Towns and Nature

Monday, March 3, 2025

Fowlerville, MI: CSX/Pere Marquette Depot

Durand Union Station-Michigan Railroad History Museum posted two photos with the comment:

Today’s featured depot is the Pere Marquette Station in Fowlerville 🚂
Fowlerville is in Livingston County, northwest of Howell. The town would become a village in 1871.
The top photo shows the predecessor to Fowlerville's current depot. The old depot (in the black and white photo) was destroyed in 1909 by a tornado. Afterwards, a new depot was ordered to be constructed, and that is the one people think of today.
Eventually, the depot would fall under CSX ownership and was used by track section crews. However, as of September 2023, the depot was still standing, however it was boarded up and appears to no longer be in use.
_________________________________________________
Sources:
Unknown Author. "Station: Fowlerville, MI". Michigan Railroads. https://www.michiganrailroads.com/.../1276-fowlerville-mi.
Citations for photos are in the caption of each photo.

Mike Rohkohl: For those interested, the Pere Marquette depot from Howell, constructed in 1872, was moved to the Fowlerville Fairgrounds and is open to the public, as part of their historical village.

It is strikingly similar to the original Fowlerville depot.

Durand Union Station-Michigan Railroad History Museum: Mike Rohkohl Yes! Here is a link to our post about the Howell PM Depot from July of 2023: https://www.facebook.com/durandstation/posts/pfbid0LJ3qLBGx68V3Ri2V7tapHyAAX4t3SbMfsa44gfvdxa7B6pBCfWKycDr8f2i1M9VWl

1, at Facebook resolution
"P.M. Depot - Mich.". Circa 1900. Michigan Railroads. https://www.michiganrailroads.com/.../1276-fowlerville-mi. Accessed 05 February 2025.

2
Gross, E. "Fowlerville, MI". 08 September 2001. Railroad Michigan. https://www.railroadmichigan.com/rrdfowlerville.jpg. Accessed 06 February 2025.

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Gunnison, CO: D&RG Roundhouse, Coaling Tower, Depot & Airport/Railyard and DSP&P Roundhouse

Roundhouse: (Satellite)

Coaling Tower: (Satellite)

Depot: (Satellite?)

DSP&P Roundhouse: (Satellite)

DSP&P = Denver South Park & Pacific

The railyard was kind of along Rio Grande Avenue.

Richard Crabtree posted two photos with the comment:

Photo 1) Denver & Rio Grande Western Roundhouse, Turntable & Yard in Gunnison, Colorado. We see D&RGW No. 482 K-36 2-8-2 Mikado (1925), D&RGW No. 268 C-16 2-8-0 Consolidation (Baldwin 1882) & D&RGW No. 480 K-36 2-8-2 Mikado (1925).
July 3rd 1952
D&RGW No. 482 K-36 2-8-2 Mikado (1925)
Photo 2) View of Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad flanger plows "OE" and"OK," spreader plow "OV," and freight cars in Gunnison , Colorado.
In the Background is D&RGW No. 361 2-8-0 Consolidation by the Roundhouse.
May 30 1949
Photo Robert "Uncle Bob" William Richardson
DPLDC

Ross Milla: The RR sold the roundhouse and grounds to the county when the RR abandoned the Gunnison lines. The county used the roundhouse and other buildings for about 10 years before there was a fire. Not sure how much was left but believe they tore everything down then and that was that. Sad.

Bruce Johnson shared

Richard Crabtree posted, cropped

Arriving at Gunnison

Here we see Denver & Rio Grande No. 71 "Pacific Slope" Class 56 2-8-0 Consolidation (Baldwin 1880).

No. 71 is stoped at the D&RG Depot in Gunnison.

Gunnison, Colorado

1882

Photo F A Nims

DPLDC

Richard Crabtree shared

To correlate this aerial with today's satellite images, use the old fairgrounds instead of the airport because the airport has been moved further north. US-50 has also been moved.

Oct 2, 1950 @ 24,000; AR1LP0000010193

Digitally Zoomed

This is the oldest topo that is available, and the railroad has already been abandoned.

1954/54 Gunnison Quad @ 24,000

Update

Richard Crabtree posted four images with the comment:

The Roundhouses of Gunnison Colorado
Photo 1) Denver South Park & Pacific No. 30 "Morrison" 2-6-0 Mogul at the DSP&P Roundhouse (1882), Tuntabe and Water Tank in Gunnison, Colorado.
Photo 2) Roundhouse Locations in Gunnison, Colorado. DSP&P RH located at 9th Street between Gunnison Ave and San Juan Ave. The D&RGW RH was located at Bidwell in between 10th and 11th street.
Photo 3) Overview of Gunnison, Colorado showing locations of the Roundhouses.
Photo 4) Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 319 C-18 2-8-0 (Baldwin 1896) at the D&RGW Roundhouse, Gunnison, Colorado, May 30, 1940. Photo: Otto Conrad Perry, DPLDC

Richard Crabtree shared

Montrose, CO: Museum/D&RG Depot

(Satellite)

Street View, Jul 2019

Raymond Storey posted
MONTROSE COLO

They have an outdoor exhibit of old farm implements.

Street View, Aug 2018

FJX2000 Productions, Aug 2016

Diana Orr, Aug 2024

And a caboose.

Street View, Aug 2012

FJX2000 Productions, Aug 2016

Unionville, MI: Grain Elevator

(Satellite)

Mark W Rummel posted
Mike Steele shared

The railroad was originally the Saginaw, Tuscola & Huron Railroad, which became part of the Pere Marquette. It is now the Huron & Eastern Railway.

Note that a wood elevator made it into the 21st Century.

Street View, Aug 2012

They even retrofitted a modern leg into it.

Street View, Aug 2012

But now the wood elevator is gone. But they do still have the stave silos. They added a new leg since the leg in the wooden elevator was removed.

Street View, Jan 2024

And the four silos on the north end look like bolted steel silos. That means that they are also rather old.

Street View, Aug 2012

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Kearny+Jersey City, NJ: 1930 (PATH+CRCX)/Penn Hack Tower on Passenger Bridge

(Satellite)

This tower controls Pennsy's passenger and freight bridges over the Hackensack river.

Hack Tower is the high, skinny blue building on the bridge.

Street View, Jul 2018

Peter James Paras posted eight photos with the comment: "Not my photos. Conrail's Hack Tower. Location: Kearny, New Jersey. Built by the Pennsylvania RR. This route originally carried trains to PRR's Jersey City Terminal. PRR helped the Hudson and Manhattan RR expand their service from Journal Square to Newark, NJ (This eventually became the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) railroad.) Hack Tower opened the two bridges it was built to do. It also controlled switches and signals South Kearny Yard. Later during CR days Hack took on remote interlockings on the Passiac and Harsimus (P&H) Line. Today, Hack tower and the bride it's on on owned and operated by PATH. It only is staffed when a ship has to navigate thru. The other bridge on the P&H line is controlled by CR's Upper Bay Tower for lifting and I believe the switches and signals are controlled by the Conrail North Jersey Dispatcher. Photos are from Conrail employees. Each photo will some some information on this."

Tim Shanahan shared

1
Photo from Google Earth Hack tower is the cabin on top

2
PRR train going over the bridge.

3
Inside Hack Tower. Older interlocking. Top tracks are PATH, lower tracks are Conrail. Hack is on the PATH bridge.

4
Inside Hack Tower. Lift Bridge controls.

Inside Hack Tower New Keyboard on the desk controls new interlocking board.

Photo by Rich Gunther

6, photo by rich Gunther, 1994
Inside Hack Tower. New interlocking board of the P & H line.

Rich Gunther: The tower controlled Bud, Island, Stock Karny and Hack. Not Marion or Croxton shown on the top of the board.

Photo by Rich Gunther

Photo from Hack's bridge. Conrail locomotives on the P & H line.

8
Interlocking diagram for Hack Tower.

Webberville, MI: CSX Rail Served ADM/Andersons Grain Elevator

Grain: (Satellite)

Fertilizer: (Satellite)

Craig Hensley Photography posted

A pair of CP units bring a cut of hopper cars to be unloaded at The Andersons in Webberville, MI. The facility is served by CSX with trackage off the Plymouth Subdivision. The train is broken down into smaller cuts to facilitate unloading, once all the cuts are unloaded, the train will be assembled and taken back to Plymouth for a different to crew to run south.

Webberville, MI - November 2021

Craig Hensley Photography shared
[I wonder what is the bushel capacity of that steel bin.]

Dennis DeBruler commented on Craig's share
Given all of the tank cars in this view, CSX must also deliver a lot of fertilizer to the tank farm that is just south of the elevator, https://maps.app.goo.gl/KvWf29hf9rkHeE4E8.

Craig Hensley Photography: Dennis DeBruler correct!

I found more fertilizer activity than grain activity in the street views. In this case there is dry fertilizer as well as liquid fertilizer. Note that the hopper cars have four bays instead of the three bays that are used for grain hoppers.

Street View, Aug 2022

With all of this rail activity, I'd expect the elevator to have its own switcher, which it does. I also caught the end of their fall protector.

Satellite

I noticed that Andersons sold their grain handling business like they did with their Champaign facility.

In this case it was sold to ADM.

Satellite

This was a former PM route.

1910/36 Fowlerville Quad @ 62,500

Craig Hensley Photography posted

Scenes from the Railroad. The elevator at the ADM facility in Webberville is pretty big, you can use the CSX hopper car at the left base of the structure for reference. It would be interesting to know much grain they move here, wonder if anyone knows?

Webberville, MI - February 2025

Ron Schwiebert: They also receive unit trains of phosphate and potash fertilizer.

[Comments correct that it is Andersons, not ADM that receives the fertilizers.]