Stroh, IN: Wabash Depot and Branch Line

James Holzmeier posted
Postcard view of a classic small-town Wabash RR
combination depot, in Stroh, Indiana on the Wabash
Helmer to Stroh branchline (photographer unknown)

Stroh, IN, is of interest to me because it is the closest town to my Grandfather's farm, because my Great-grandmother used to live there, and because a relative used to own the farm on the south side of town.

Wabash had a branch line that headed north of their mainline just west of Helmer and that terminated just north of this depot at the cement plant. 

1942 Stroh Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

The tracks went east of town, but I have not been able to determine the exact location of the depot. The topo map taught me that there was a narrow gage line that accessed the mine pits. It was this railroad that used to cross the main road on the north side. When I was a kid, I wondered why there were tracks in the road but not on either side. That is when I learned about the cement operations. But they had long since become obsolete.

1942 Stroh Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

Rural American History Captured posted

At the last family reunion I learned that they used to ship the baby lambs they bought to the Stroh depot. Then the neighbors along the road north of Stroh and west on County Road 100 S would help herd them along the road to their barn. Up until past the 1960s, farmers maintained fences along the edge of their fields. So I guess the biggest problem would be the big lawns in front of people's homestead. And people probably drove down the road a lot slower than 60mph back then.

Update: Another rendition of the postcard:

Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana posted
A little known, five-mile long branch of the Wabash ran between Helmer and Stroh, Indiana. The branch was built in 1899 to serve a cement plant and was out of service by 1945. The town of Stroh must have been bustling with the cement business as a 1901 Stroh newspaper reported the freight agent took in $4800 in freight charges. Stroh also had a limber yard and a combined flouring mill and grain elevator. Of note is the caboose in the photo; it appears to be set up for passengers and LCL freight.
Loralee Taylor Dennis DeBruler, your mom helped drive sheep from this depot to the farm.
Tom Robison That's called a Drover's caboose. For trains transporting livestock, the drover's caboose was where the stockmen rode. The caboose would have seats/bunks for them. The stockmen took care of the animals during the trip at rest stops. Later on small railroads used them to transport a small number of passengers from stop to stop, which was less expensive than buying a dedicated passenger car.
Michael Teders Turkey Lake was actually divided in 2 by that railroad to the cement plant. After the railroad was abandoned, two areas of where the tracks ran were dredged out allowing pleasure boats to pass thru to both sides and creating a long narrow island in the middle of the lake.
Terry Strock My grandpa used to work at the power plant that supplied electricity to the town of Stroh & Elmira. Elmira was named after the power plants owners wife. If they got into a fight the owner had my grandfather kill the power to Elmira for a time.
Steve Healey My grandfather Charlie Sutton is standing there in front of depot. He was the telegrapher there.

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/loco/el7274age.jpg Erie Lackawanna ALCO FA-1 7274 crosses the Pennsylvania at North Judson, Indiana in April 1967. Photo by George Elwood

In addition to shipping and receiving animals and shipping cement, this station agent also handled the shipping of pickles.