Quite a view from this Model T Ford railcar. Any guesses as to where it was?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Photograph- ... otohosting

Let's see, the location is high above a rugged and arid landscape; it is a curvy railroad with wood trestles; and they used excavated material as ballast (peaked in middle for drainage). It looks like an expensive branch line, or a secondary main. I am going to offer my guess that it is near Carrizo Gorge on the San Diego and Arizona, but I could be wrong.

> they used excavated material as ballast (peaked in middle for drainage).

I wish I could see a larger version, but I took that to be snow. The kind of dirty, hard packed snow that's left over after most of it has melted. But it's really hard to make out, so you may be correct.

I have seen other early photos of the SD&A with earthen ballast. The SP had a standard for earth ballast that relied upon a steep crown above the top of the ties to encourage rapid drainage. The drawing showed a sharp ridge, but weathering would wear that down quickly. The SD&A was not an SP property when built (right?), but may have used similar standards.

I had not considered snow, but the vehicle operator's attire suggests that is at least warm, as does the fact that this car is being used for a Fire Patrol. There is no snow or water in the drainage ditch, and the same material is visible between the rails on the other side of the small timber bridge.

Someone such as Jim Lundquist should be able to say for certain.

I am not sure where this is. I haven't seen a photo like this one on the SD&A. The background hills seem to have too much brush for our area.