Towns and Nature

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Clive, IA: Milwauke Road Depot

Christopher Robert posted two photos with the comment:

There's a popular tale in the Des Moines area as to how Clive, Iowa got its name.
The story goes to the effect of the Milwaukee Road's freight agent was named Clive. When a package for the area that Clive served arrived at the REA station in Des Moines, they would write CLIVE on the package and send it on to him.
Although I've never been able to verify this claim, it sort of makes sense in that the city of Clive occupies a long, relatively narrow strip, about a mile on either side of the Milwaukee Road ROW.
There is a restored Clive depot in Swanson Memorial Park, but looking at an actual picture of the Clive depot, it makes me think the restored depot is actually a replica of an earlier depot.

Scott White: https://www.notesoniowa.com/.../iowa-history-daily-august... Looks identical in this photo.

NoteOnIowa

Fred Butt posted nine photos with the comment: "Delivery in Clive Iowa just west of DesMoines today and next door was the restored Clive Milwaukee RR depot. So I took these pictures."

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Dennis DeBruler shared
It is on display next to the Milwaukee Road depot in Clive, IA.

Dennis DeBruler commented on his share
I had trouble finding it because the caboose and depot have been moved off of railroad property. This remnant of the Milwaukee is now owned by IAIS.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6060334,-93.7373799,49a,35y,39.46t/data=!3m1!1e3

Clive Police Department posted

***Quick Update***

Just to address a few questions. The City was not the owner of the caboose. It was sold by the Historical Society to new owners in Missouri. Any road closures will hopefully be brief. Swanson Boulevard should be the only street affected, and businesses in the Swanson Depot will can still be accessed from NW 86th if need be.

***Caboose on the Loose***

If you're in the area of NW 86th and Swanson Boulevard tomorrow, March 12th from noon to 2 pm, there will likely be some road closures and delays in the area as the caboose at Swanson Memorial Park is moved from it's current location to a new home.

Unfortunately, the Clive Historical Society had to shut down, and that includes getting rid of the caboose that has sat there for years. The Swanson House and Depot will remain for now, but if you're looking for something to do tomorrow, come on down and help us bid farewell. It should be a sight.

Clive History Museum

Chris Collings shared

Bernie Wagenblast: More photos of the depot and the move. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/.../see.../82337539007/

Two of the many photos in DesMoinesRegester:

a, Lily Smith/The Register

b, Lily Smith/The Register

St. Albans, WV: 1906 C&O Depot

(Satellite)

Street View

Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society posted

Today in the Kanawha Valley, C&OHS at the St. Albans Depot celebrates the City of St. Albans, WV's railroad heritage for the holiday season!

Featuring new exhibits for December, a gift shop restocked, and with the one-of-a-kind depot decorated for the holidays, we look forward to seeing our friends who have supported our mission in West Virginia!

Saturday, December 7, 2024, 10 AM to 2 PM

St. Albans C&O Depot

400 4th Ave, St. Albans, WV 25177-2829

Our friends and next-door neighbors at the St. Albans Historical Society, WV will also be open, making today a wonderful day to share and learn about our history in western Kanawha County.

Answers to your railroading questions and photos will also be part of the event, and as always, stories from the C&O Railway to Amtrak will be told to all in attendance by current and retired railroaders.

Jim Pearson Photography posted
WAITING ON A TRAIN - Sitting here at the old C&O depot at St. Albans, WV waiting on a train on November 3rd, 2022. Been here about 40 minutes so far and don’t need to be at Cass Scenic Railroad until late. Next stop from here is Thurmond, WV.
Tech: iPhone 14 Pro
It was built in 1906.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Jim's post
I learned just yesterday [while studying the coaling tower in Peach Creek] that a CSX/C&O branch leaves the mainline in St. Albans to serve the coal country to the south. According to the 2004 SPV Map, CSX still serves most of these "tendrils" in the mountians. Every, "crossed pickaxe" icon marks the tipple of a mine.
1957 Charleston and Bluefield Quads @ 250,000

Friday, November 4, 2022

Peach Creek, WV: C&O Railyard, Roundhouse and Coal Tower

Railyard: (Satellite)

Roundhouse: (Satellite, it still has a turntable)

Ron Flanary posted
Two B&O GP30s have fallen from grace as mainline power and now take a breather from mine run duties at the former C&O's Peach Creek engine terminal in Logan County, West Virginia. This was where the last gasp of C&O steam in regular service took place, in 1956. The date for this Kodachrome exposure was September 24, 1986.
Randall Hampton shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on Randall's share
Fortunately, the unique shadow of the coaling tower makes it easy to spot in this 1957 aerial photo. I included part of the railyard to show how many coal cars were in storage. I see in a satellite image that the turntable still exists.
EarthExplorer: Apr 15, 1957 @ 31,000, AR1VQI000020087

This excerpt is tall because I wanted to show how C&O had to stretch out the railyard to squeeze more tracks in between the river and the mountain. Since I had the room, I also included the branch to the east along Peach Creek because it shows a conveyor served a couple of mines.

1963 Henlawson and Logan Quads @ 24,000

Speaking of tall excerpts, I grabbed this one to show that the branch that served Peach Creek left the C&O mainline way up north at Barboersville, WV. But the main reason for this excerpt is to show that there were a bunch of "tendrils" south of Peach Creek serving various coal mines. (Look for the "crossed picks" tipple icon.) According to my 1928 RR Atlas, the tendrils went as far south as Gilbert and as far east as Three Forks. Note that the C&O had another branch that went south of the mainline from St. Albans to serve coal mines on the east side of a mountain ridge. (Save the image to disk and use a photo viewing app to zoom and pan.) According to my 2004 SPV Map, quite a few of those tenrils south of Peach Creek were still owned by CSX.

1957 Charleston, Jenkins, Bluefield and Huntington Quads @ 250,000

Thursday, November 3, 2022

St. Joseph, MI: Amtrak/PM Depot, Lost/MC Roundhouse and Lafarge Cement

Depot: (Satellite)

Roundhouse: (Satellite, Fishermans Road reuses the MC right-of-way.)

Cement: (Satellite)

Street View, Sep 2019

Locomotive Jordan posted
Summer 1992 - 1993, CSX - Amtrak's depot on the former Pere Marquette in Saint Joseph, MI. One of my photos.
Jim Kelling shared
St. Joseph, Michigan (former Pere Marquette/C&O now Amtrak)

Andy Gras posted two photos with the comment: "Chessie's St. Joe Passenger station and swing bridge. St. Joseph Michigan. 1982."

Andy Gras shared

Michigan Central Roundhouse

Jim Kelling posted two photos with the comment: "Roundhouse at St. Joseph, Michigan (circa 1920 data)"

Chuck Dressel: Michigan Central roundhouse and turntable located just north (maybe 75-100 ft) of what is now "1424 Newberry Hills Ln, St Joseph, MI". https://www.google.com/.../data=!4m6!3m5... https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4114sm.g041841913/?sp=15&st=image&r=-0.984,-0.068,2.968,1.315,0

The Sanborn link

Was it gone by 1927, or was there not enough room to show it?

1927/64 Benton Harbor Quad @ 62,500

I included the swing bridge in the lower-right corner that allowed MC to cross the island.

Apr 20, 1969 @ 20,000; AR1VCEV00010046

1969 was too optimistic, so I got the oldest aerial that was available. I still don't see it.

Sep 8, 1952 @ 69,000; ARA000950071085

Lafarge Cement

I continue to learn that there are a lot of cement facilities around the Great Lakes.

Street View, Sep 2019

Street View, Sep 2007

Ron Scudder posted
LaFarge Holcim Tug / Barge combination G. L. Ostrander and Integrity offloading cement in Saint Joseph, Michigan this afternoon (11/2/22).

The freighters have to squeeze through a swing bridge to get here, the (CSX+Amtrak)Pere Marquette Bridge.

Street View, Sep 2019

I recognize Alpena as a freighter designed to carry cement.

Michael Moran commented on Nick's post via Dennis DeBruler
Always fun to watch a freighter come through the bridge.

And this satellite image caught a barge at the dock.

Satellite via Dennis DeBruler

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Chicago, IL Depot: 67th Street Station

(Satellite)

The South Chicago Branch used a tunnel just south of here to join the IC mainline.

Robert Daly posted six photos with the comment: "IC's 67th Street station was already closed when I took these photos on Feb 12 1989. I may have climbed up the embankment to get to the platforms. The south end of the platforms gave a great view of the junction with the South Chicago branch which was controlled by the adjacent tower."

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[67th Street Tower]

6
[This is looking South and shows were the South Chicago Branch came out of the tunnel to join the mainline.]

David Daruszka commented on Robert's post
We would occasionally use the 67th Street platform for passenger transfers at night between the mainline trains and the South Chicago "loop". Here's an earlier photo when the platform was in use.