Towns and Nature: October 2026

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Valdez, AK: Abandoned Barley Grain Elevator, Cruise Ship, Oil Docks and Museum

Elevator: (Satellite, 3x3 bins is unusual.)

Cruise Ships: (Satellite)

Oil Docks: (see below)

I didn't know grain crops could be grown this far north.

Robert Houtwed posted two photos with the comment:

These 112 foot [24m] tall grain silos that held 522,000 bushels are located on the outskirts of Valdez, Alaska on ammunition island. They were built in the late 70’s during an oil boom to export barley but are no longer in use. They are currently owned by the city of Valdez as part of their port ground.

While looking for the elevator, I discovered that cruise ships can dock at this town.

Street View, Aug 2026

Julio Petrovitch, Sep 2023

And I'm reminded that Valdez is the southern terminus of the 800 mile (1,287km) pipeline to Prudhoe Bay. I presume this is where the tankers are loaded. It looks like they have a couple of loading docks.

Satellite

They also have a museum with some displays unique to Alaska. For example:

Kevin Vakalis, Jun 2025

And the museum also has some generic history such as this jukebox.

Kevin Vakalis, Jun 2025

Berlin, NH: Ingy's Ice Cream/Boston & Main Depot

(Satellite)

East Side:

Street View, Aug 2025

West Side:

Street View, Aug 2025

This shows that the tracks were on the west side.

Marty Bernard posted
B&M Berlin, NH depot in April 1989

1942/48 Gorham Quad @ 62,500

The bridge for the Grand Trunk industrial spur still exists.

1942/48 Gorham Quad @ 62,500

Seney, MI: Museum/SOO/DSS&A Depot and Grand Elk Railroad

(Satellite, the depot must have been moved to get it off of railroad property.)

DSS&A = Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic, it became part of SOO.

Street View, Jun 2025

Jeff Dennis posted
For the Hemingway Fans, the depot where the Two Hearted River adventure began, after World War I, still exists in Upper Michigan, on the former DSS&A.— in Seney, MI.

Rob Groesbeck: Early riders claimed that "DSS&A" stood for, "Damned Slow Service & Abuse".

The railroad was the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic.

1931/31 Seney SW Quad @ 31,680

And then SOO.

1972/75 Seney Quad @ 24,000

And now it is Grand Elk (GDLK).

rail.guide

watco

Saturday, October 3, 2026

Palmerton, PA: 1909 CNJ Depot

(Satellite)

Street View, Jul 2025

While looking for a view with better lighting, I discovered that a lot of trees have been cut down. All of the trees on the left are now gone.

Street View, Oct 2018

Mark Schwartz posted
Palmerton Train Station (1909) in Palmerton, PA.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Mark's post
It was a CNJ depot. It is the only railroad that still exists, and NS has it. The topo map is 1960 Palmerton Quad @ 24,000. The location is https://maps.app.goo.gl/UXhitqc3cJhuATaW6.

rail.guide

Tunkhannock, PA: Lehigh Valley (LV) Depot and US-6

(Satellite?, I could not find it.)

US-6 Overview

Lehigh Valley Railroad & Railroad Photography posted
My grandfather Jack Koehler photographed the Lehigh Valley Railroad station in Tunkhannock, PA on October 20, 1971. The station still stands but in bad shape.

A lot of the railroad property was used to build the new US-6 route around the downtown.

1948/48 Tunkhannock Quad @ 24,000

The branch is abandoned, and the single track going through the area is now owned by Reading & Northern.

rail.guide

Tunkhannock is on the branch to goes to Mehoopany.

rbmnrr_map via Dennis DeBruler

Brownsville, PA: Abandoned Union Station (Monongahela and P&LE) and US-40 (National Road)

(Satellite)

US-40 Overview

Street View, May 2023

Abandoned by Sherman Cahal posted six photos with the comment:

Union Station once served the Monongahela Railway in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Beyond ticketing booths for the railroad's passenger operations, it held shops and businesses, a restaurant, and offices for both the railroad and the local community. The Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie used the station as well.
Passenger service out of the building ended in 1954. The offices were phased out by 1993, after the Monongahela was merged into Conrail. At one point the deteriorating station was proposed as the centerpiece of a riverfront development with a floating casino, a wharf, and a marina—but riverboat gambling failed to pass, and the plans died with it. The last tenant left 26 years ago.
🔗 https://abandonedonline.net/location/union-station/
For more photographs and the full history, visit Abandoned, an independent, ad-supported website that has been documenting abandoned and historic places for 26 years. Every visit helps keep this work going by supporting travel, research, photography, and website hosting.

Abandoned by Sherman Cahal shared

This map made it easy to find the train station. It also shows how US-40 used to use the Market Street and Bridge Boulevard Bridges when it went through town. See Lane Bridge for the current US-40 crossing of the Monongahela River.

1954/55 California Quad @ 24,000

P&LE = Pittsburgh & Lake Erie

Since the Monongahela remained independent until it was shoved into Conrail, I use the label "rrOther" for it. Only the two routes along the river have survived, and NS got both of them when Conrail was broken up. This map also shows both the old and new routings of US-40 through the area.

rail.guide

Friday, October 2, 2026

Centerville, IA: Old Sinclair Gas Station

(Satellite)

Street View, Jun 2024

Jeff Brozovich posted
Current Photo taken today [Sep 29, 2026] in Centerville Iowa.

Boyd, MN: Wood Grain Elevators

East: (Satellite)

West: (Satellite)

Looking North:

Street View, Aug 2025

Wesley Peters posted three photos with the comment:

Grain Elevator Photography Trip 2, North Dakota/South Dakota/Minnesota.
Boyd, Lac qui Parle County, MN.
Northwest Complex- Farmers Elevator Co. Square top headhouse built before 1955 (exact year unknown). Bushel capacity unknown.
Southeast Complex- Early history unknown.
Photographed on 7/20/2025.
Photos courtesy of Wesley Peters.

John Harker: SE Complex still in use

Owned by Prairie Grain Partners of Clarkfield Minnesota

PrairieGrainPartners

The railroad was the C&NW.

1965/66 Boyd Quad @ 24,000

A satellite image shows that the tracks still exist. And it looks like all three road crossing were reconstructed rather recently.

Google, Oct 25, 2024

To my surprise, because UP bought C&NW, this route is now owned by BNSF.

rail.guide

And this map agrees.

National Rail Network Map

St. Louis Park, MN: 1887 Moved/Milwaukee Depot and Pavek & Bakken Museums

Original: (Satellite, according to the topo map and aerial photo below, the Wooddale Ave. Station reuses the depot's land.)

Current: (Satellite)

Pavek Museum of Electronic Communication: (Satellite)

The Bakken Museum: (Satellite)

I guess the station is now a park pavilion.

Street View, Apr 2025

Al Hennen posted four photos with the comment: "found this on my bike ride in St.Louis Park Minn."

Since the Milwaukee tracks were south of the Minneapolis & St. Louis tracks, the station would be south of the tracks. So it looks like it would be the rectangle just east of Wooddale Avenue.