(Satellite, IL-106 uses the former Wabash RoW to bypass Barry's downtown.)
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| Richard Fiedler posted Wabash depot Barry IL. On Wabash’s line from Decatur to Hannibal. Richard Fiedler shared James Holzmeier posted Barry, IL Wabash depot; unknown date or photographer Richard Fiedler shared |
This was on the route that split off at Decatur, IL to bypass St. Louis to access Kansas City directly and avoid the high rates charged by the company in St. Louis that owned all of the railroad bridges across the Mississippi.
The picture has to be early 20th century because there is a buggy on the right. Note the grain elevator on the left. Also note how many people are at the station for a small town. Back then the station was the social center of the town. People would go there when a train arrived even if they were not travelling or meeting someone who is travelling because that is where the mail and packages came. And because many people just like to talk to each other. The depot was to the town like the water cooler or coffee pot is to an office.
If you look at a modern map, the route goes north of it along a river grade. So I found a 1939 image that shows the route went north of town rather than through it. So, unlike many towns in Illinois, this town must have already existed. The railroad came to it even though it required steeper grades than the optimal route.
The picture has to be early 20th century because there is a buggy on the right. Note the grain elevator on the left. Also note how many people are at the station for a small town. Back then the station was the social center of the town. People would go there when a train arrived even if they were not travelling or meeting someone who is travelling because that is where the mail and packages came. And because many people just like to talk to each other. The depot was to the town like the water cooler or coffee pot is to an office.
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| 1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
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| Andy Zukowski posted Wabash Railroad Depot in Barry, Illinois. C.1910 |
I almost published a duplicate. Unfortunately, I did spend time again determining that the route moved.
(Satellite, IL-106 uses the former Wabash RoW to bypass Barry's downtown.)
As usual, to find the location of the depot, I started with a topo map. Why I included Hadley Creek in this excerpt will soon become obvious.
Until I studied the 1944 map, I never realized that the Mississippi River has carved a wide canyon through a very hilly terrain in this part of Illinois. Obviously, the new route was built to ease the climb out of the flood plain.
To determine when the new route was built, I accessed some 1:250,000 scale maps. The 1948 map did not have it, but this one does.
Starting here, Wabash changed their route to north of Barry. More below.
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| Lisa Ruble posted Candice Marie Lynn shared Raymond Storey posted UNABLE TO MAKE OUT THE DESCRIPTION Andy Brown: Wabash Depot, Barry, Il |
As usual, to find the location of the depot, I started with a topo map. Why I included Hadley Creek in this excerpt will soon become obvious.
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| 1944/1944 Barry Quad @ 62,500 |
But I could not find a railroad on the north side of Barry. I knew this route was not abandoned because it is NS mainline to Kansas City. So I started with the bridge over the Mississippi River and traced the railroad to the east. That is how I determined that a new route that bypassed Barry was built up Hadley Creek.
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| 1978/1978 Barry Quad @ 24,000 |
Until I studied the 1944 map, I never realized that the Mississippi River has carved a wide canyon through a very hilly terrain in this part of Illinois. Obviously, the new route was built to ease the climb out of the flood plain.
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| 1944/1944 Barry Quad @ 62,500 |
To determine when the new route was built, I accessed some 1:250,000 scale maps. The 1948 map did not have it, but this one does.
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| 1956/1967 Quincy Quad @ 250,000 |
And the old route disappears with this map.
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| 1956/1980 Quincy Quad @ 250,000 |
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| 1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
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