Thursday, June 5, 2025

Blackwell, OK: Santa Fe Depot and Steam Locmotive & Caboose

Depot: (Satellite)
Locomotive: (Satellite)

Street View, Jun 2024

Street View, Jun 2024

Jim Arvites posted
View of the old Santa Fe Railroad passenger depot at Blackwell, Oklahoma in 1920. The station, built in 1916, is still standing today.
(Jim Arvites Collection)

This big grain elevator looks abandoned.
Street View, Jun 2024

Does a small grain elevator actually get rail service or is the railroad just storing hoppers on that siding?
Street View, Jun 2024

1 comment:

  1. "Does a small grain elevator actually get rail service or is the railroad just storing hoppers on that siding?"

    Short answer: At the time of that photo, those hoppers were likely in storage and not going anywhere since the operating railroad wasn't very "active."

    Long answer: That line *was* served by Blackwell Northern before the railroad was shut down by the Federal Railroad Administration in Feb 2024. It was subsequently leased to another company who apparently did not fulfill their contractual obligations. As of March '25, another new operator has been handed the long-term lease and hopefully there is now some movement on that line.

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