Home > California > Applegate+vicinity > Central Pacific Transcontinental Railroad, Tunnel No. 23, Milepost 132.69, Applegate, Placer County, CA
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Item Title
Central Pacific Transcontinental Railroad, Tunnel No. 23, Milepost 132.69, Applegate, Placer County, CA
LocationMilepost 132.69,
Applegate+vicinity, CA
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Created/Published
Documentation compiled after 1968.
Notes
Survey number HAER CA-198
Significance: The Central Pacific First Transcontinental Railroad is a segment of the western half of the first transcontinental railroad, built from Sacramento, California to Promontory Summit, Utah between 1863 and 1869, where it joined the Union Pacific Railroad which had built west from Omaha. For the purpose of the current project, the first transcontinental railroad was found likely to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places at the national level of significance under Criterion A for its significance in transportation history, in uniting the East and the West, and in the development of the West. The railroad's period of significance is 1869 to 1945, from the line's completion in 1869, through the years of its role in the settlement and development of the West, to the conclusion of the railroad's achievements in World War II. Built in 1909, Tunnel 23 is a contributive element of this historic property.
Collection
Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)
Contents
Photograph caption(s):
1. West portal of Tunnel 23, contextual view to north-northeast, 135mm lens. Camera position is approximately centerline of original Central Pacific Transcontinental line, and bypassed Tunnel '0' (1873) (HAER CA-199) is hidden behind vegetation at center; original line was relocated to present position at right during construction of new line at left in 1909.
2. East portal of Tunnel 23, contextual view to south-southwest from within cut, 135mm lens.
3. West portal of Tunnel 23, view to north, 135mm lens. Concrete foundation in right foreground was from 'telltale,' a simple post-and-beam frame that spanned the tracks with lengths of rope suspended from the beam. In the days when brakemen were required to be on, and walk along, the tops of freight cars to set brakes, the 'telltale' ropes would strike the unwary to warn of the tunnel ahead, allowing them to lie flat and avoid being struck by the tunnel portal.
4. East portal of Tunnel 23, view to south-southwest, 135mm lens.
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