Photo Evidence of a RXR that Could Not Have Existed!

[K. P. Harrier]

High up in the mountains about 15 minutes west of Cajon Pass is the community of Wrightwood, CA, one building of which has a section of railroad track laid into its very small parking lot.

Note the switch stand in the upper left of center in the above photo.

In light of the absence of complete track grading in the below parking lot's cross view (especially the photo's bottom), it is unlikely that a railroad ever really had been laid here.

The building, surrounded by many pine trees, gives one the impression that someone had (or has) a very favorable view toward railroading, and put some money into this.

The building itself, located at the corner of Evergreen Rd. and Cedar St., a block off Highway 2, has a train depot look. Matter of fact, a sign on the top front says, "Swartout & Cajon Valley Railroad." The structure, though, only presently houses a photography business and a hair salon. Swarthout is a very well know road name to Cajon Pass railbuffs.

(An Internet search yielded some interesting historical facts about the place, and those that want to pursue the matter further may want to do an Internet search themselves. In a search line, just type in the above railroad name ... )

This poster, while having no financial interest in the building or businesses therein, thought some at the forum would appreciate knowing that a very high mountain railroad (well, sort of, anyway) is very near the popular rail mecca of Cajon Pass!

 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

That's interesting.  Note also the bay window, the 'opposite' rail joints, and in the bottom photo, the 'platform' scale on the left.  I'd say that you assessment of this as a re-creation of a station in a place that never had one by a hobbbyist or fan is correct - the switchstand is way too close to the line of the rails to have been just 'left there' in that position or location. 

Thanks for sharing !

- Paul North. 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

K. P. Harrier

  [snip]  Matter of fact, a sign on the top front says, "Swartout & Cajon Valley Railroad." . . . (An Internet search yielded some interesting historical facts about the place, and those that want to pursue the matter further may want to do an Internet search themselves. In a search line, just type in the above railroad name ... ) [snip]

Hey K.P., I just did exactly that, using Google's ''Advanced Search'' - and the only link that came back was this thread . . .   Any other hints ?

- Paul North. 

EDIT:  However, the following ''Advanced Search'' - wrightwood AND [''calif'' OR ''CA''] AND ["CAJON VALLEY"] - yielded quite a few results, one of which is this one:

http://www.wrightwoodcalif.com/forum/index.php?topic=11228.0 

- PDN

[V&AL]

Perhapse there was a caboose or some other historic car parked there?   (trucked in and trucked out....)

 Maybe the building was  depot that was moved at some point?

 What does the other side of it look like?  could it have been a depot with tracks behnid it and the ownder put them out front for display (as above?)

[hadrian]

nice town and buildings and nice photos... and yes, aside from the obvious grade differences, the trees ages, etc, etc, ... I also note the LOW eave that is too close to the tracks... no motive unit (steam or otherwise) nor rolling stock would clear that dimension reliably

but like our wives' interior decorator friends  whose "placements" of 19th-century utensiles have nothing to do with "reality" ... it looks pretty

[steamdonkey]

if it's real, you can *always* tell where the right-of-way used to be, for kilometers in either direction (until the end of the line). Usually the old right-of-way remains unbuilt for many decades. Usually this can be traced using google earth or similar aerial photos. Like this:
Google Map In an urban area, you should find evidence of old railway crossings on streets nearby. In a pinch, find a municipal map that shows property boundaries. Meanwhile let's just consider this an extreme example of 'short line'

[AgentKid]

V&AL

Perhapse there was a caboose or some other historic car parked there?   (trucked in and trucked out....)

 Maybe the building was  depot that was moved at some point?

 

Agree 100%

Bruce

 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

I know this is a little , but . . .

steamdonkey, I presume you're familair with the history of the then-PGE, now BCR/ CN's re-establishment of its tracks through West or North Vancouver in the 1950's ?  As I understand it from an article and republishing of some editorial cartoons in Trains in the mid-1960's, that situation was pretty much just as you describe . . .

PGE's RDCs a progress report
Trains, February 1958 page 24
Pacific Great Eastern's North Vancouver-Prince George service
( BRITISH, CANADA, COLUMBIA, PASSENGER, PGE, RDC, "RENNWALD, HENRY D.", TRN )

How to replace a railway
Trains, May 1965 page 26
cartoons about Pacific Great Eastern's new (old) line into North Vancouver
( HUMOR, "NORRIS, LEN", PGE, "TYCKOSON, GARTH", TRN )

- Paul North. 

[steamdonkey]

heh, I'm familiar with the story but not the detail. I'd love to dig more. btw my handle is a tribute to the steep mountainside log-hauling line in ,my 'backyard' on Hollyburn Mountain. thanks for the heads-up -I'll try to dig some more. cheers, /PhM

[dknelson]

http://wrightwoodcalifornia.com/history-of-wrightwood/page-09.html

Sounds like the track was placed there just to make the station look like a station. 

Dave Nelson

[LNER4472]

steamdonkey

if it's real, you can *always* tell where the right-of-way used to be, for kilometers in either direction (until the end of the line). Usually the old right-of-way remains unbuilt for many decades. Usually this can be traced using google earth or similar aerial photos.

 Not always.

In a great many cases, this is true.  But in a great many areas, there has been so much reconstruction and redevelopment that tracing an old right-of-way is all but impossible.  One example I'm particularly familiar with: the Reading Railroad main line from Sunbury, Pa. across the river to the west shore and north to Lewisburg.  The bridge was removed, the piers were removed, and even the ledge upon which the track rode above the riverside road was dug up as fill material for other highway projects downstream.  A branch south to a power plant was wiped out in the same highway project in the late 1980s.

Similarly, I can show you cases where rail or interurban stations were relocated across town or even into the next county.  Or mining railroads in Arizona where the road rides upon the roadbed of a railroad, but once you enter a town like Jerome absolutely nothing is in place to show you where the track ran except some stray rails near the old station.

[steamdonkey]

is that the line where the roadbed presently makes up River Rd. / Maplewood/7 Kitchens/ I'm guessing the main used to go along Penn Street? A significant part of the roadbed of the Kettle Valley Railway was used for the Coquihalla Railway here in BC, but you can still tell where it went because rail grades are so much gentler than highway grades.

[K. P. Harrier]

Wishful Thinking ...

There has been some discussion herein IF a railroad could have existed in the past in going up to Wrightwood. Wealthy landholders many years ago may have desired that, and reportedly, actually made efforts to that end. But personally, I don't think a railroad in this particular area would have been practical.

I submit the following photos from along Highway 2 about a mile from the subject site as evidence:

Looking southward at even higher mountains.

View northward toward the desert floor.

In person, the area is much, much steeper than the camera can capture.

For good reason, then, California Southern, predecessor to Santa Fe Railway, now BNSF, only got as close to Wrightwood as Cajon Pass. A car drive at 50 MP.H. between the two locations is about 20 minutes, and on a route no railroad would ever attempt to build over.

[AntonioFP45]

Uh, guys.........has anyone noticed that the track's gauge looks a "tad" wider than 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches?  Looks more like 5 ft. 

[K. P. Harrier]

AntonioFP45 (5-9):

A field check of the site indicates that the gauge is 4 feet 8-3/4 inches, a quarter of an inch wider that standard gauge. If you can detected a quarter of an inch in a photo, your eyes are way better than mine are! Seriously, though, I agree the gauge LOOKS wider than normal, but it may only be some kind of illusion, like the full moon looks bigger when it is just off the horizon.