No it can't be Thornhill. Take a look at the Thornhill overpass. It's a totally different style abutment. http://www.bayarearailfan.org/gallery/sn/pacrailnews3_4_72d

Well since I live in Montclair, I thought I'd go out today and figure this out once and for all. I went to Mountain Blvd and Bway Terr and you know what? I still can't tell which it is. The B'way Terrace abutments drop off quickly. Same with the east side of the Mountain Blvd abutment. But the west side abutments on Mountain drops off gradually similar to this picture. So I'm kind of stumped. My best guess would be that this train is heading west at Mountain Blvd towards Thornhill.

Hmmm the more I look at this photo, the more I think it may be Broadway Terrace. The reason being that if this were Mountain, where would the photographer be standing?? I may have to really get into it and analyze abutments... or get some kind of a life maybe.

Boy, for such a small question/remark at the top a lot of discussion. After looking at this picture more closely and picture 43, I now believe the motor is on the east side of the Mountain Blvd overcrossing and we are looking north. The reason is because a hill can be seen rising up immediately behind the motor which is indicative of the east side of the MB crossing. It could not be the west side because that is on fill all the way north to Montclair Grammar School, which means the ground would be sloping down and away, certainly not up. The same goes for the Broadway Terrace overcrossing. On the north side of BT the row is on fill and on the south side, while it is cut onto a hill, the hill would rise on its west side and slope down and away on its east side which is inconsistent with this picture. Two other reasons why I believe this is MB is 1) the trees are eucalyptus in the picture whereas most of the trees just east of the row at BT are redwoods, and 2) the power poles at BT are on the west side of the row heading south toward the small transformer station at the bottom of Florence Ave.

Since the car next to the motor is a caboose, couldn't this train be an eastbound with the motor pushing? I remember many a church picnic at Montclair park when I kept an ear open hoping to hear the whine of an SN train running through. That signalled a run to the tunnel between the park and the school to listen as it rumbled overhead, often with two motors on the point, and another pushing. Rod

Sam, I think I have to agree with you: the train is crossing Mountain Blvd. and is headed west towards Thornhill. Note the angle of the sunlight: the telephone/catenary pole seems to be facing south/southeast, and this photograph was shot in the late morning, I think. I am not familiar with the trestle construction between Mountain Blvd. and Thornhill. I know it went along a low ridge east of Thornhill, and we saw some "stepped" concrete terraces just east of that, behind the Montclair school playground. But what of the area just west of this abutment (present site of a tennis court)? Did it resemble the trestle construction at Chabot? -- Debra

Another possibility: this is in Oakland's Montclair District, but it's the Thornhill Drive crossing at Moraga Avenue (train is headed east, towards Moraga). The hillside with its trees looks very familiar. However, I'm not sure there were any concrete abutments on the eastern side of the Thornhill Drive trestle. Comments?

Or how about crossing Broadway Terrace heading south before Warren Freeway?

Theres a photograph on the second floor of the building housing the Hallmark Store in Montclair that shows the building under construction in the mid-1950s with the SN overpass in the picture. Its in the hallway of the second floor by a travel agency and the area is open to the public.

I was under the impression that the area past the tennis courts (now) was all fill. I've never seen photos of this area, so I don't know. But if the above photo is indeed looking towards Thornhill, then you're looking at some of that fill in the right corner.

They *do* look alike, but from what I could tell, the Mountain Blvd overpass went at about a 45 degree angle whereas the Bway Terr overpass was a right angle 90 degree crossing. The overpass in this picture doesn't quite look like a 90 degree, but it is hard to tell. I passed by Bway Terr today, and just briefly glanced at the abuttments, and I do see that vertical joint. But I'll bet it's identical to Mountain.