Hi, a small number of photos wound up in my hands last spring. The man who gave them to me knew nothing about them or their location. He salvaged them from his mother's belongings. He just didn't want them lost or thrown away.
The photos are of telegraph relay devices and signal maintainers. Some are of a train wreck, which I will post if necessary. I have chosen these four since they would be the most identifiable or interesting.
If anyone could help, it would be appreciated. They may make it to Steamtown's archives if there was more information.
Photo 1:
Photo 2:

These are both of the same train. No track pans visible, but the straight, four track main should be identifiable.
Photo 3: A station.

And the following. This is a strange one. Apparently a reviewing stand on a flatcar, but it appears to be in motion. It may also be that the photographer was moving when this was taken. Has anyone seen this before?
Photo 4:


Thank you for any discussion this board can offer. I look forward to your input.

The first two might be on the NYC -- the Central ran its four track main as two parallel two-track railroads, one for passenger and one for freight.

The last shot shows a boat race train. Looks like the reporting mark is NH; IIRC the New Haven ran boat trains along the Thames River in Connecticut. These trains were rolling grandstands which paced rowing regattas. The big rivalry was Harvard vs. Yale, of course, and the Thames was neutral territory, as Harvard rowed on the Charles and Yale on the Connecticut. The train would follow a "head race" along a course which could be several miles long, as opposed to a 2000-meter "sprint."

More info on the race trains:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 91&t=63773

Walt Lankenau

The first two pics look like where the Carmen Branch crosses the passenger main at what I knew as CP 156, NY. This is about ten miles west of West Albany yard and about 3 miles from Schenectady.

E.B. Levin

Please note that the railing on the end of the observation car is higher then the beltrail on the car...which was a NYC trait. Apparently they feared somebody falling over the rail of their choo choos when they were rolling fast.

T7

I believe that photo 3 is of the station at Catskill, NY on the NYC West Shore, which still exists, albeit incorporated into a tire store/ gas station.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=165+Maple+Ave,+12414&fb=1&gl=us&hnear=Athens,+NY&view=map&cid=15506337087481763687&iwloc=A&ved=0CEMQpQY&sa=X&ei=fBYnTdiUEY7MyQTy-fDwDw

A better view of the current Catskill building than Streetview gives, from http://ny.existingstations.com/ :

Awesome factoid about the race trains!

Boat race trains on the West Shore RR (NYC) also followed the regattas on the Hudson River in the Highland-Poughkeepsie area. The steep, tree-covered terrain in the background of the picture here does match the Highland side of the river.

Thank you to everyone for their quick informative answers. I also obtained more similar replies outside of the forum. I will add a few more photos soon as a reward to you. ;)