Ticket to Toltec.

BTW, Richard's house was built in about 1895. Jukes took the pic in 1908, so you can't blame his house on it's demise. Broad's Spur took off from the main line just beyond the mile post to serve a sawmill. the tree was probably one of thier casualties.