Re: Sargent 1940

> I'm pretty sure the gray stripe visible below 490 is the turntable pit.

Actually, track was laid in place of the turntable to create a spur in the middle of the wye. Reviewing the Sargent track plan, post-roundhouse, it seems that the Rio Grande did not connect the roundhouse lead to the east leg of the wye (although if matching the turn radius of the west leg, they probably could have). The roundhouse lead was extended through the former pit, and remained in place essentially as a switchback to the wye. Seems like a strange arrangement, but I believe my eyes (for example, Columbine 1990 pp.126-7). The wye could also be negotiated without the switchback by running around to the north of the coal trestle.

From the view in this photo, the former-roundhouse-lead/wye-switchback would have been in front of the east wye track. Could 490 be on this track? At the far left of the image, note the black stripe that forms the lower boundary of the carbody shed. It looks just like the black stripe of track on which 490 is sitting, so that may be the wye track in the background.

But the relative size of the carbody suggests that 490 is probably on the wye track... the shed does not seem very far distant (but fore/middle/back-ground can be hard to judge in telephoto scenes). For the "gray stripe" I observed below 490, note how sharp and flat the lower border is (b/t white & gray). I think this contrast line could be the "roundhouse lead" track in the middle-ground. Dirt ballast, non-elevated-grade, snow, and the ambiguity of old photographs could be masking a track here. Note its alignment to what might be trackage (and/or a loose tie) to the right of the tank foundation.

I'm curious how others read this image. Is 490 on the east wye leg or on the spur in the middle of the wye?

It looks as if 490 was the rear helper with a rear caboose, and set out the caboose at the crossover. The position of the equipment tells a nice story.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2020 10:09PM by Shavano479.