SP Jawbone Branch (Part 41) - Time for Some Pondering & Research Updates

This will be a bit more of a scattered blog post on the Jawbone Branch research that I've been finding during late 2023 and 2024 so far.

Which is the Main Track?

I've been looking more closely at various photos I have of Owenyo and the track arrangement.

SP 2578 No 788 - Owenyo 1940 - Phil Serpico - owensvalleyhistory,com southern_pacific015_sml

This photo circa 1940 of Mixed No.788 arriving at Owenyo behind SP 2578 is interesting... why is she coming in on the west most track, not the center track?  We can see the consist diverging on the switch back under the rear portion of the train as the engine comes past the stock transfer platform.

SP Owenyo Wye 1958-1960 - Andrew Brandon collection

Or this photo... very near the end.  I believe by this point the wye had been cut off just past the engine spot where the RSD5 is sitting.  I always wondered in this photo why the center track and the diverging track to the east seem to have dust/dirt on the railheads, and it's not been cleaned off by the equipment moving over it, where as the west siding and wye have signs of being run on regularly.  It's almost like by this era with diesels on the Standard Gauge, they weren't even using the 'north' (RR eastern) end of the yard at Owenyo, switching everything from the 'south' (RR western) end of the yard.

Owenyo transfer decks with coaches looking north - owensvalleyhistory,com - ebay35_owenyo_sml - (Lightened)

This photo of the 'north' (RR east) end shows the two mixed train passenger cars on the western track, with other cars scattered on the main track in the center.  Notice also that the RPO/baggage has been turned already with the coach behind it, ready to depart.  The engine will only have to back around the wye and the pull westward (south), then back up and couple up.  In later era photos, it seems that the caboose of the local was also left in this spot across from the depot on the west track.

Then I zoomed in and cropped the following photo...

Owenyo Yard from transfer trestle Crop WM - Tight Cropped on Track Details - Andrew Brandon collection

Look at the position of the switch points in this photo... straight route on the first switch, with switch stand target showing it's set for the normal route.  But the second switch... the second switch points are diverging into the west-most track, but the switch stand target is also showing that is the 'normal' position.  (Gasp!) - Could it be that the west-most track is actually the "Main Track"?

Looking even more closely at the house track, we can see the standard split-point derail with deflecting rail, which protects the main from cars rolling down-grade from the NG transfer facilities in the distance all the way to Lone Pine.  The center track also has at least a split point derail too, which is open, in the east (right) rail!  So the center track certainly isn't the main line, but the western-most track is!

SP 5504 at Owenyo NG Rich Wilkens014 - SPNG Groups io photo page

Here SP 5504 is turned and looks to be moving to prepare its train for departure... and it's on the west track as well.  At the south end of town it will probably cut off the caboose and then fetch the cars from the house track and dump trestle pit, then shove them back against the caboose.  Then cut in the air and depart for Lone Pine and Mojave.

Heavier Rail?

Looking more closely at some of my photos of the main line sections of the Jawbone Branch, I started to see that the main track rail seemed heavier than the rail in the yard at Owenyo.  Originally I bought Code 55 rail for the whole branch... but now I'm starting to do the deep research to see if I really should consider upgrading the main track from my Mojave staging yard to at least the west end of Owenyo... possibly to some point farther into the yard of Owenyo. - Even as far as the north end of the 'main' track.

So let's look at some photos and see what conclusion we come to...

Little Lake

SP 2751 at Little Lake 1950 serpico_little_lake003_sml - Owens Valley History,com

Here at Little Lake, it seems that the main track (under the 2751) is heavier rail than the siding.  Changing Owenyo and Bartlett to heavier Code 70 rail will mean three switches at Little Lake and one at Bartlett will have to be upgraded. 

Little Lake Depot Station 1940 - ucla_little lake08_sml - Owens Valley History,com

Note in this close-up photo of the main track at Little Lake next to the depot, the rail seems much heavier than that around Owenyo.

If I change Owenyo too, then the south switch to the Trestle Pit, two at the South end of the yard, and possibly the south switch of the wye will also need to be changed.  Right now about 12 feet of Code 55 track and the south wye switch would have to be pulled up and replaced, which wouldn't be that hard, as I've not glued the track down - just spiked lightly to the MDF module roadbeds.

Owenyo

Owenyo Fuel Tanks & SP 2758 No792 - Eddie Sims Collection

Since I'm now looking closer at the main track.  Several photos I have showing Owenyo make me think the western-most track's rails were heavier than the rest... Is that rail more exposed, or is it really heavier than the one in the immediate foreground?  Or is the closer track just buried in dirt?

Water Tank - Owenyo station with tank and 5501 RSD-5 - Andrew Brandon collection - (Cropped4x)

The western track here looks taller... but part of that might be that the south wye switch is very close to this point... or that it really is heavier... hard to tell.

SP 2335 East Owenyo with excursion Oct, 1954 - Alden Armstrong photo

This Alden Armstrong photo seems to show that the rails are about the same... so maybe the shot of 2758 at the 'Engine Spot' really is just an optical illusion of heavier rail at the north end of town.

SP F-70-3 with SPNG 9 on it - Owenyo - snowcrest,net - Tim Huebner collection

Here's an interesting shot, seems the close track, which is the main, is a bit heavier in this view.

SPNG 9 Owenyo & Water car 350 - Jack Sims photo 1959 circa - TH Huebner collection

But in this is a cross-view of the east (north) end of Owenyo, just south of the house track switch.  Looks to me like these rails are all the same height. - So I'm still not sure if I'll stay with the Code 55 at the north end of town.  If I do increase the rail weight to Code 70 all the way to short of the north switch, then I'll have to pull up the south wye switch and relay that track as well, then make a rail transition in the curve of the wye down to Code 55.

SP 2335 mid-Owenyo direct transfer stub - Oct 1954 excurions - Alden Armstrong photo

Here's a shot of the 1954 "SPNG 1, Little Giant" excursion arriving in town... looks like their coming directly into the "Siding" - aka center track.  Dirt is pretty much up to the rail heads between the company village and the Narrow Gauge, except on the "Main" track.  The cameraman is standing just south of the "Bulk Conveyor Loader" on the SG stub track.

Notes SP Company Village - Owenyo-Switching - PacificNG Collection - Cropped

Back about 50 feet from the shot above... at right is the bulk-loader and the end of the stub in the foreground.  The 'main' again looks taller, but probably more that the non-main tracks are covered with dirt up to the railheads.  Interesting that the SG spur has wheel-stops and a tie across the track to catch any cars being shoved into the spur too far.

SP Company Village - Owenyo top of SPNG engine - Mark Van Klaveren collection - John West photo

This color photo's a great overview of the inside of the wye.  Again, it's showing that the tracks within the wye are pretty much all covered in dirt up to the railhead.  This whole area will be fun to model, which I'm thankful that there's not more terrain details in this area, which makes the compression less noticable.

SP Water cars at Owenyo - Sept 19, 1950 - Chard Walker photo - Mike Massee collection (cropped)

Looks like the dirt level is a little lower here at the south wye switch.  The road crosses just this side of the water tank car, showing the difference between rail-head dirt, normal level graded ground level, and the road crossing height.

Owenyo Yard from transfer trestle Crop WM - Tight Cropped on Track Details - Andrew Brandon collection

Back to this shot again, it allows a great overview of what the ground level/dirt is doing throughout most of the length of the yard.  It appears that the tracks south of the stub-spur's fouling point is more exposed, while north of that for a ways is covered... then the main track is exposed again north of the road until at least where the freight cars are on the west track.  The rail shadows look like there could be a change to heavier rail just before the reverse curve in the main track, south of the main track derail, and about the same place in the house track.

Owenyo West Switch - TJ Huebner collection - I think Jack Sims photo

Here's a good view of the south end of Owenyo with the SG main switch. - I believe this is a Jack Sims photo as well, which TJ recently posted.

Owenyo Dump Trestle, SG south switch - Jack Sims photo

Another view of the south end of town, a bit more of a side view, close to what I'll have on the Jawbone Branch layout.  Some of these new amazing photos from Jack Sims have been found on-line from a collection of photos sold from the Dennis Burke collection and posted here: Photo collection of Dennis Burke - I'm not sure the name of who bought these photos and posed them, so I'll drop back to say these are Jack Sims photos.  I've asked for some help from Andrew Brandon to sort out the history of the credit for these "Jack Sims" photos.  They may be older than that credit, if so I'll recredit these photos.

Sunday River SPNG Movie

Another fun bit of research is from the Sunday River SPNG Film on YoutTube video.  Full of great shots and useful views for modeling Owenyo and the NG.  There's even a clip of SP 3203 (one of my favorite SP Mk-2/4 class engines that worked Owenyo locals.

A Railroad Doctor's 1950s Film Collection

Since we're in the movies, let's have a look at this great collection.

Doctor Wayland Paul Matt worked for both the SP and the ATSF in Bakersfield as a railroad doctor. He filmed this collection of movies of the SP around Bakersfield, including the excursions to the SPNG are included in this film. - Enjoy! Jason Hill

Related Articles:

Jawbone Branch Index Page - Overview list of all my blog posts about the Jawbone Branch project.