Oakford, IL: Lost/C&IM/CP&StL Depot and Water Tower

(Satellite, an existing building won't let me drop a pin where I want it. The depot was west of the tracks and just north of Center Street.)

C&IM = Chicago & Illinois Midland

CP&StL = Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis

Andy Zukowski posted
Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis Railroad Depot in Oakford, Illinois. C.1910
Richard Fiedler shared

DaVe Durham posted

The 2nd C&IM Oakford Depot, formerly located at Atterbury, which replaced the 1st Oakford Depot after it burned down in 1907.

ALPLM/C&IM COLLECTION/UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER.

DaVe Durham: Fire was a HUGE risk way back when. Possibly one of the motivations for Sanborn Maps?

Chicago Peoria & St Louis Railroad History Buffs shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on DaVe's comment

Fire was THE motivation for Sanborn Maps. Their customers were fire insurance companies. That is why you will see details like coal storage, water supply, wall construction and hose lengths on the maps. https://digital.library.illinois.edu/.../ca3321d0-c457...

Andy Zukowski posted
Chicago Peoria & St. Louis Railroad Depot at Oakford, Illinois 1908

Andy Zukowski posted
Chicago & Illinois Midland 4-4-0 No. 500 with Train No. 6 has screeched to a halt during an emergency stop at the Oakford water tank. Oakford, Illinois. May 20, 1952
[Comments point out that the rear wheel of the tender and the legs of the guy kneeling are missing. AI generation would also explain why the water tower has windows.]

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Street View, Aug 2013