Dragoman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you so much for your family story.
>
> My wife's dad grew up on a similar "mobile home".
> As I understand it, his dad, Narciso "Nick"
> Sbragia, was the foreman of an "extra gang" doing
> track repairs primarily on the Donner Pass line
> between Sacramento and Reno, though also working
> north of Sacramento on the Shasta route. The
> Sbragias had their own "private car", a converted
> diner, with a bunch of bunk cars for the crew
> (none of the other workers were allowed any
> accompanying family), and the equipment cars.
>
> Unfortunately, the family possess no photos or
> other identifying information on the equipment,
> people, etc.
>
> Any thoughts about how one might research this
> info at this late date? I presume that whatever SP
> records there may have been are buried somewhere
> in Omaha, if they still exist at all.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.


Although it costs money, I would start with Ancestry.Com. I used to be a member and I was amazed at the amount of stuff I meanaged to get from them, especially the old newspaper articles.

My Dad's grandfather was a politician, so he was easy to start with. But, when I really dug in, I was able to find articles on my Mom's family, and stuff on sides of my Dad's family without the slightly-famous part too.

That being said, I dropped my membership after a year because they kept calling me to renew and it really pissed me off. I am thinking of joining back up.

Next idea I have is to contact Steamtown, as they have a project going on where people enter in information about family members who have worked for the railroad. It's possible that they would have a record of someone your wife's grandfather had worked with and that they might have pictures or information.

I would also contact any SP Historical Societies that are out there, and the SP Magazine. These can be found on the web. If you have difficulty, post again, and I'll try doing a search and get you the exact urls.

Charles