Visual Materials

The most difficult job on a survey crew was that of "axeman."

Description: The most difficult job on a survey crew was that of "axeman." These men cleared away underbrush to provide the surveyors with a clear line of sight. This photo shows a survey party engaged in clearing a line for the construction of the San Joaquin and Eastern Railroad early in 1912. [THIS IS NOT AN EDISON PHOTO! DO NOT USE THIS PHOTO FOR ANY PURPOSE W/OUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM Wm. MYERS!]
Type: Visual Materials(Opens in new tab)
Date: circa 1912
Call number: photCL SCE 12 - 00053
Find out more: View in the Huntington Digital Library(Opens in new tab)

The most difficult of surveying assignments at Big Creek was to run levels and alignments for tunnels across the rugged terrain of the back country

Visual Materials

The most difficult of surveying assignments at Big Creek was to run levels and alignments for tunnels across the rugged terrain of the back country. Here, T.R. Bond and his party pose at an unidentified location, about 1912. [THIS IS NOT AN EDISON PHOTO! DO NOT USE THIS NEGATIVE FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM WILLIAM A. MYERS.]

photCL SCE 12 - 00052

Dave Redinger's first job after graduation was on a survey trip to Alaska

Visual Materials

Dave Redinger's first job after graduation was on a survey trip to Alaska, mapping locations for coal fields and other large mineral deposits. The location of this camp is not known, but it illustrates the primitive conditions endured on this job.

photCL SCE 12 - 00010

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The survey crews who laid out the initial development at Big Creek had to endure the most primitive living conditions

Visual Materials

The survey crews who laid out the initial development at Big Creek had to endure the most primitive living conditions. An unidentified crew of surveyor, rodman and axeman poses for a Sunday portrait near Halleck Creek, below Powerhouse No. 2. Dave Redinger lived in camps like this during the summer of 1914.

photCL SCE 12 - 00051

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Valley Junction Substation was the largest substation on the Pacific Electric system

Visual Materials

Valley Junction Substation was the largest substation on the Pacific Electric system. Built in 1911 to replace a smaller facility, it was rated at 3,500 kilowatts of capacity, and fed direct current electricity to PE's Pasadena Short Line, Covina-San Bernardino Line, and Pasadena via Garvanza Line. [THIS IS NOT AN EDISON PHOTO! DO NOT USE THIS PHOTO FOR ANY PURPOSE W/OUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM WILLIAM A. MYERS.]

photCL SCE 12 - 00054

This panoramic view of the area surrounding Florence Lake was also taken during Walter Sohier's 1917 survey trip

Visual Materials

This panoramic view of the area surrounding Florence Lake was also taken during Walter Sohier's 1917 survey trip. The original Florence Lake was a small alpine lake, now much enlarged by the construction of a reservoir.

photCL SCE 12 - 00083

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This very rare photo shows a construction train on the S. J. & E. in the spring of 1912

Visual Materials

This very rare photo shows a construction train on the S. J. & E. in the spring of 1912. By this time, the railroad had been built far into the rugged fastness of the High Sierra, and was nearing the future site of the town of Cascada (Big Creek). The exact location of the "head of steel" is uncertain. Pg. 26. [THIS PHOTO IS NOT AN EDISON PHOTO! DO NOT USE THIS NEG W/OUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM WILLIAM A. MYERS!]

photCL SCE 12 - 00023

The most difficult job on a survey crew was that of "axeman."

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The most difficult of surveying assignments at Big Creek was to run levels and alignments for tunnels across the rugged terrain of the back country

Dave Redinger's first job after graduation was on a survey trip to Alaska

The survey crews who laid out the initial development at Big Creek had to endure the most primitive living conditions

Valley Junction Substation was the largest substation on the Pacific Electric system

This panoramic view of the area surrounding Florence Lake was also taken during Walter Sohier's 1917 survey trip

This very rare photo shows a construction train on the S. J. & E. in the spring of 1912