A COMMENT
The first rail fan trip over the Yosemite Valley Railway was in the later summer of 1944.
The second and last fan trip was made in the spring of 1945. These trips were made
on regular scheduled trains because of government restrictions on travel during World
War II. However, the railroad management did allow photo stops along the way so that
the fans could obtain scenic and action pictures of sites and the railroad.
These trips were mainly organized by Sgt. Alfred Rose of Modesto. He did have help
from others who were members of Northern California Railroad Club and their counterpart
in Southern California. But, Al was the fellow who made the arrangements with the railroad
people and prepared documents to assist fellow fans.
Photographic film, because of war conditions,
made it hard to obtain. However,
the fans snapped many pictures and perhaps without realizing it helped document
the railroad. Those of us that are interested in the now extinct Yosemite Valley
Railroad must be appreciative that these trips were made and the contributions that
the fans made to our interest.
|
