Attica, IN: Wabash Depot

Jeffrey Bossaer posted
Wabash Railroad depot at Attica, Indiana about 1912. About 1920 an eastbound train derailed, crashed into the building, knocked over the pot bellied stove, killed the ticket agent, and the building burned down. It was immediately replaced by a structure, built with local Poston brick, which stood until about 1990. According to an old newspaper article in 1901, eighteen Wabash passenger trains per day were stopping at this depot and 1356 cars of freight were shipped out of town that year.

Jeffrey Bozzaer commented
Another view of the Wabash depot at Attica, IN.

Satellite

I found a 1965 aerial photo that confirmed the depot sat along the tracks on this now rather vacant land. Just a little to the west of here, the NS/Wabash crosses the Wabash River.

Jeffrey Bossaer posted
Wabash Railroad depot at Attica, Indiana until 1964, then Norfolk and Western, and finally Norfolk Southern. Built about 1920 and torn down about 1990. The previous one was destroyed by fire. I think passenger service ended here in 1971 but the railroad continued to use it for small freight and later storage.

Jeffrey Bossaer commented
Wabash Railroad depot at Attica, IN about 1940.This picture courtesy of the Linden Depot Museum. The tracks going to the left of the water tank in this picture are still there, run all the way to the south end of town to a grain terminal, and are referred to as the Covington branch. The tracks extended to Covington on the old Wabash and Erie Canal towpath until 1932, then after that only to the gravel pit until about 1980.
[Fortunately, the group is public because there are a lot of other interesting comments about the town, its railroads, and its industries.]

Update: Jeffrey Bossaer posted ten pictures from the steam era with the comment: "Wabash Railroad at Attica, Indiana in the late 1930's and 1940's. Pictures courtesy of the Linden Depot Museum. Historical Attica area railroad pictures were collected for displays at the Attica Public Library and Attica Sesquicentennial last year." I selected some of them.

2: Note the water tower on the right and the depot just to the right of the locomotive. This would be looking East.

4: The water tower is in the background on the right. The Wabash has switched from semaphores to colored searchlights. But the changing of the colored filter in the searchlight is manually controlled.

6: Look at the long, curving signaling pipeline. That is how we know the signals are still manually controlled. The curve has to make it even harder to move the lever that controls this pipeline.

8: Note the milk cans to be loaded in the baggage compartment.

9: Looking West from the depot.

David Biglands posted
Here's a couple of Wabash watercolor paintings that I have done. Hope you enjoy. One shows the Wabash station in Fort Wayne with the General Electric plant in the background, the other is Wabash in Attica, In.

Jeffrey Bossaer posted three pictures with the comment: "This Wabash Railroad depot in Attica, Indiana was built to replace the previous one that had burned. Passenger service here ended in 1971, but the depot was still used for freight and storage of tools and equipment for a few years, and was torn down about 1991."

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Bill Molony posted

2: ca. 1940

3: you can still see the freight door on the "freight side" of the depot.

Raymond Storey posted four images with the comment: "ATTICA IND."

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Jeffrey Bossaer shared his post of 56 images and the comment:

THE WABASH RAILROAD.

What was to become the Wabash Railroad was built through Attica in about 1855 and was the first railroad in Fountain County.  Covington and Attica were considered as places to cross the Wabash River, but the people of Covington wanted the railroad to pay a large sum of money for a right of way.  A man named McDonald paid the railroad a substantial sum of money to cross the Wabash River at Attica.   In 1964 the Wabash Railroad merged with the Norfolk and Western Railroad, but not all stock was transferred and not all paperwork was completed until 1991.  Passenger service out of Attica ended in 1971.  In about 1983 the current Norfolk Southern Railroad was formed.  It is very busy with several trains passing through Attica daily.