Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Belpre, OH: B&O Depot and 1913 Flood

(Satellite)

Jeff Hill posted
1913 flood. Belpre, Ohio B&O railroad station. Taken from Depot Street. Center and to the right over the hill is the present location of the Belpre High School football stadium. Note the Ohio River railroad bridge to the left of picture in the distance. Also note the height of the water. This was on the Washington-St. Louis main line. Jeff Hill collection.
Jeff Hill posted with the same description

So, in the above photo, these tracks were under water and the depot, along with the mainline tracks, were up on the embankment to the right.
Street View, Sep 2019

1969 Parkersburg Quad @ 24,000

EarthExplorer: Apr 8, 1955 @ 29,000; AR1VEE000010035


Silverton, CO: Durango & Silverton/D&RG Depot

(Satellite)

Jim Pearson Photography posted
Denver and Rio Grande Western Silverton Station sits under the stary skies, with the Milky Way to the left, at Silverton, Colorado on October 16th, 2023.
According to Wikipedia: The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on 45.2 mi (72.7 km) of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a federally designated National Historic Landmark and was also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968.
Tech Info: Nikon D810, RAW, Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm, f/2.8, 30 seconds, ISO 800.

Paul Blwer, Sep 2022







Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Maroa, IL: Illinois Terminal/Pennsy Depot

(Satellite, the grain elevator reused the land to build an office)

Andy Zukowski posted
IC southbound at Maroa, IL in November of 1967. Maroa was where the Pennsylvania later Penn Central, then Illinois Terminal, joined up with the IC's Charter Line using trackage rights on the IC south to Decatur, IL.
Jim Fleming: I think the elevator office stands here today.

Jim's comment confirms I was correct about it being the rectangle just north of Main Street on the east side of the tracks.
1941 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

The two grain elevators south of Main Street have become one large elevator. It includes some classic slip-form silos.
Street View, Aug 2013

I was not aware that Pennsy had a branch in this area of Illinois, so I investigated further. That branch went Northwest to Peoria.
1958 Peoria Quad @ 250,000

It used the IC to get through Decatur and then headed east and connected with Pennsy's mainline to St. Louis on the east side of the state at Farrington.
1958 Decatur and 1957 Indianapolis Quads @ 250,000






Houghton, MI: SOO/Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railyard and Cabooses

(Satellite, not only is the railroad gone, so is the industry)

Rob Kitchen posted
Quiet time in Houghton, Michigan (1975). There are three red wooden cabooses in this view.
Darin Umlauft: A great view of what was. I will be parking my car in the "yard" this weekend as I am visiting my daughter (a junior at Michigan Tech) and going the Northern Michigan - Michigan Tech hockey game.
Dennis DeBruler shared
I found just one red caboose.
Joe Boscoe: SOO cabooses had yellow ends but Red sides…
Dennis DeBruler: Now that I know to look for it, I can see the red on the right-hand caboose.
 
Rob Kitchen posted
Houghton, Michigan, 1975 - The plywood shelter is for the Mining Gazette's forklift. They regularly received boxcars with newsprint rolls.
Thomas Moulds: We used to spot the caboose in front of the depot and I would run a extention cord and plug in to the depot for electricity when I lived in that caboose that wY I had t.v.
Aaron Grace shared
Gone.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Darin's comment
There were two railyards along the shore. Your comment allowed me to determine that this yard was the eastern one. The map labels that railroad as Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic. The railroad on the west side of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge is labeled Copper Range.
1946 Chassell Quad @ 24,000

Rob Kitchen posted
This view gives you a better idea of how East Houghton looked in 1976. I'm coming down Lake Street. Off to the left is Hamar-Quandt. Through the tree on the right is the Soo Line freight station. The vertical yellow posts in front of the car protect a switch stand. Today's Super8 would be pretty much between the semi truck and the vertical tanks behind the train.
Andrew Balcom: How far north does the train go now?
Aaron Grace: Andrew Balcom The tracks I believe are in place to Baraga, MI, but I believe service is as far as L'Anse, MI.
Barry Williams: Aaron Grace soon to be taken up from L'Anse to Baraga

Rob Kitchen posted
Houghton, Michigan, 1975, with a boxcar of newsprint spotted.
Rob Cioletti: Nice caboose reflection in the window.
[Some comments confirm this was the freight house.]

Mike Patrick posted two photos with the comment: "Copper Range yard in Houghton MI 9-65, wished now I had explored more, but time was short on the one or two day trips from southeastern Wisconsin."
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[A comment indicates that the wood structure in the middle "it is probably a snow fence to protect the yard from drifts off Portage Lake/Canal."]

Paul Meier commented on Mike's post
I had a bit more time and opportunity to explore the yard before it was ruined by Chutes and Ladders. It was a great place. Copper Range Coal bins with Van Arden coal bridge in the background.



Newport, MN: Newport (KT) Tower: Rock Island vs. CB&Q + Milwaukee

(Satellite, just north of 11th St. extended and east of the tracks. (Google Maps broke their pin dropping in Jan 2024.))

It controlled the connection to the former Rock Island Bridge and some crossovers. Crossovers between the CP/Milw and BNSF/CB&Q tracks still exist

Ira Silverman posted
On joint track with BN
Kevin Kriigel: looking at compensators in the pipeline you can adjust there
[Fortunately, some comments identified this as Newport. I'm so glad that the photographer included the signalling pipelines. I understand that one of the purposes of the compensator is to absorb the expansions and contractions due to temperature changes.]

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[An example of how the signalling pipelines can go around a curve.]

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EarthExplorer: May 9, 1947 @ 17,000; AR1DV0000050103

This information was moved here from Four Towers.
1950 St Paul Park and 1951 Inver Grove Quads @ 1:24,000

Trainorders

Monday, January 29, 2024

Shippensburg, PA: Pennsy Pennroad (SF) Tower

(Satellite)

(I used to drop a pin on a tower's historical location, but I quit doing that because Google Maps now moves the location of the pin. And the amount of the error depends on the zoom factor. I do hope they fix that bug.)

This tower was at the junction of Pennsy's Cumberland Valley and a connection to the Reading Railroad. Today, just the connection exists. The Pennsy no longer runs north through town like it used to.

Steven Allen Pinterest

Darren Reynolds posted seven photos with the comment:
PRRs "Pennroad" (SF) tower
Shippensburg ,Pennsylvania
1
The Operator at "Pennroad" tower is Hooping up
Train orders to a Conrail coal train. 1981
Photo By: Jim Bradley
Bill Schrum: Looks like switch in foreground is normally lined to the right, train is diverging to the left off the Rdg main to a siding. PRR enters from the left from switch at the engine pilot. (corrections?)
[There are still two signalling pipelines left.]

2
With the train order board out a local is doing some switching on the siding at "Pennroad"tower Jan.24,1976
Photo By: Jim Bradley
[Jim's photos give us a good view of a Pennsy Position Light Signal.]

3
"Pennroad" towers Model board and interlocking machine. Note
The table interlocking machine for Shippensburg
Photo By:N&W historical society

4
Inside of "Pennroad" tower
N&W historical society

5
Operator at "Pennroad" Copying form 19 train orders. June 8,1978
Photo By: Jim Bradley
Ken Jamin: I LOVE that patched up old chair!!

6
Operator lining up the interlocking for the next train. "Pennroad" tower June 8,1978
Photo By: Jim Bradley

7
PRR steam locomotive #3527 passing "Pennroad" tower. No date
DD Barley collection

1942 Shippensburg Quad @ 62,500

EarthExplorer: Mar 29, 1965 @ 19,000; AR1VAYA00020006

Darren Reynolds posted 6 photos

Batavia, NY: DL&W/NYC Roundhouse and Bridges

Bridges: (Satellite, only the northern one is left.)
Roundhouse: (Satellite)

DL&W = Depew, Lancaster & Western Railroad

The blue building is the roundhouse.
Street View, Aug 2019

Street View, Jul 2022

Memories of Batavia,Ny posted
The one on the right, looks like an erector set bridge, if you zoom in, you can see people on the tracks. The Greg B collection
Monica Irwin: Where?
Michael Dow: Monica Irwin Batavia over the tondawa looking.from route 98. Only one of the bridges
is still there
Mantonia Medina shared

Dennis DeBruler answered Monica's question
 https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9949026,-78.1913541,155m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu
As a bonus, I found a roundhouse.

1950 Batavia South Quad @ 24,000

The roundhouse has just two stalls so it uses a turnout instead of a turntable.
Satellite