Hi Rick. You make a very valid point that an item not included in a timetable could mean it was there, but just not in service. I believe someone else made that point too. Which unfortunately would mean yet two more sources of information that are inconclusive. Handwritten notes of something that was compiled incorrectly at the start doesn’t make it true either tho, because I still can’t see two turntables needed. Oddly enough tho, I too believe there was a turntable in the Alpine Tunnel engine house. Certainly at the end, but when it arrived is the mystery. I don’t think it was installed from the start, because it isn’t in the 1886 inventory, which is so specific in every regard. Finding the definitive answer to this poser will be super. I gather the question has had legs for many years, way back to Mac Poor’s day, due to this lack of information. Maybe degg13 will find the magic key for us!
All the best,
Ralph
PS Edit. I have done research lately here in Canada on the Grand Trunk Railway. They had a 1907 B&B inventory book that would be a godsend if someone discovered that the C&S had the same. It not only lists every building, bridge and even culvert, along with its dimensions. It also itemizes the building materials, as well as the date it was installed.
Therefore, looking at an old stone arch bridge you might think was built when the railway first came through in 1853, you discover that it was an 1890s “newer” addition. An absolute joy for researchers.
Which gets me thinking of Mac Poor’s reference to C&S records that so thoroughly talked about the Gunnison turntable’s history and its move to Romley. Sadly this was after the Alpine Tunnel section had been abandoned. Does anyone know what and where those records are, and in what year they started?
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2020 04:44PM by tgbcvr.