Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Reservoir and Black Shade Balls

(Satellite)

The reservoir is covered with 96,000,000 black balls so that sunlight cannot enter the water. The primary purpose for keeping the sunlight out of the water is to avoid the chemical reaction that turns bromide and chlorine into bromate (BrO3), which is carcinogenic. The water source for this reservoir has naturally occurring bromide.  And since this reservoir hold treated water, chlorine has been added at the filtration plant. The balls have the further advantages of reducing evaporation, controlling algae by stopping photosynthesis and keeping wildlife off the water. The reduction of evaporation saves an estimated 300m gallons of treated water each year.

12:06 video @ 0:48

@ 0:00

This Facebook Reel is a shorter version of the above video.

Madison, NJ: New Jersey Transit/DL&W Depot

(Satellite)

The East Coast regularly beats the Midwest for the faciness of their depots.

Street View, Aug 2018

Jack Norris posted seven photos with the comment: "The substantial stone station built by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR in Madison, NJ, Still a busy stop for NJT."

Jack Norris shared

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Eric Finkelstein, Mar 2022

Jason M, Oct 2024

The commuter service in the NYC metro area looks complicated. I accessed the link on Google Maps, https://dv.njtransit.com/mobile/tid-mobile.aspx?SID=MA, to learn more. But I got a "500- Internal server error" in response. I hope NJT maintains their trains better than their website.

Satellite

1954/55 Morristown Quad @ 24,000

Upland, IN: Park/Pennsy/Panhandle Depot

(Satellite)

I included the baggage cart on the left and the caboose on the right.

Street View, Aug 2023

Street View, Aug 2023

This is the main photo for the town of Inland on Google Maps.

Jim Duncan, Jul 2022

I.e. Xam posted
Upland IN

According to the 2005 SPV Map, the railroad is NS/Pennsy. Given that Upland is significantly south of Fort Wayne, I wondered if this town was on Pennsy's Panhandle route.  Upland is on a Pennsy route that goes from Marion, IN, to Gas City to Upland to Hartford City and then straight to Union City, IN.

1953/53 Muncie Quad @ 250,000

Indeed, that is on the Panhandle route.

Brain A Morgan posted via Dennis DeBruler

I was surprised because I though the Panhandle routes had been abandoned. The route between Marion and Hartford City is still active, but it is no longer owned by NS. It is now owned by Central Railroad of Indianapolis (CERA).

National Rail Network Map

gwrr, cropped

Commerce, OK: Marathon/Tydiol & Original Dairy King and Conoco Gas Stations

Marathon: (Satellite)

Conoco: (Satellite)

US-66 Overview 

(The first Dairy Queen opened in Joliet, IL, in 1940 along Route 66.)

The pumps say Marathon. The logo has a runner with MARATHON and "MILE-maker."

Street View, Sep 2024

This station is across Main Street from the Dairy King.

Street View, Jun 2013

唐受衡, Sep 2025

This may be the interior of the Conoco station because the Dairy King has 1950s style tables and benches on the inside.  I've seen a few horizontal Coca-Cola bottle dispensers, but that is the first 7up dispenser that I have seen.

Paolo Santi, Sep 2019

They spiffed up the place for the 100th Anniversary of Route 66.

Buck Nekked, Jun 2025

Route 66 Postcards posted three images with the comment:

Here is a "then, later, & now" of the Broyles Tydol filling station & Dairy King in Commerce, Oklahoma on old Route 66 at 100 N Main St.  Later it was a Marathon station & rock shop, and now is the Dairy King,  It is a excellent example of a building that has been restored and converted to a new purpose while preserving its historical Route 66 vintage appearance.  Mickey Mantle grew up in Commerce.  His childhood home is just a few blocks away from the Dairy King.

   The "later" postcard is courtesy of Steve Rider, and the "now" photo is courtesy of Eldon McGraw.

Vernon Cole: Also the site of Bonnie and Clydes last murder.

Steve Patterson: My mother-in-law Ruth Broyles McCord, now 98 years young just told me that three Broyles brothers ran the station together. Her father Jessie Broyles, and his brothers Landon and Loren were the original owners. I was not aware that they also sold ice cream as the original Dairy King.

By the way, if you want a great cheeseburger stop in the current Dairy King. If you’re traveling Route 66, sign their guestbook along with people from many countries around the world. The DuBois family will treat you right. Bring cash!

Gene Williams: Commerce was the home of the great baseball player Mickey Mantle.

[Several comments praise the cookies.]

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Mickey Mantle's Childhood Home

Street View, Sep 2024

This is the oldest detailed topo map I could find and they had already moved Route 66 from the west side to the east side of town. I wondered how they could afford to do that because normally the downtown would have grown up along Route 66. But in this town the downtown is along the east/west Commerce Ave. The Northeast Oklahoma Railroad was absorbed by Frisco.

1961/63 Miami NW Quad @ 24,000

Allerton, IA: Lost/Rock Island Depot and Railroad Microwave Tower

Depot: (Satellite)

Tower: (Satellite, the house track is extant.)

Seth Wetzel posted
Allerton, Iowa depot looks pretty good for sure! Bill Reibe photo!

John Hope: Where the line to the Twin Cities and Chicago split

Since railroads installed fiber optic cables when they installed Positive Train Control (PTC), I'm surprised that UP still has a microwave tower.

Street View, Apr 2023

The thin white line between the southern rectangle and the mainline was the platform. The platform verifies that the depot was the building between the mainline and the house track.

Nov 9, 1962 @ 18,000; AR1VANE00010039

The location of the depot is accurately noted by the black rectangle by the mainline on this map.

1064/66 Allerton Quad @ 24,000

The route to the East is now abandoned, but the north/south route is now owned by UP.

1954/67 Centerville Quad @ 250,000

National Rail Network Map

Niagara, NY: Maid of Mist Dry Dock and Crane

(Satellite)

This dry dock stores the two Maid of the Mist boats during the Winter months. The boats cruise from a dock across the Niagara River on the Canadian side.

mmce
"The site of the new drydock was the location of the former Schoellkopf Power Station in the Niagara River Gorge."

Maid of the Mist posted three photos with the comment:

Behind the scenes at Maid of the Mist.

Our dry dock crane recently completed its required load test using 197 tons of certified water weights. The crane’s primary role is lifting our vessels in and out of the water at the beginning and end of each season, making it a critical part of our operations and maintenance program.

A big thank you to @Hohl Industrial Services and @Liebherr Cranes for their expertise and support in completing this important test. Together, we help ensure our operations remain safe, reliable, and ready for another incredible season on the Niagara River. ⚓️💪

Jim Myers shared

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mmce

They had to get rid of the incompetent rock above the new dock.

mmce

They used cranes to build the crane.

mmce

mmce

Since there is no road down to the dock, it appears they built a big ringer crane on the top side to lower the cranes and other equipment down to the dock. The mobile crane in this photo is still building the ringer because the boom has yet to be attached. There is an elevator down to the dock, but it would be too small for many of the pieces needed at the dock.

mmce

Jim Thorpe, PA: Penn Haven Junction: NS/Penn Haven Junction vs CNJ

(Satellite)

The Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad calls this the Independence Junction. [David Blazejewski]

Keith Nonnemacher posted
Lehigh Valley Railroads Penn Haven Junction now NS M&H Junction
Love the different types of Semaphore signals the Lehigh Valley upper quadrant the CNJ s Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad Lower Quadrant. Plus the tower was out in the middle of nowhere. The old Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Penn Haven Planes are in the background after they extended their Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad to Easton and connection with the CNJ in Phillipsburg so they could run coal trains to tide water and abandon the incline plane in 1865

Today's trail is on the former-CNJ land.

Trail View, Aug 2021

eBay
Vintage Photo Penn Haven Jct. Central Railroad of NJ Lehigh Valley Railroad 1905

Did the turntable turn helper locomotives?

CulturedCarbonCountry, this webpage has several more photos

1960/62 Christmans Quad @ 24,000

I had trouble finding it. Lehigh Valley had a lot of forking junctions in these mountains. A comment mentioned that both legs of this junction still exist. That narrowed down where to look to just a couple of forking junctions on a contemporary map.

National Rail Network Map