Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted here…having too much fun (work?) in the South I guess, but anyway, that didn’t stop me from doing some searchings around California and Colorado this past summer for some cars. Got some interesting finds and questions to bring up. You’ll see the D&RGW finds on Dave Dye’s site eventually, when he’s able to put them up, but I’ll say this much…I got some good ones, a third, yes, a third 5900 series stockcar, and what else but a Gramps tankcar!
The SPNG cars that I found were just as great though, although most aren’t really finds I guess, but just confirming cars that were known about. The biggest mystery is what had happened to C&C baggage car number 4. When I visited Keeler, there was no trace of where it should be. Does anyone know what happened to it? I mean, it wasn’t like it was collapsed or anything, there was no wood or anything. The SG carbody (outfit car?) that it was next to is still there, as is the passenger car body that’s painted white to the east side of it. What is that anyway? It looked narrow gauge and really old. Also in town was a somewhat new boxcar body, a really old flat roofed car of some sort and another passenger car body. Both of the passenger cars are well taken care of it seems, but I have no clue what they are. The second car seemed like an SG car, but my sense of size sometimes gets confused even after seeing so many of both. Anyway, if you’re ever in the Owens Valley near Keeler, it’s worth the time to go to it. It has a population of like 50, and a lot of kind of interesting buildings, like the station for instance. There are also some interesting incarnations of cars there too…you’d have to see pictures to know what I mean.
The other cars that I found were:
Box 21 at the rodeo grounds at Lone Pine
Stock 150 at what I believe to be Swansea? It was on the road north out of Keeler to get back to 395.
Boxcar 83 in Lone Pine on Brewery Street
Stock (probably 160) at same location
Box (19?) at same location
Near the old station was another stock car, probably 177
At Independence, on one of the most eastern streets was a box, 6x. If I remember right, there was one sold at Independence listed in Ferrell’s book. This would be it.
Also at Independence were D&RGW stock 5771 and SPNG box number 6, with trucks. I assume these are associated with the group restoring number 18.
Another box, 8x located south of Bishop on the east side of the highway, near several large farm structures. I think it might have been 82 or 84, but I wasn’t able to get close enough (the number should be perfectly visible up close, but I was being eaten alive by about 200 mosquitoes, so I had to turn back)
I didn’t really have too much time to explore around the outskirts of Lone Pine and all, so I’m sure many more are out there. What was most amazing to me was how intact most of the cars were, most still having truss rods and all. And the paint on most was superb, amazing considering how nasty that climate can be. I hope someone can talk more about the Keeler cars, I really do wonder if somebody snagged #4 and I really would like to know what the other carbodies are in town.
Back to the grind, sort of,
Grant
