Note the standpipe in the foreground in addition to the spout on the water tower. I assume the spout can be used for northbound trains while they are stopped at the station and the standpipe can be used for southbound trains.
The Wabash depot is on the left of this picture. The 1939 aerial photo below confirms that the town was built north of the junction with the
Chicago, Milwaukee & Gary (CM&G). Today,
Manhattan is a classic bedroom community made possible by the extension of the Metra commuter service to this town. The Wabash tracks end south of town at a what appears to be some sort of
liquids terminal. There is also a spur on the old CM&G tracks to a
liquids transloading facility.
The right side of this view catches the north side of the depot. It appears they added a freight annex to the depot.
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| Downtown at camera resolution |
Manhattan Township Historical Society
posted four images with the comment:
So much can be said about the railroad in Manhattan. It is the reason the town boomed when it did and slowed down when it did. Today's article is only a brief touch on the Wabash rail and depot in Manhattan. The hub of activity in its hayday reached from behind where Fritz's is now up to the pond in Central Park. By the pond is also where the Wabash Railroad and the former Milwaukee Freight Line crossed. Milwaukee Line is now Wauponsee Trail. We hope you enjoy today's article! Also, museum is open 10-2 on June 1st, come and visit us!
#manhattanillinois*
The Wabash Railroad Depot (Memories With Progress, 1986. Photos and description Manhattan Memories, 2017).
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In the middle 1880’s, the center of activity was at the crossing of Cedar Road and Manhattan-Monee Road. When the Wabash Railroad tracks were laid one mile to the west of this intersection, attention moved to this area and the growth of the settlement was accelerated. A saloon license could not be granted until the city was incorporate by the state. During a community meeting discussing the request of a man wishing to build a saloon [McGowan], it was learned that there were not enough citizens to warrant a corporation, so the village limits were extended in all directions. Many farms were included, and the required number of people was reached, enabling the village to be incorporated in 1886.
The waiting room in the old depot was warmed by a potbelly stove, fired by coal or wood, and benches surrounded the room where people could sit while waiting for their train ride. Tickets were purchased at small window between the waiting room and the office. The round trip to Chicago was $1, and Manhattanites took advantage of the cultural activities in Chicago more frequently than residents in other communities. The two agents for the Wabash, who were also telegraph operators, were Ernest Hedburg and and Arthur Engels, the oldest in the Chicago-St. Louis Division. The depot was connected to the tower by wire, and Archie West and Ernest Hedburg, as well as others, worked there. The tower was located at the crossing of the Milwaukee Freight Line and the Wabash Railroad tracks.
The depot area was a hub of activity, with farmers shipping cattle, grain and milk to Chicago. There was a stockyard, and farmers on horseback drove the cattle from the farm to the shipping point. Merchants could ride the 5 a.m. train to the Windy City, purchase their wares, and return by 12:30 p.m. to market their purchases. There was also a passenger train to Chicago in the evening. Railroad crews would lay over between runs, probably a stimulus for two hotels to be built, and other businesses to be established during this period in the village.
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