I think the old grain elevator would have been out-of-frame on the right.
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| Larry Foht posted Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad Depot Tampico Illinois This Town is the birthplace of President Ronald Reagan Also the anchor terminal for the HY&T RR, Hooppole Yorktown and Tampico Railroad Larry Foht collection : |
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| 1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
This topo map implies that the depot was in the same block that had the old grain elevator.
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Shortlines are not a new development
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| 1936 Prophetstown Quad @ 62,500 |
The town still has a grain elevator and some restored Italianate buildings.
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| Street View, Jun 2023 |
There is quite a bit of grain storage on the south side of town, but that looks like it is for a hog farmer.
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| Street View, May 2023 |
And there is an elevator east of town with a tree line that clearly shows where the CB&Q used to run.
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| Satellite |
The CB&Q had quite a few tendrils in northwest Illinois.
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| 1902 |
If you don't mind me adding my two cents; all the Sanborn maps and plats that I can find indicate that the depot is immediately east of Joy street. This is also confirmed by a well published postcard of the DRF&SW train sitting infront of the CB&Q depot, because you can clearly see the Soldier's Monument and it's orientation, making it clear that the depot was immediately north of the monument and park. The foundation you highlighted appears to be on the site of what was a lumberyard for a quite a long while, so I wouldn't be shocked if it was the remnant of a coal bin or other storage building.
ReplyDeleteI took a close look at the photo up-top. I can see a couple of features on the locomotive that make me think it's a CB&Q class H2 Mogul, and it appears to be pulling freight. These built in the 1890s, but the freight cars make it more likely for this to have been circa 1910 or later. All the map info I can find indicates that the grain elevator was directly behind the depot as seen from this angle. The concrete elevator (70+ft tall) was built about 1920 so this must have been before then. The earlier frame built elevator was reportedly 35' tall with a 40' cupola so it might just be hidden by the roofline of the depot.
You can, however, see the coal bin just across main street if look between the depot and the train.
Another view of the depot can be found here https://www.tampicohistoricalsociety.com/albums/album_image/1169994/392562.htm
and here https://www.tampicohistoricalsociety.com/albums/album_image/1169994/277055.htm