Monday, February 16, 2015

Things You Find in the Field: Old Sedan

I found this old sedan a few years back while out doing a tiny bit of off-roading south of Railroad Pass (one of at least five Railroad Passes in Nevada) along S.R. 722, formerly known as S.R. 2, formerly commissioned as U.S. Highway 50 from about 1926 through 1966.

Railroad Pass, Lander County (USGS TNM 2.0 link)
Railroad Pass, Esmeralda County (USGS TNM 2.0 link)
Railroad Pass, White Pine County +/-Eureka County (USGS TNM 2.0 link)
Railroad Pass, Clark County (USGS TNM 2.0 link)
Railroad Pass, Washoe County (USGS TNM 2.0 link)

I did some work in the area way back in the 70s, mostly while stream sediment sampling for the NURE program, and have driven by on the old highway several times when taking the scenic route to or from Austin. Somehow, I never spotted this old vehicle during the many times of driving by; perhaps I was concentrating on missing the potholes that used to be so prevalent along Route 2 (722) back when the signs seemed to indicate that the state was trying to let the road go back to dirt.
My attempt at artistry.
In the photo above, and the one below, I focused concentrated on getting the background in focus. The southeasterly direction of the shot has us looking down Elkhorn Road, across Elkhorn Pass and essentially down Elkhorn Canyon — located on the east side of this low divide in the Shoshone Mountains — at the snow-covered Toiyabe Range Peak in the elevated Toiyabe Range of central Nevada. The USGS GNIS lists Elkhorn Pass at 6883 ft (2098 m) and Toiyabe Range Peak at 10925 ft (3330 m).
A more level shot, with part of the foreground almost in focus.
And now we have in foreground in focus!

4 comments:

Lyle said...

Just out of curiosity what planned railroad ran there? I did see its the pony express route but. The nearest built railroad was the Nevada Central to Austin from the Central Pacific, as far as I can tell. It would seem given how minimal grades are an essential part of building a railroad that going on the current US 50 route which has lower grades would have made more sense for a railroad.

Hollis said...

Kind of abstract then ;-) neat shot of the snowy Toiyabe Range through two windows.

Silver Fox said...

Lyle, I don't know about any planned railroads -- am always surprised how many places without RR's are called Railroad Pass!

Silver Fox said...

Hollis, I was inspired by your abstract rock/geology post to take some abstract photos of rocks in my yard, but haven't had time to post!

And, thanks! :-)