# 1900's train pics



## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

I archive old photos of the Black Hills and have a number of train pics. I don't know enough to say which engines are shown in the pics, but I hope to capture at least the general look in our planned layout.

Just thought you guys might enjoy looking at a few! 

-Ed

#015. "Giant Bluff" on Elk Canyon. BH & Ft. Pierre RR, 1890, Grabill photo. JC Grabill took many excellent views of the Black Hills, they can be found at the Library of Congress digital archives and elsewhere.








#003. Harney Range on the B&M RR, 1891, Grabill photo.








#007. Train at Hot Springs, 1904. 








#008. Train hauling logs, found inside wall of a Hill City home, early 1900's?








#010. Abandoned engine, 1930's. Looks pretty much stripped of its running gear, but still has the bell and lots of parts.


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

Thanks for sharing.


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

#006. Mystic, 1933.








#011. Loading ties, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, 1900's. 








#012. Handcart on the Burlington, 1895.








#013. On the Homestake Road, 1890, Grabill photo.








#017. The 1880 Train ride, Black Hills Central RR, taken in the 1970's. My bro-in-law is an engineer.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Not really stripped of it's running gear. That's a shay (geared logging steamer). All the running gear is on the opposite side of the locomotive.


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks for the comments! I was thinking it was a Shay, but I see daylight beneath instead of wheels. Kinda looks blocked up by a stack of ties. I met the photographer, Guy Van Nice, who was in his 90's when I made the copies. He was in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) at the time during the Depression, but he was well off enough that he owned both a car and a camera and could afford film and gas. He made hundreds of photos of the Black Hills in the 1930's. His family had zero interest in them, so I helped him sell a few of the historic Stratobowl launchings to a serious collector. 

His pictures aren't the clearest, but I have a much higher resolution version and it appears that the trucks and drivers are gone, but with my limited knowledge, I sure could be way off base! Calling it "running gear" shows my newbie status. 

That's the backstory on that particular print. I just wish he could have remembered where he'd taken that pic some 70 years prior to my meeting him! No doubt the engine is long gone, however, but sometimes we still find long-hidden vehicles and mining apparatus among the gulches and valleys.

Here's my hi-res version of the Shay, I put it on my webspace to avoid posting a large 600k pic in the thread: www.whiteriverprep.com/010HI.JPG

-Ed


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## Nevada wheel (Feb 18, 2012)

awesome I love the vintage stuff


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Ed Gerken said:


> Thanks for the comments! I was thinking it was a Shay, but I see daylight beneath instead of wheels. Kinda looks blocked up by a stack of ties. I met the photographer, Guy Van Nice, who was in his 90's when I made the copies. He was in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) at the time during the Depression, but he was well off enough that he owned both a car and a camera and could afford film and gas. He made hundreds of photos of the Black Hills in the 1930's. His family had zero interest in them, so I helped him sell a few of the historic Stratobowl launchings to a serious collector.
> 
> His pictures aren't the clearest, but I have a much higher resolution version and it appears that the trucks and drivers are gone, but with my limited knowledge, I sure could be way off base! Calling it "running gear" shows my newbie status.
> 
> ...



Yep, definitely a shay. You can see the drive shaft on the opposite side of the locomotive (even better in the high resolution shot), along with the outlines of the trucks (sort of).


Neat pictures :thumbsup:


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## Ed Gerken (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks! Can you tell if the drivers are hidden under there? I'm just trying to guess at why it was abandoned.

It would be great fun to model this. Triple tracks at Lead and the Homestake Gold Mine. Trolley, passenger and ore trains all captured in one view.








Or model this! Rock- 1, Train- 0. :laugh:








Double engines on Railroad Avenue in Lead.








Deadwood Central RR survey engineers plotting the line, about 1888. I particularly notice that everyone actually seems to have a specific job to do! 








The Burlington Trolley jumped the tracks, between Lead and Deadwood circa 1910.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

What a fun batch of old, historic pics!

I love the rake on the cowcatchers on those 19th century trains ... long and sleek ... just right to flick those cows way, way out of the way!

I noticed the grand old hotel near Hot Springs, too. Must have been quite the fancy vaca way back then.

TJ


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Ed Gerken said:


> Thanks! Can you tell if the drivers are hidden under there? I'm just trying to guess at why it was abandoned.


Everything looks to be there. I think I can see the wheels at each end.

It probably wasn't abandoned, but probably also hadn't been used in awhile. Or it simply wasn't needed anymore.


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