Folks,
at this late date the best I can make out is that Lucius Beebe was writing for the railroad nostalgia market; not the factual market. i knew Ted Wurm and he used to claim Beebe would crop photos in the strangest ways; because he liked them better that way!
This is from a man who knew the V&T first hand and spent his life collecting knowledge and photos of western railroads!
Ted wurm's photo collection of steam is at the California State Railroad Museum and his traction photos are at the Western Railway Museum.
Ted Miles
FM Smith Library and Archives