Towns and Nature: Yankton, SD: 1905 Milwaukee Depot

Street View, Nov 2021

Jim Arvites posted

View of the old Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad passenger depot at Yankton, South Dakota. The station, built in 1905, is still standing today.

(Wikimedia)

Nicholas Roche: In Chicagoland, the right of ways for defunct railroads were turned into bicycle paths to give the right of ways purpose - and to prevent other things from being built along them. This is in case of a national emergency, economic or technological shift that will require the RoW to be used again in the future - without tearing down houses. Is this the case for the MILW? Or does this only happen in urban areas? [See my answer below with the SD railroad map.]

Jeene Hobbs posted six photos with the comment: "Yankton, SD. Corner of 8th and Douglas Ave. September 27, 2026."

Carolyn Guthrie: Former MILW depot.

It looks like GN and C&NW had branches to this town while the Milwaukee went through the town. (This is the first big town that I remember that does not have any hi-res topo maps.)

This town existed before the railroads did because it had steamboat service. [yankton]

1955/67 Sioux City Quad @ 250,000

BN bought the Milwaukee route and abandoned its GN route. BNSF still owns the route.

sdgoed
Dennis DeBruler commented on Nicholas' comment
In this case, BN bought this part of the Milwaukee route, and BNSF still owns it. https://sdgoed.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/rail-map.pdf

sdgoed

While trying to figure out what route Dakota Southern operates, I discovered that Milwaukee went in two directions west of Yankton.

1955/67 Sioux City Quad @ 250,000

I didn't think the storage elevator had rail service until I saw that yellow conveyor on the left. This is another indication that a fall protector is not required.