Toronto, ON: Canadian National's Transfer Table

(Satellite, it was east of Longo's Leaside)

Toronto Railway Historical Association posted (source) four images with the comment:

On August 25, 1922, the first passenger car was out-shopped from Canadian National's new Leaside car shops. Mountain Observation car No. 15100 was rebuilt from ex-Canadian Government Railways sleeping car "Oakfield" and was one of ten converted by the CNR between 1922 and 1929. Construction on the Leaside shops was begun in 1917 by the Canadian Northern Railway to replace their Rosedale shops and yard located near the Don Valley Brick Works. The insolvency of the CNoR and its takeover by CN delayed completion of the facility until 1921. In the years following consolidation with the Grand Trunk in 1923, Canadian National closed passenger car operations at Leaside.Posting by Derek Boles, TRHA Historian.

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Toronto Railway Historical Association A good view of the 80’ x 372’ transfer table and 12-track car shop. The table served both the locomotive and car shops. Behind the car shop was a 140-car coach yard. Only one other railway transfer table was known to exist in Toronto, at Canadian Pacific’s West Toronto shops.

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Toronto Railway Historical AssociationThe new car was displayed at the Canadian National Exhibition as part of an eight-car 'all steel' trainset prior to being sent out west for use through the Rocky Mountains. The car was later named "Mount Edith Cavell" and was scrapped in 1947. Only one of these cars, "Mount Resplendent," remains and has been preserved at Heritage Park in Calgary.

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Toronto Railway Historical AssociationWhat was originally supposed to be the Canadian Northern Eastern Lines locomotive shops (now a Longo’s grocery store) is on the left behind the stores building. The car shop is located east of the transfer table on the right. The elevated track in the foreground brought coal hoppers into the boiler house, just glimpsed at left.

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Toronto Railway Historical Association Looking towards the car shop from the east end of the coach yard.

The Longo's grocery store reused the locomotive backshop building that was west of the transfer table.

Street View

Chama, NM: Preserved Wood Coal, Water Towers and 1899 Depot

(Satellite)

Rick Denton posted
COALING TOWER
SAND BLDG
Chama new mexico
Still standing.

Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc. posted

Most people only notice the front side of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad’s Chama, New Mexico, coal tipple as they ride by on the train. If you look from the north side, you can see the coal ramp leading up to the coal tower’s below ground coal bin. Drop Bottom Gondola’s were pushed up the ramp where they dumped coal that fell through grates into the holding bin. From this underground bin, coal could be picked up by the coal buckets and lifted up to the holding bin where it could fill locomotive tenders. 

📷 Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Rhine Collection, Rhine, Stan, SR09-118, 8/11/1969.

Daniel C Carroll shared

At first, I thought this wood tower was a testament to the dryness of the southwestern air. Then I remembered that Chama is at one end of a preserved Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge route. So its preservation is probably a combination of dry weather and some maintenance.

Nadine Clouse, Aug 2015

Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc. posted
The Coal Tipple in Chama, New Mexico, was built in 1924, for the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, to replace the deteriorating coaling trestle. It was included in the purchase of the 64-miles of the railroad that is now the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. While the coal tipple is no longer used to load coal into locomotive tenders, it is occasionally used for demonstrations. Over the years, the Friends have stabilized the building, worked on the engine, the bucket system, and more. Most often you see the coal tipple from the front as you pass through the yard, but the back is quite interesting because you can see the pulley systems and the buckets that move coal from the pit into the holding bin. 📷 (Left) Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Dorman Collection, RD010-060. February 1977. 📷 (Right) Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Social Media Collection, Mee, Mike. June 2024. 

Burnett Crispell posted
K-36 No. 487 with a pilot plow sits by the coaling tower in Chama on the C&TS RR 8-31-2011

Andy Why posted, cropped
Coal tipple at Chama Yard, NM. The steam trains still run on coal here, but the tipple is no longer used. A front-end loader tips the coal into the tender.

 

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
They also have a wood water tower.
36°54'15.0"N 106°34'40.0"W

Looking at a satellite image, I noticed that they also preserved the wooden water tower. They have painted it yellow.

Kenneth E. Goff, Jul 2017

Andres Montoya, Jun 2018

Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc. posted

The double-spout water tank in Chama, New Mexico, is one of the prominent and memorable features of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. It is one of only two twin-spout tanks installed on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad; the other was at Cimarron, Colorado. The tank in Chama was built in 1897. The 50,000-gallon tank is still filled from the Rio Chama. When the tank was built, a No. 9 Cameron pump was located in the roundhouse to pump water from the river. Today, an electric centrifugal pump does the work. 

The tank is built lower than the traditional D&RG tanks to accommodate narrow gauge tenders. It is held up by twelve columns that carry the weight of the tank and 50,000 gallons of water. The tank was restored by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in 1995. The restoration project stabilized the foundation, replaced all the damaged wood, and reused the original hardware. The staves are individually milled redwood. This wood swells slightly when in water. It leaks when it is first assembled but seals itself after several weeks. The restored tank was dedicated on June 23, 1995. 

The top photo shows the D&RGW water tank in Chama, New Mexico, on May 25, 1939. Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Dorman Collection, Rogers, Donald E.A., RD010-142.

The bottom photo shows the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad water tank in Chama, New Mexico, in 2023. Taken by Friends’ member Pat Maufrais. 

Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc. posted

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a National Historic Landmark. The railroad and the Friends have done an excellent job of keeping the 64 miles of the line as close to historically accurate as possible. 

The top photo shows the Chama yard looking north towards the coal tipple. The depot can be seen on the far left, with a boxcar on the track closest to the platform. In the distance, at the center, you can see the coal tipple and water tank. To the right is the still intact roundhouse. This photo was taken in 1940 by John W. Barriger, III. It can be found in the Friends’ Historic Photo Collection. RD010-094. 

The bottom photo, taken 83 years later, shows the railyard looking very much the same. The Cumbres & Toltec Passenger cars can be seen blocking the view of what is left of the roundhouse.

Shelby Burkhardt provided two photos from the 1970s as comments on the above post.

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Al Tillotson posted
Denver & Rio Grande Western station, Chama NM, Wednesday morning September 17, 2025.  Now used by Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR.

Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc. posted four photos with the comment:

Did you know the coal tipple in Chama, New Mexico, is 100 years old this year?

This structure replaced the aging coaling trestle. It was one of three wooden coal tipples built on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. The other two coal tipples were in Durango and Gunnison. The coal tipple in Chama is the only one that remains today. Made of Oregon Fir it is 83 feet 8 inches tall from the pit to the top of the hoist house. The pit is 11 feet 8 inches from the ground level to the bottom of the pit. 

📷 Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Dorman Collection, Barriger, John W. III, RD010-119. August 1938. 

📷 Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Robart Collection, Robart, Ernie, ERNG19701010-0010. October 10, 1970. 

📷 Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Guth Collection, Guth, John, JG94-017. May 1994. 

📷 Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Education Collection, Sellers, Melissa, 2023-06-19_Coal_Tipple_003. June 19, 2023.

Joshua K. Blay: When was it last used? Had a great look at it a few weeks ago and it looked to be in great condition. Makes sense that it’s no longer practical to use it.

Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc.: Joshua K. Blay, the buckets were used in a demonstration this summer. A little bit of coal is left in the holding bin, but there is no coal in the pit. I heard that the buckets tend to get stuck at the top when they dump over, and someone has to go up high and fix them.

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Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc. posted

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad’s Chama, New Mexico, depot was built in 1899 after a fire destroyed the original two-story depot. The “new” one-story depot acted as the station and the home for the station agent and his family. 

The depot has been used by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. In 1973, the raised platform at the south end of the depot was removed. The building was renovated in 1998. The raised loading dock was restored in 2003 and wraps around the south end of the building. The depot now serves as the ticket office and offices for the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. 

📷 Top: Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroads, Dorman Collection, Morse, Ron, RD011-051, 5/25/1965.

📷 Bottom: Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Social Media Collection, Mee, Michael, June 2024. 

Gary Gilcrease: In 2008 while working for the Iowa Pacific, I was sent to Alamosa to help out because they were short on engineers. The Iowa Pacific owned the San Louis & Rio Grande (SLRG) as well as the West Texas & Lubbock Railway (WTLC) where I was temporarily working. The SLRG ran 3 passenger trains out of Alamosa at that time. A steam engine & passenger train from Alamosa to La Vita; diesel engine 1 passenger car along with mixed freight from Alamosa to Monte Vista; & a diesel engine 1 passenger car along with mixed freight from Alamosa to Antonito where the passengers would then get on the Cumbres & Toltec to go to Chama. It was very interesting work.

Bob Squaredancer commented on the above photo
October 1982. On the way home to CA. after Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. photo credit Greg Taggart.

Mike Isenberg commented on the above photo
2018

Richard Crabtree posted five photos with the comment:

The Roundhouse at Chama

Originally, the town had a wooden roundhouse, but this burned to the ground in 1899.

It was subsequently replaced with a seven-stall brick structure that survived (intact) until 1946.

At that point, with diminishing traffic on the narrow gauge, the turntable and the five easternmost stalls were removed.

The two western stalls survive today, and are connected to the main engine shop in use today.

The new shop, constructed in 1977, sits just to the east of the two remaining stalls from the 1946 roundhouse.

Photo 1) D&RGW Western Roundhouse

Chama New Mexico

July 11 1939

Photo by Gerald M. Best

Photo 2-3-4) D&RGW Western Roundhouse - Yard & Depot

1961

Chama New Mexico

Photo 5) Present - Google Maps

— in Chama, NM.

Richard Crabtree shared

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Newton, KS: Depot and an Operating BNSF/SantaFe Turntable and Hump Yard

Depot: (Satellite)

Turntable: (Satellite)

Marty Bernard posted
AT&SF Depot, Newton, KS in August 1983   Roger Puta photo

Dennis DeBruler commented on Marty's post
Not only is the depot still standing, but so is the flour mill in the background.
38°02'49.9"N 97°20'40.4"W

Dennis DeBruler commented on Marty's post
I think that is a Boeing 737 fuselage on the flatcar.

Screenshot @ -0:39
Always fascinating to watch. Newton, Ks.

Newton also has a hump yard.

Satellite

Doug Klink posted two photos with the comment: "Still in use by BNSF in Newton, KS."

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Cicero, IL: IC and "L" Depots

IC: (Satellite)

"L", old: (Satellite)

"L", current: (Satellite)

Dave Arganbright posted
A typically crappy Chicago winter day, but this 1979 photo at Hawthorne highlights the antiquity of the IC by this time pretty well. Note the fixed train order hoops are still in place. My photo.
Christian Goepel That building was constructed circa 1892 as the Hawthorne depot and served the IC Addison suburban service until 1931. Love the old station signs are still on the building in your photo.

Zoomed in on the "ironman."

Sam Johnson posted

Glen Miller.

Cicero "L" Station by George's Record's in 1961

Layne L Litwin: Its the former Cicero Avenue station at 21st Place, east of Cicero Avenue The platform was so short between Cicero and 47th Court that the morning and evening commuter train cars at the back stuck past 47th and you had to walk between cars to the front of the train to get off... hence it's move to the west of Cicero Ave years later.

Greg Inciardi: That station still lives, in Huntley, at the Illinois Railroad Museum.

Chicago, IL Depot: Rock Island and Panhandle Depot in Washington Heights

(Satellite, Metra now owns it)

This station was at the crossing of the Rock Islands mainline with the Pennsy's Panhandle. The station where the Rock's branch line crossed the Panhandle was in Beverly Hills.

BRHS posted
The Rock Island station at Washington Heights, as it looked on June 14th, 1970.

Street View

Thanks to Greg's comment below, I finally noticed that the building that was south of the Washington Heights Tower has the distinctive bay window of a depot. This depot is a reminder of how important passenger service was on the railroads in the 1800s. Pennsy's Panhandle, which no longer exists, also used to provide passenger service.

Bill Molony posted
Looking railroad east along the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks at the crossing of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad tracks at Washington Heights on the south side of Chicago.
Greg Burnet Was there passenger service on the Panhandle line? I'm curious whether the station in the photo would have been used for Pennsy riders, or was it only for the Rock?
David Daruszka There was passenger service and that was a combination station for the two roads.
Greg Burnet Thanks. Its position between the sets of tracks made me wonder.
Raymond Storey shared
Dennis DeBruler A comment on the original post motivated me to collect the Washington Heights photos that include the depot.
https://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/.../rock-island-and...
Bob Finan commented
Bill Molony posted
The photographer is looking railroad east on the Pennsylvania Railroad's tracks at the crossing of the Rock Island's main line at Washington Heights on the south side of Chicago - circa 1955.
[I contributed comments about the Bernice Cutoff.]

I have copied other photos from the tower notes that include a view of the depot.

Bill Molony posted
This photographer is looking railroad west on the Pennsylvania Railroad's tracks toward Washington Heights, where the PRR crossed the main line of the Rock Island in the vicinity of 104th Street and Vincennes Avenue on the south side of Chicago.
To the left is the Washington Heights station, which still stands today and is used by Metra.
To the right is the Washington Heights interlocking tower, which is long gone.
Bill Molony posted again

David Daruszka commented on Bill's posting
Bob Lalich The industry in the background was Chicago Bridge & Iron Co, which occupied most of the triangle formed by the CRIP, PRR and 107th St.

David Daruszka provided an enhanced image on another post
Greg Burnet Wow, I'd never seen some of those details until you cleaned the pic up, David. And I never realized there was a coal yard on what I believe is now the site of a CTA bus barn. Great stuff.
David Daruszka If you look closely you can see a streetcar running on the track parallel to the Rock.
David Daruszka It appears that the track was actually a connecting track to the Panhandle. There was a freight house located at the junction.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

BRHS posted
Rock Island EMD FP7 #403, leading an outbound passenger train past the Washington Heights depot - circa 1960's.
Dennis DeBruler It looks like some sort of "hot piggyback" service on the head end.
Mike Breski Shiftable next to the head end a big no no LOL. I have seen other older photos with same does anybody know when that rule went into effect?
Dennis DeBruler For those of us who are trying to learn about railroading, what does "shiftable" mean? Does it mean loads tied down with chains? In this case trailers.

Now that I think about it, I've never seen piggybacks up close. When a train goes past at 45mph, you can see the special bracket that holds the fifth-wheel pin. But how is the rear end fastened? If they have to cross chain the rear, that sounds labor intensive.

I know from watching videos about big container ships that containers are held with special locks at all four corners.

Mike Breski commented on a post