Pacific Railroad Surveys

From: "Kevin Bill" kbill@ktmautomation.com, kbill2@mc.net

After cleaning out "Mother's attic," I have in my possession a copy of what seems to be Volume 4 of Lieutenant A.W. Whipple's Corp of Topographical Engineers report to the 33rd congress dated 1856. It contains many botanical illustrations as well as astronomical and climatological observations.

I ... would appreciate any information on this book and if many copies still exist.

—Kevin S. Bill

Posters recruiting Chinese for Railroad

From: "Kristine Deacon" Kristine.Deacon@state.or.us

Do you have any posters, in Chinese, that were used in China to recruit workers to work on the railroad?

—Kristine Deacon

High Sierras

From: "Jerry Kirkegaard" jakirkegaard@charter.net

First let me say what an outstanding website, simply awesome. I can not begin to imagine the time spent to put all this together.

I have spent the last two nights trying to find a moment in time that is still pressed into my memory from some forty years ago.

While driving to Northern California on SR 395 we decided catch SR 89 to follow through the High Sierras north to Tahoe on to Truckee and back down to Reno. While enjoying this scenic route some where I remember coming to a little town the name I can not remember, but I recall two trains a trestle(s) and tunnel(s) in what one may call a gorge. The tracks were at different elevations may have been to lessen the grade? My field of view seamed very narrow and as I was driving it was soon out of view.

I have been all over your website but you have so much information there and not knowing where to look I thought some one might know of what I am trying to remember. Something that just came back to me is that I was passed by a pickup truck which was marked CATERPILLAR OF SACRAMENTO and he was really going fast and turned of on a different road??? I also followed the Southern Pacific tracks from truckee down to Sacramento using an online TOPO map with no avail. It is possible I may have been on the other side of Truckee. Thanks.

Best Regards,

Jerry Kirkegaard

P.S. I wish I had been a engineer, I think in a past life I was. Years ago when I tried I was told they were only hiring women and tried to get my wife to go into Los Angeles for a interview.