View Obscura

For the past couple of weeks I have been sifting through my collection of railroad photographs that I have posted over at my Rails West page on Facebook. I collected numerous images to share here at the Traveler's Guide, but I was puzzled on how I should feature them. Ultimately I decided to organize them by location instead of by date, which was my original intention. I figured that the photos would make more sense if the viewer knew where the images where taken. It would also be much easier on me to group them by location instead of simply featuring a random collection of photos that I would have to write a comment on each one so that they would have context.

 Just before I left California I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to stop by the Southern California Railway Museum, which most of you know is one of my favorite places on Earth, on an afternoon when they were running several of their vintage Los Angeles streetcars and their only operating steam locomotive the former Ventura Railroad number 2. Walking around the museum grounds was always a slice of heaven for a railroad geek like myself, you never knew what part of their vast collection of vintage railroad locomotives and rolling stock will be operating from day to day. If you let yourself drift away in a fog of imagination you can convince yourself that somehow you have time traveled back to the time when steam locomotives were pulling trains and people road streetcars instead of driving automobiles. It is my hope that viewing these images will allow your to take the journey back in time that I experienced that afternoon. If you are a railroad fan like myself I strongl...

 I have to admit that one of my favorite places to explore is the grounds of the Southern California Railroad Museum (at the time these photos were taken it was known as the Orange Empire Railroad Museum). Several years ago I was traveling through Perris so I decided to take my break wondering around the grounds. Time limitations didn't allow for much wandering so I just poked around the southern end of the property. There were a group of old switch engines parked on a siding just outside the museum's workshops. I can only assume that they were waiting their turn to be restored. Just beyond the locomotive there was a line of vintage passenger cars along with a Santa Fe caboose. As a railfan and photographer I took full advantage of the opportunity to capture these vintage examples of railroad equipment for posterity. Map: Check Out: Photo Of The Day - An Abandoned Restaurant Shaped Like A Streamlined Train - Perris, California Great Locomotives Still With Us: Union Pacific E-8 ...

 This abandoned old restaurant presently resides on the property of the Southern California Railroad Museum in Perris, California. I remember reading someplace that the structure was constructed in the 1930s to resemble a Union Pacific streamlined passenger train. I wish that I knew where it was originally located but it was moved from that local to the museum years ago. I entrust you to God and the message of His grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance - Acts 20:32 Map: Check Out: Great Locomotives Still With Us: Union Pacific E-8 No. 942 Steam Locomotives Still With Us: Ventura County Railway No. 2 An Afternoon At Calico Ghost Town - Yermo, California B-17G Flying Fortress 'Nine O Nine' and B-24 Liberator 'Witchcraft' In Palm Springs, California Some West Coast Flavor: Watson's Soda Fountain & Cafe - Orange, California The Forgotten Pullmans Of Orange - California's Lost Trains On The Grounds of the Western America Railroad Museum/Ha...

Photographer: Ken Hulsey Location: Orange County Railroad Museum (Perris, Ca) Information from the Orange Empire Railroad Museum Website - HERE This engine was built by the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors Corp. in May 1953, as an E8-A locomotive: an E-unit of the 8th model variation (2250 horsepower, later upgraded to 2400 hp), designated "A" because it is a leading engine with cab (compared to boxy non-cab "B" trailing engines). It was part of an order of 17 E-8As for the Union Pacific (UP) system. The Union Pacific placed the E-8s in their general passenger service pool, and in general used them to replace older steam and diesel engines. One of the UP 942's more glamorous assignments was as one of several engines pulling the famous streamliner City of Los Angeles on runs between Chicago and Los Angeles. This notable train used streamlined locomotives and cars, all painted in the distinctive UP colors of Armour yellow with red stripes, and carr...