The HY&T was simply the most dilapidated operating railroad that I
personally observed. Its only rival in my memory was the old Hetch
Hetchy railroad in the California Yosemite foothills- a very, very
close second!
The HY&T R-O-W ran along side the highway for a ways (old 6 or 34??),
and it was almost impossible at any given moment on casual
observation to determine whether or not it was actually there. Weeds
were as high as the corn, and ties (such as they were) were
invisible. The alignment/embankment was simply an accurate reflection
of the dips, rises, and slopes of the local (*very* local)
topography- and as such really was indistinquishable. That the
twisting rails (looking in retrospect like about 20 lb.!) actually
seemed to actually connect with one another, and also stay relatively
in gauge seemed at the time and in retrospect to have been a true act
of God, rather than man.
That railroad has always been my dream prototype for the modeling
challenges of the penultimate of a truly minor railroad holding on to
life only with its fingernails.
Denny
Denny S. Anspach, MD
Sacramento, California
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