Sacramento Depot incident 1876

From: KyleKWyatt@gmail.com

I came across the following item and thought it might interest you.

Railway Age, Oct. 26, 1876, Vol. 1, pg. 388.

“A traveler set down on a Sacramento railroad depot a box with slats over the top. A young man sat down upon it. He got up hastily, saying something about red-hot pins. The box contained a big fretful porcupine.”

—Kyle K. Wyatt

John MacQuarrie murals

From: "Bruno Morelli" bpmorelli@gmail.com

I have been researching John McQuarrie murals in RR depots and your discussion site has helped me a great deal. I am seeking a photo of the mural in the San Jose station. I've been able to obtain a very blurred photo taken some years ago with a digital camera. I have photos from the Sacramento, Palo Alto and Houston depots. Am awaiting one on the Salt Lake City depot. The Mesa, AZ murals were damaged in a fire and lost when depot was demolished.

I also have acquired photos of his sculptures. ...

—Bruno Morelli

Biography of George Edward Gray

From: "Reese, Carol" creese@asce.org

In the biography on your site on George Edward Gray, his date of death is listed as January 1, 1913 but at the end of the biography there is a statement that says this date is wrong and that he died about 1883 – 2 years before he retired!) Was this put in as a joke or is 1883 true?

Carol Reese
Cybrarian/Archivist
The American Society of Civil Engineers
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, VA 20191-4400
creese@asce.org
703-295-6240

For research assistance, please go to the Cybrarian Research Service Web site at www.asce.org/cybrarian

[P.S.] ASCE has an article written by him in 1897. Several years after Mr. Farrar says he died.

[P.P.S.] The reason I question it is ASCE has a memior written at the time stating his death as January 1, 1913. Usually our memoirs are extremely accurate and wouldn't be off by 20 years on a date of death. If you could verify, I would be greatly appreciative.

California Iron

From: "Craig Bell" sc_bell@sbcglobal.net

I've been kind of a rail buff since the sixties when my friends and I, as teens, used to walk the tracks between Auburn and Colfax. I've often marvelled at the tunnel faces along track 2 wondering if the granite was cut in Rocklin, how they cut it, how it was transported, how it was put into place, etc. way back in the early 1900s.

I've briefly perused the CPRR museum website, but haven't found much regarding track 2. Also, I would very much like more information regarding the tunnels on track 1. If you could recommend a good book(s) on the subject, I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I'm trying to teach my two boys more about what a supreme accomplishment building the railroad over the summit in six short years was. The CPRR site is great, the museum, here in Sacramento, is great, but I want to know more. ...

—Craig Bell