Two stereoscope, can't find any info on!

I found these two stereoscopes and I can't find any information on them whatsoever. I thought for sure I was going to find information on the Iowa View Company but to my surprise I found nothing. Nothing of Clear Lake either.... Can anyone else find anything of this stereoscope card?


Finally this is completely unmarked but is obviously a train wreck of sorts. I looked up the engine number of the train and nothing... I can't make out the partial the company name on the box car...

 

Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,777 at the 2010 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related businesses

here is the link to a detailed history http://iagenweb.org/cerrogordo/history/1883/clearlaketwp.htm

 

Timothy Townsend


You can't have an engine number, it's under water. The car number is meaningless without a company. There were thousands of such wrecks.

 

Thanks for the info on Townsend! Very interesting to see and my assumptions seem somewhat accurate dating it to the 1870s.

As for the train there is a number on the engine towards the top portion? Or does that not matter? Where the smoke comes out of? It appears to be 145 or 148 or 143.... Its hard to see

 

There is quite a lot on the back including the names of a number of people in the photo and the year. Were you looking for more info on them?

 

More info about the photographers of the first one:

"Gould [first name not given]
"Gould had a studio in Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County. He was in partnership as Townsend and Gould. There is an example the partnership’s work in the State Historical Society of Iowa collection. There are also eight examples by Gould alone. There was also a partnership with T. W. Townsend of Iowa City in the Iowa View Company in Clear Lake. Stereographs also come from this partnership."

The above quoted passage is from page 25 of a document in PDF format online. The document was issued by the State Historical Society of Iowa: "Photograph Collections - Iowa Stereographs / The Paul C. Juhl Collection"
https://iowaculture.gov/sites/defau...tions-photoav-iowastereographers-02192019.pdf

 

Thank you, @Figtree3, for providing a full citation for the information you found. I really appreciate it when members explain how they found the useful information they provide here, rather than presenting it like a rabbit out of a hat. It helps all of us learn how to do better research.

 

That's one of my pet peeves, @2manybooks . My longtime career was as a reference librarian. Comes with the training!

That being said, there are times here where I haven't given enough of a citation... And actually, explaining how one found it is another thing that is somewhat different from citing it. I should do more of that also.

 

There is an "M & " written on one of the cars. Could stand for a Missouri or Mississippi railroad. I'll ask my husband and his train geek club if they can ID this. Stay tuned...
BTW- Although yours looks like an accident documentation, did you know that they used to wreck engines on purpose, for fun and profit? https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/staged-train-wrecks

 

Looks like "143" on the sand dome on the engine: The box car has "M" and the other one has "St. , I am guessing it is Minneapolis_and_St._Louis_Railway


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis_and_St._Louis_Railway

 

Brava/bravo!

 

This shows that Minneapolis_and_St._Louis_Railway Locomotives numbered in the "100" series ( 143 on the sand dome) were 4-4-0 configurations and that sure looks like a 4-4-0 locomotive based on those two big driver wheels I see sticking out and the fancy decorative plate between them . Box cars were lettered "M&St. L" , sure fits . The Iowa Central has something to do with the M&St. L , was that other card not from Iowa ?? As Perry Mason would say , " I would Deduce Mr. Berger........."

 

Bottom locomotive in picture is an Iowa Central engine that went to Minneapolis_and_St._Louis_Railway , it's a 4-4-0 and it's numbered 147 on the tender AND THE SAND DOME..... sure points to that other engine being an Minneapolis_and_St._Louis_Railway 4-4-0 numbered #143 ..

 

#143 was a 4-4-0 Locomotive that came from des moines & fort dodge railroad and became a Minneapolis_and_St._Louis_Railway engine. It was built in 1881, retired in 1931, and scrapped in 1933. I am guessing that is your engine .

 

Great sleuthing! We have a resident train geek!

 

Yes! Thank you! Do you think it's safe to put a date on this of 1900ish?

 

I would doubt the pictured wreck was salvaged and put back into service

 

From what I can tell, I would have thought that the unmarked stereoview card was from before the 1930s. But now I wonder whether it could have been from the early 1930s. If the picture is of that locomotive, it seems the photo would have had to have been taken near the end of its useful life. I agree with Terry that the one in the photo is unlikely to have been put back into service.