Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Murphysboro, IL: M&O's Depot, Roundhouse, and Freight House

Depot: (Satellite)
Roundhouse: (Satellite, when I accessed it in 2023, only the foundation remained. See below for an image when it still existed.)
Freight House: (Satellite)
 
Street View, Aug 2019
 
Marianne Hindman posted
Richard Fiedler shared
Richard Fiedler shared

RJ Ihle commented on Marianne's post
This was at 17th & Elm. It burned in the early morning hours on August 29th, 1988. Photo of damage below.

Allen R. Godwin posted four pictures with the comment:
Here are some pictures that might bring back some memories!!
These are from some pictures posted by a man from Jonesboro who is a member of another Facebook group that I am a member of and I thought a lot of you in this group would enjoy seeing them!
— with Erica Jane Wheeler.


1, freight house
2, depot
3, train
4, train

Another posting of the third pictures has the comment:
RJ Ihle To the left of the photo and behind the locomotive for several blocks to the north is where the Murphysboro shops were located until nearly totally destroyed by the 1925 Tri-State tornado.Only the roundhouse survived and has been re-purposed several times over the years. It can be seen on Google maps near 17th & Logan Sts. The depot from where the photo was taken suffered only minor damage and still stands.
3D Satellite, depot
The ICG abandoned the M&O so it is harder to find the route it used through town. But the combination of the diagonal treeline along the west side of the high school and the comment saying it was near 17th street allows us to find the depot. A streetview indicates that they have done restoration work on the depot. The curved wall makes it easy to spot the roundhouse. (Streetview)
Satellite, roundhouse

Because of the water tower in the background, this concrete pad may have been the floor of the freight house. But certain details do not look correct in a 1938 photo.

Rj Ihle shared Bob Delia Weston's photo.
Former GM&O depot in Murphysboro, Il. undergoing restoration. It survived the massive 1925 Tri-state tornado that obliterated the M&O shops just a few blocks north, except for the roundhouse which still stands and has been re-purposed over the years.

Murphysboro Main Street posted
We love the image of the Old Depot with its two-circled piece of equipment for train crews to pick up orders, etc. alongside the tracks.
Your support is greatly appreciated with the restoration as the financing continues at: https://www.facebook.com/donate/274448861055760/2142817239188801/.
.
📷 W.C. Thurman/John P. Kohlberg
.
RJ Ihle shared
GM&O depot Murphysboro, IL probably '70s. Photographer unknown.
Dennis DeBruler commented on Stephen's comment
I've heard the term "iron man" because it replaces a man holding up a train order hoop. The high one is for the engineer and the low one is for the conductor. In the photo, they are lowered so that orders can be loaded. Then the agent will use the "circle" to crank them into the up position.
Bill Molony is holding a hoop at the preserved Symerton Wabash Depot in Lockport, IL.
 
8 years later I came across a photo of the ironman in action.
Stephen N. Branon posted
Catching orders on the fly from the caboose of a northbound GM&O freight at Murphysboro, Illinois.
Richard Fiedler shared
Mark Stoeckel: Former Alton “Santa Fe” style caboose
Cliff Kierstead shared

John P. Kohlberg posted three images with the comment: "The roundhouse at Murphysboro, Ill., came up in a post a week or so ago. Here are a few images from LIFE magazine circa 1949."
Patrick Provart Is that the Life article on dieselization?
John P. Kohlberg Yes
1

2

3
Loren Hatch commented on the above posting
Loren Hatch How it looked in May 2010. Shot through a chain link fence.Edward Bridges Still looks like this to this very day...
The number of stalls may have been cut back a little, but not very much. I have seen backshops added to roundhouses before. But this is the first time I have seen a "fronthouse" added to the arc at the front of a roundhouse.
1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Murphysboro Main Street posted
RJ Ihle shared
GM&O depot Murphysboro, IL. Date and photographer unknown.
Dennis DeBruler shared
I've seen several photos of engineers getting their train orders. It is nice to see photos of conductors getting their orders.


1938 Murphysboro Quad @ 62,500

Walnut Street is across the south end, and Gartside Street is across the north.
1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP



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