Clayton, IL: Lost/Wabash Depot, Roundhouse and Water Tower

Depot: (Satellite)

Roundhouse: (Satellite, the land has been repurposed)

Andy Zukowski posted
The Wabash Railroad, Depot and Round House in Clayton, Illinois. C1910 Photo by CU Williams
Steven Zickar: Way back when the Meridosia Branch went all the way to Keokuk.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Steven's comment
 The Meredosia Branch also went to Quincy, IL. I learned that when I studied a photo of the Wabash depot in Quincy. In fact, the Meredosia Branch split into the two different routes in Clayton. The curved track we see in Andy's photo goes north to Keokuk while the track on the left side of the photo continues West and joins the CB&Q route in Camp Point, IL.
 https://idot.illinois.gov/.../1928-historic-rail-map.pdf
Larry Candilas: Dennis DeBruler On the 1928 map it looks like there were parallel tracks but on older maps it looks like Wabash had trackage rights on the CB&Q. Was this always the Wabash, and was it the main route of the branch with the Clayton to Keokuk line a branch of the branch?
Dennis DeBruler: Larry Candilas I think the parallel red and blue lines is IDOT's way of showing shared usage of a route. The 2005 SPV Map shows that Wabash used CB&Q's track.
Ever since I wrote the notes about the Wabash depot in Quincy, I wondered if the bridge across the Illinois river was built with the intention to go to Quincy or to Keokuk or to both.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
This 1938 aerial photo shows the depot between the branch that curves north to Keokuk and the branch that continues straight to Quincy. But the roundhouse appears to be gone already.
 https://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/webdocs/ilhap/county/data/adams/flight6/00sa191745.jpg

Larry Candilas commented on Andy's post
Why an engine house in the not-so-booming town of Clayton? Maybe somebody can help with this mystery concerning a branch-line leaving the Keokuk line and going west to Camp Point where it connected with the CB&Q mainline to Quincy. Here it is on the 1872 county map and it's still there on the 1928 state map. Anybody know anything about this?
Andy Hughes: Larry Candilas Sure the steam engines required a huge amount of maintenance and a balance had to be struck between a centralized maintenance point and a smaller one to help expedite things along. When diesels came in the efficiencies were enormous. With a small branch line engine they could do a patch job and then when a relief engine is dropped off at Bluffs they can make a switch. Then the engine either gets fixed at Springfield mini shops or Decatur. The faster the fix, the better. In the mid fifties Trains Mag had a farewell to Wabash steam. Here, we had the Mogul 576 hanging on because the rickety (yet beautiful) bridge across the Ill River at Meredosia couldn’t handle a GP-9. This really beautiful engine is in the StL transport museum in Kirkwood. The end came and sadly the line was cutoff at Meredosia. With the bridge gone, Wab got trackage rights on the Burlington to gain access to Keokuk, IA. My custom license plate was WAB 576 (?). Kinda forgot the last digit but I’ll never forget the beautiful lines of her.
Dennis DeBruler: Larry Candilas There is a photo of the Wabash depots in Quincy and Camp Point in these notes:
https://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/2016/06/quincy-il-wabash-depot.html

Marilyn Sidwell posted
Clayton,IL
David Hahn: Does one line go to Keokuk and the other Camp Point?
Bill Edrington: David Hahn - Yes. The Wabash abandoned the Clayton-Camp Point line in the 1930s.
North of Green Street between Madison and Monroe. Here is a link to a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing the location:
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104cm.g017961898/?sp=2&r=-0.127,0.275,1.252,0.659,0

 

Sanborn Map

The town's grain elevator has a bunch of small bins in addition to some big bins. It also had the "walls" for a ground pile.

Street View, May 2012

The collection of really small bins and a couple of feed trucks indicates that it is also a feed mill.

Street View, May 2012