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Circa 1910s Rhode Island Company No. 1297 – Steeple Cab Electric Freight Locomotive – Sea View Railroad – Vintage Copy Negative
Offered for sale is an unusual vintage black-and-white photographic copy negative depicting a Rhode Island Company steeple-cab electric freight locomotive hauling a lengthy train of hopper cars on the historic Sea View Railroad in Rhode Island.
The accompanying identification envelope identifies the locomotive as Rhode Island Company No. 1297, with a train of hopper cars on the Sea View Railroad.
Historical Background:
Rhode Island Company locomotive No. 1297 was a steeple-cab electric freight locomotive built by the Rhode Island Company in 1911.
The locomotive was subsequently sold to the Warwick Railway in December 1949.
The historic Sea View Railroad served communities in southern Rhode Island, connecting East Greenwich with the Narragansett area. In addition to passenger service, the railroad handled freight traffic, including coal and agricultural products.
This photograph offers an excellent view of early electric freight railroad operations.
Photographic Details:
Railroad: Rhode Island Company
Locomotive: No. 1297, per handwritten identification
Type: Steeple-Cab Electric Freight Locomotive
Railroad Location: Sea View Railroad, Rhode Island
Subject: Electric locomotive pulling a long train of hopper cars
Scene Era: Believed circa 1910s
Exact Photograph Date: Unknown
Negative Dimensions: Approximately 4.5" x 3.5"
Format: Black-and-white photographic copy negative
Collection Identification: R. L. Wonson
Quantity: One photographic copy negative with accompanying identification envelope
Image Details:
The photograph shows the electric locomotive at the head of a substantial freight train extending into the distance.
Visible details include the locomotive's distinctive center cab, overhead trolley wires, utility poles, railroad right-of-way, hopper cars, and railroad personnel.
The scene offers considerable historical interest for collectors of early electric railways and industrial freight transportation.
Identification Envelope:
The accompanying photographic envelope bears the printed collection identification "Collection of R. L. Wonson."
Typewritten information identifies the Rhode Island Company, a train of hopper cars, and the Sea View Railroad.
An earlier typed locomotive number has been crossed out, with a handwritten correction appearing to identify locomotive No. 1297.
Condition:
Vintage pre-owned photographic copy negative with visible age-related storage and handling marks, possible scratches, and variations in contrast. Slight smell due to age.
The negative reproduces an earlier railroad photograph, including portions of the original print and surrounding photographic border.
Please examine all photographs carefully to assess the exact image quality and physical condition.
This item is being sold as a photographic copy negative, not as the original camera negative. The exact date the negative was produced has not been independently established.
Collector Interest:
An uncommon historical subject appealing to collectors of Rhode Island Company, Sea View Railroad, United Electric Railways, vintage electric locomotives, trolley freight operations, and early New England railroad photography.
The sale includes the actual 4.5" x 3.5" photographic copy negative and accompanying identification envelope shown in the photographs. No paper photographic print is included.
