A rare antique probably an American tintype photograph. The photo depicts a railroad locomotive and a group of people. Circa: 1860s-1970s. probably, this photo is related to The US First Transcontinental Railroad, which was built in the 1860s and linked the central and western states of the country with the California coast of the Pacific Ocean. A tintype, also known as a melainotype or ferrotype, is a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion. Tintypes enjoyed their widest use during the 1860s and 1870s. Antique American Historical Tintype Photographs, and Collectibles.