Summit, IL: GM&O/C&A Depot

(Satellite)

C&A = Chicago & Alton Railroad

Bill Molony posted

The Chicago & Alton depot at Summit, Illinois - undated.

Photographer unknown.

From the Blackhawk collection.

Bill Molony posted

Gulf, Mobile & Ohio EMD F3A #880-B, southbound at Summit, Illinois with train #11, the un-named all-stops local operating from Chicago to St. Louis back in November of 1948.

Photograph by Robert G. Lewis.

From the Blackhawk collection.

Rodney D Zona: Old GM&O RR Bloomington, IL based passenger train crews worked Bloomington-St Louis-Chicago-Bloomington. Bloomington, IL based engine crews worked to and from Chicago.

Bill Molony shared

Bill Molony posted

Comments on Bill's second post

Because of the curve in the track in the top photo, I found the depot on the northwest side of town. (yellow rectangle)

1928 Berwyn Quadrangle @ 1:24,000
Dennis DeBruler commented on Bill's share
I never realized how the advent of cars can impact a downtown until I studied this depot. In this 1928 topo map, we can see that there was a downtown along Archer Avenue close to the depot and where the Chicago & Joliet Electric Interurban turned east. Now Archer joins Harlem Avenue and 59th Street as just another commercial strip.

 

Chris Goepel posted
Circa 1910 postcard view of the Chicago & Alton depot at Summit (Cook County), Illinois.
Richard Fiedler: Summit must have been fairly sparsely populated back around 1900. The agent and his family would have lived on the second story. Railroads in the Midwest especially in Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and other western areas built a lot of 2 story depots because of a shortage of housing in tiny towns but not so much in Illinois. The C&A however had quite a few two story depots of similar design on their lines.
Chris Goepel: Richard Fiedler exactly. Summit was still basically out in the country in the early 20th century. The restored C&A depot at Higginsville, MO, is pretty similar to this one, I believe. Still a smaller and svelter two-story C&A depot offsite at Farber, MO, too.
[Some comments identify other towns that had similar depots.]

Thomas Dyrek commented on Richard's comment
Lexington, Illinois still stands.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Chris' post
Because of the curve in the background of the photo, I was able to identify the location of the depot.
1928 Berwyn Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

Today, the "depot" is a glorified bus stop.

Street View