Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Jamestown, CA: Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and Sierra Railway

Park: (Satellite)
Depot: (Satellite)
Roundhouse: (Satellite)

Cydney George-Abatecola, Sep 2021

Michael Chrien, Jul 2020

Mark Mcgowan posted six photos with the comment: "Scenes from the Railtown 1897 roundhouse and shop in Jamestown, Ca."
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darin kram, Nov 2023

1949/49 Sonora Quad @ 24,000

Milan, IL: Rock Island Deopts

(Satellite)

David Sebben posted
I received this photo recently and it says CRI&P depot in Milan, IL.  But the Milan depot doesn't look like this.  Could this one have preceded the existing one?  Photo from 1909.
Thomas Scoville: This is likely an earlier depot. The current Milan depot's architecture matches other Rock Island depots from the 1910-1920 timeframe. The depot in this photo is much older, probably from the mid-1800s.
Miles W. Rich: Additionally, the original Milan Depot was built by the Rock Island & Peoria Rwy, which also owned the Rock Island & Mercer County RR which both used the Milan Depot before the CRI&P acquired both of those roads around 1900. I have a book on the RI&P. I will check the photos.
Retro Quad Cities posted
Everyone thinks that the little depot in Milan is the original one.  Guess again!  Here is the original Milan depot in this 1909 photo.  It served the Rock Island and Mercer County Railroad.
Miles W. Rich: It served the Rock Island & Peoria Railway also, which built it.
The CRI&P purchased the Rock Island & Peoria which ran from Rock Island to Milan thru Coal Valley, Orion, Cambridge, & Toulon to Peoria. Owned by the same interests, the Cable Family and their mining interests, the Rock Island and Mercer County RR was built from the Milan Depot of the RI&P to Sherrard and Cable. The two railroads were merged and sold to the CRI&P in 1903. The CRI&P then granted trackage rights to the RIS to use the former railroads tracks from Southern Junction to Rock Island. In the 1920s, when the coal ran out in the Cable and Sherrard areas, the CRI&P leased the track from Milan through Taylor Ridge to Southern Junction including the branch to Cable and Sherrard to the RIS. In 1952, when the RIS is shut down, the CRI&P formally abandoned the trackage south of Andalusia Road. The CRI&P abandoned the RI&P in stages. The trackage from Milan to Orion in 1940, after obtaining traffic rights from the CB&Q from Colona to Orion. The trackage from Toulon to Peoria in the early 1960s, and the trackage south of Orion with the shutdown in 1980. The portion of the RI&P from Rock Island to Milan, and the trackage of the RI&MC used by the RIS from The Milan depot to the industrial users along Andalusia Road in Milan & Rock Island is still in use by the IAIS.

Google Maps now (2026) labels it as an ice cream & more shop.
Street  View, Aug 2019

I knew the Rock Island was down here by the I&M Canal and Rock River because of the RI bridges over the Rock River and the bridges over the Hennepin Canal. Now I understand that the purpose of those bridges was to connect the mainline on the north side of Rock Island, IL, to the railroads that it bought south of Milan.
1912/12 Milan Quad @ 62,500

I knew the Rock Island followed the Hennepin Canal further east of here. To see how the RI got from the canal up to Silvis and the Mississippi River, I got a bigger picture.
1958/68 Davenport @ 250,000

Monday, July 20, 2026

Greenview, IL: GM&O Depot

(Satellite)

DaVe Durham posted seven photos with the comment: "Chicago & Alton Depot, Green view, Illinois."
Richard Fiedler: Used to be a craft store or something like that years ago. Looks vacant now.
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The depot got moved. I found it because of the school in the background of this photo.
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The grain elevator is big considering ICG pulled rail service a long time ago.
Street View

Street View, Jul 2013

And chemicals are an important part of modern agriculture. Liquids on the left, gas in the middle and applicators in the right background.
Street View, Jun 2023

This is the first time I've seen a town in Illinois that has an AGCO dealer but doesn't have a John Deere or CaseIH dealer.
Street View, Apr 2025

Street View, Apr 2025

Dennis DeBruler commented on DaVe's post
I wonder when the depot was moved, https://maps.app.goo.gl/v2gqCa4uaRUJa9PC9. 1949/49 Mason City Quad @ 62,500
Thomas Scoville: Dennis DeBruler, it was moved in 1984.

Sunday, July 19, 2026

Davenport, IA: Classic Cars Dealer/Texaco Gas Station

(Satellite)

Retro Quad Cities posted
Firestone Tires and Texaco gas at 3rd and Pershing in Davenport as seen in 1952.  The building hasn't changed much since then, now housing Klemme's Klassic Kars.
Bill Handel: The Quad-Cities has more surviving antique service stations than most places. Has anyone compiled a directory of them all?
Tim Ryherd: Classic art deco.

The overpass on the left is the IAIS/RI just north of the Government Bridge.
Street View, Jul 2025

Harry York, Oct 2024

They have all ages of classic cars. These two photos are a small sampling.
Klemme Klassic Kars, Nov 2025

They also have a display of old gas pumps and toys.
Brad Wiese, May 2023

This has a better view of the glass-cylinder pump.
American Marketing & Publishing, Aug 2019

The glass is tinted, so this is the best view of the pumps that I could get.
Street  View, Jul 2019

Saturday, July 18, 2026

Greene County, PA: Cumberland Prep Plant, Portal #9, Transload and Harbor

Prep Plant: (Satellite)
Mine Portal: (Satellite)
Alicia Transload: (Satellite) Private rail to barge
La Belle Harbor: (Satellite) Barge to public rail

Chuck Burgess posted four photos with the comment: "Some shots of Cumberland’s Pep plant and hoist/yard area I took over the years there."
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Is Portal #9 the only mine head that is feeding the prep plant?
IronSenergy_facility
"The Cumberland #9 portal is a centralized hub for the operation, which includes the miner’s bathhouse, shaft elevator, training center, and communication within the company. It helps to streamline processes, enhance collaboration, and provide employees with easy access to essential resources."

IronSenergy
"The Prep Plant is a core foundation of our operation, transforming raw coal into a valuable resource. Through our advanced process, the prep plant cleans, sorts, and sizes the coal, ensuring it meets quality standards of our customers. Our Prep Plant facility also contains our raw coal stockpiles, warehouse and clean coal loadout."

IronSenergy_facility
"Once completing the process at the Prep Plant, all of Iron Senergy’s coal is transported 17 miles from the Prep Plant to Alicia Harbor, where it is loaded onto barges along the Monongahela River. This then allows our team to then deliver to customers locally or the ability to offload to our Labelle Facility."

Note that barge traffic between Alicia and LaBelle uses the Maxwell Lock.

IronSenergy_facility
"Also located along the Monongahela River is our LaBelle facility, which provides robust ground storage and the ability to load both Class I railroads. Conveniently located, LaBelle offers access to all east coast export terminals."

IronSenergy_facility
"Iron Senergy also owns and operates our own 17-mile short line railway that transports clean coal from our Preparation Plant in Kirby, PA to Alicia Harbor, located in Alicia, PA.
"As of 2024, the Cumberland Mine Railroad was the longest privately owned railroad in the United States."


Friday, July 17, 2026

The Plains, VA: Fine Art Studio/Southern Depot and The Depot/Southern Freight House

Depot: (Satellite)
Freight House: (Satellite)

Street View, Nov 2024

This had to be the freight house instead of the depot.
Street View, Nov 2024

Lehigh Valley Railroad & Railroad Photography posted
 Former Southern Railway station in The Plains, Virginia on June 22, 2026

Photo, Jan 2024

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Valentine, AZ: US-66 Gas Stations and Motels

Hackberry, AZ, just a little west of here, has a museum with several old gas pumps.

"Crusing" US-66 from east to west.

Valentine Station (Chevron Gas) (Satellite)


Street View, Oct 2025

Street View, Oct 2025

 Andrzej Trzmiel, Jul 2026

Facebook Reel

Facebook Reel


Motel Ruins (Satellite)


Across the road from the gas station are some remnants of a motel. I was careful to include the rain clouds in this view. I wonder how often that happens in Arizona.
Street View, Oct 2025

No other view had rain clouds.
Street View, Aug 2022

Chief's Motel Sign (Satellite)


A little west of the motel, Google Maps labels this "Chief's Motel sign."
Street View, Oct 2025

I guess these buildings used to be part of that motel.
Street View, Oct 2025

76 Gas Station (Satellite)


I wonder what the owner thinks about Trump's ego war with Iran.
Street View, Oct 2025

These pumps are probably from the 1970s instead of 1940s, but they are historic because they compute the price with gears instead of computer chips. (And they don't play any commercials on a screen.) I could not find a view with enough resolution to verify, but I'll bet that the pumps can't handle prices over 99.9 cents per gallon.
Street View, Oct 2025

While trying to find a good closeup of the pumps, I discovered that they were installed after 2011.
Street View, Oct 2011

I wonder how much business these places will get after the 100th aniversary of Route 66 is over.
Bill Newell, Apr 2025