Thursday, December 31, 2015

Princeton, IN: C&EI/Southern Union Depot and Sou Roundhouse

Depot: (Satellite)
Roundhouse: (Satellite)

Street View, Dec 2018

Street View, Jun 2012

Robert Gibson Jr. -> Railroad Caboose Photos
This is now the Gibson County Vistors & Tourism facility. It looks like they still have half the NS/Southern roundhouse. But the roof is in very bad shape. I can find no evidence that Wabash was native to the area. The depot was evidently a "union depot" because judging from Google maps the east/west Southern joined the north/south CSX/L&N/Chicago & Eastern Illinois for joint running through the town.
Satellite
Update: I'm including a copy of the satellite image because it is in bad enough shape that some year it is going to disappear from satellite images.

Princeton Depot posted
Regular passenger service through Princeton ended on this day, February 1, 1968. This is a photo of a C&EI passenger train arriving at the depot in 1965.

C&EIRHS posted
Unnamed train No. 92 arriving in Princeton in 1965. Passenger service ended here on February 1, 1968.
 
Jim Pearson Photography posted
Northbound Norfolk Southern 9730 leads CSX S991 as they pass the old depot with an oversized Turbine load from Siemens Energy on a depressed flatbed at Princeton, Indiana, on the CSX CE&D Subdivision, on March 20th, 2024, with a Fracht Caboose bringing up the rear. 
It originated at Birmingham, AL and is headed for New Castle, PA. I caught this move just north of Evansville, IN and gave chase to Patoka, Indiana, so stay tuned as I’ll be posting more images of it next week!
The depot was built in 1875 and has been beautifully restored. Once housing the C&EI and L&N railways, it was the lifeline of commerce and transportation for the county. Passenger service was discontinued in the late 1960's. The Princeton Train Depot is now home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored train caboose.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.

Jim Pearson Photography posted
Fellow railfans Cooper Smith, Ryan Scott and I spent about 5 hours railfanning southern Indiana on October 9th, 2021 and were fortunate enough to catch 5 different railroads operating in the area! We caught RJ Corman, Canadian Pacific, (Cooper and I), CSX, Norfolk Southern, Indiana Southern and Ryan caught BNSF for a sixth railroad after we parted company. A great day of railfanning!
Here we find Canadian Pacific Railway 8637 passing the Virtual Railfan Cameras at the restored CE&I and L&N Depot in Princeton, Indiana as it leads CSX K442 north on the CSX CE&D Subdivision.
According to The Gibson County Website: Constructed in 1875 and beautifully restored, the Princeton Depot is the only remaining depot structure in Gibson County. Once housing the C&EI and L&N railways, it was the lifeline of commerce and transportation for the county. Passenger service was discontinued from the depot in late 1960. Today the depot stands as a nostalgic reminder of the importance railroads have played in Gibson County’s history.
The Princeton Train Depot is now home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored train caboose.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 200.
 
Jim Pearson Photography posted
One of the new CSX Heritage series locomotives, the Baltimore & Ohio unit 1827, leads CSX hot intermodal I028 as it makes its way past the old depot at Princeton, Indiana, on July 17th, 2023, as it heads north on the CSX CE&D Subdivision.
The station was built in 1875 and has been beautifully restored. It served the C&EI and L&N railways during its day and was the lifeline of commerce and transportation for the county. Passenger service was discontinued in the late 1960s and today it is home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored Wabash caboose.
According to Wikipedia: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States with its first section opening in 1830.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway took financial control of the B&O in 1963.[52] On May 1, 1971, Amtrak had taken over all the remaining non-commuter routes of the B&O. The B&O already had a controlling interest in the Western Maryland Railway. In 1973 the three railroads were brought together under one corporate identity, the Chessie System, although they continued to operate as separate railroads.
In 1980 the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries, a holding company that owned the Seaboard Coast Line, the Louisville & Nashville, the Clinchfield, and the Georgia Railroad, agreed to form CSX Corporation. SCL Industries was renamed the Seaboard System Railroad (SBD) in 1983, the same year that the Western Maryland Railway was completely absorbed into the B&O. SBD was renamed CSX Transportation (CSX) in 1986. On April 30, 1987, the B&O's corporate existence ended when it was absorbed into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which merged into CSX Transportation on August 31 of that year.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 210.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/baltimore-and-ohio-unit-1827-at-princeton-in-jim-pearson.html
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society shared

Dave Kunkel updated
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society shared
Restored C&EI passenger depot at Princeton, Indiana.

Trains and Tracks posted four photos with the comment:
Steam Saturday featuring photos of the steam engines maintained at the Southern Railway Princeton Indiana shops. PS-2 4-6-2 1317 the last steam engine to operate out of Princeton Shops June 30th. 1953 leaving with last passenger train on the Southern heading East to Louisville to never return.
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Jerry Hongoltz posted
Remnants of the Southern Railway roundhouse at Princeton, Indiana
Brandon McShane I wonder how many roundhouses are still in service. We're down to two in Chicago (NS Calumet and IHB Hammond).
Jimmy Fiedler BNSF Cicero
Dennis DeBruler CN/EJ&E Kirk Yard still has theirs: https://www.google.com/.../@41.6132268,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3
Bill Stroud posted
Princeton Indiana. This was the halfway point between St. Louis and Louisville on the Air Line. Crews would be changed & engines would be changed and serviced. Photo is marked 1921.
David Cantrell posted two photos with the comment:
Princeton, IN Southern Railroad Roundhouse
1958 - USGS Earth Explorer
2018 - Google Earth
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Princeton Depot posted
This 1907 Sanborn Map of Princeton shows the location of the railroads and traction line to Evansville.

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted


2 comments:

  1. The C&EI station was never a Union Station, Southern had a Passenger station on Chesstnut Street (now Brumfield) Southern Passenger line split off from the main East of town and rejoined near Fairgrounds West of Princeton, after that station closed in the 40's a small station was built at the yards.

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    Replies
    1. The one at the yards was where my first train ride started. Trip from Princeton to Huntingburg. I was was 9 yrs old in Summer of 1952.

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