Help Identifying Searchlight Signal Location

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Atkinson_Railroad
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Help Identifying Searchlight Signal Location

Post by Atkinson_Railroad »

Recently salvaged a hard drive from a Windows 98 SE computer.
Among some of the photos found on the device is a searchlight installation at an unknown railroad location.
I'm thinking it's in the western part of the United States somewhere, but I could be -way off- on that guess.

Can anyone identify what railroad this is?

Thanks.

John
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Searchlight Installation
rkcarguy
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Re: Help Identifying Searchlight Signal Location

Post by rkcarguy »

I've seen a few like that, always catch my eye because they are painted wrong. I've never seen the upper part of the mast painted black, only the target(s). No idea where it is.
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Atkinson_Railroad
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Re: Help Identifying Searchlight Signal Location

Post by Atkinson_Railroad »

Paint schemes have varied by railroad. Railroads in the eastern part of the United States tended to paint a portion of the mast
and background black, while signals found in the west are often found to be painted all aluminum except for the background face and shade.

The main photo at Todd Sestero's website: http://www.railroadsignals.us/ helps illustrate this.
It shows a signal painted with the upper portion of the mast and backgrounds black, and the lower segment aluminum.

During steam era prominence, some lines painted the entire apparatus black.

So it depends on era modeled, where you've been, and what roads you've observed.

John
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NP317
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Re: Help Identifying Searchlight Signal Location

Post by NP317 »

Can any one make out the name on the switch tower? Too blurry for me to see.
That might be a clue as to the location.
~RN
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Atkinson_Railroad
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Re: Help Identifying Searchlight Signal Location

Post by Atkinson_Railroad »

After receiving a tip today, I scrolled the many, MANY photos at the Los Angeles Live Steamers FB page.
The embankment next to the right-of-way and the color scheme of the structure mentioned by NP317 (~RN) appears to be a very close match...
possibly before a "reconstruction" of trackage there.

Found no photo of the little building except a larger version of it with the same color theme.

So, a wild guess is... it was taken sometime around 2003 at the LALS railroad.

John
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