Lockport, IL: Metra/GM&O Depot

Bill Molony posted
The Lockport railroad station on West 13th Street was constructed of locally quarried dolomite limestone in 1860, by the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad.
Today, it is owned by Metra and leased to the City of Lockport. 
The passenger waiting room at the north end of the station is used by Metra Heritage Corridor patrons.
The remainder of the building is occupied by the Midwest SOARRING Foundation's Cultural Center.

Street View

One problem with building with stone is that it looks like they could not afford to build a bay window office for the station agent.

Update:

Bill Molony posted

The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio station on West 13th Street in Lockport, Illinois as it looked in 1969.

This station was built in 1860 - when James Buchanan was our president - by the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, using locally quarried dolomite limestone.

Today, it is owned by Metra and leased to the City of Lockport for use as a scheduled stop for Metra's Heritage Corridor service.

It is the oldest station in the Metra system, and one of the very oldest stations anywhere in the State of Illinois.

From the Blackhawk collection.

Brian Falasz: All of the buildings at the old Chicago and Alton shops in Bloomington, IL were also made from this beautiful stone. Unfortunately, the only building left is the old freight house. All others were razed in the early 1990’s.
Bill Molony shared

 

Peter Zimmermann posted

Lockport Illinois[Will County].

This depot was originally constructed in 1860 for the Joliet & Chicago Railroad, a company that opened the railroad here in 1856 and was leased by the Saint Louis Alton & Chicago Railroad in 1858.

The most notable train to pass was the funeral train of slain president Abraham Lincoln in May 1865 as it headed from Chicago to Springfield. Today the depot serves 6 Metra trains per day and sees numerous Amtrak regional trains as well as several freights each day from primarily Union Pacific but also a CN local. The line is owned by the CN Railway[ICRR] as their Joliet subdivision.

Bill Molony posted
A northbound Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad passenger train going past the station on West 13th Street in Lockport.
[It looks like it still has coal smoke residue on it.]

Bill Molony posted two photos with the comment:

The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad depot in Lockport as it looked circa 1950.This depot was built by the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad in 1860.Today, it is owned by Metra and is being used as a stop on Metra's Heritage Corridor Service between Joliet and Chicago.

1
Bill Molony posted

The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio depot at Lockport, circa 1950.

The depot was built in 1860 by the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, using locally quarried dolomite limestone.

Today, it is owned by Metra and is a stop for Metra's Heritage Corridor Service operating between Joliet and Chicago.

It is the oldest depot in the entire Metra system.

Jimmy Fiedler: I think this depot is the oldest still in use east of the Mississippi river?

2

Bill Molony posted
The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad's depot in Lockport back in August of 1953.
John LaRochelle Like the lower quadrant train order signal indicating no orders in either direction.

Bill Molony posted
The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad depot on West 13th Street in Lockport, about 1950.

Bill Molony posted
These two photographs of the station on West 13th Street in Lockport are dated November 14, 1981.
It was constructed in 1860 by the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railway, using locally quarried dolomite limestone.
Today, it is owned by Metra and serves as Lockport's stop on the Heritage Corridor service between Joliet and Chicago.

J.J. Sedelmaier commented on Bill's posting
Nice shots ! Tweaked exposure...

Bill Molony posted
The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad depot on West 13th Street in Lockport - 1969.
Note the box car on the house track behind the depot.
This depot was built in 1860 by the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad. Today, it is owned by Metra and is a stop on Metra's Heritage Corridor service.
Dennis DeBrulerYou and 1 other manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Chicago Railroad Historians. Thanks for pointing out the team track. I would have missed that. As with other towns, the parking lot close to the depot used to be team tracks.

Bill Molony posted again
The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio depot on West 13th Street in Lockport as it looked 50 years ago, in 1969.
Note the box car on the house track to the right behind the depot.

David Daruszka enhanced an image posted by Bill Molony
This August 1953 article on the staff at the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio station in Lockport is from the Joliet Herald-News.
Bill Molony The Lockport station was built in 1860 by the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, Today, it is owned by Metra and is a stop on Metra's Heritage Corridor Service.