Towns and Nature

Friday, August 30, 2024

Allendale, NJ: Commuter/Erie Depot

(Satellite)

A USGS map labels the railroad as Bergan County Line.

Street View, Nov 2020

Bernie Wagenblast posted six photos with the comment: "Allendale, New Jersey - Erie."

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Meadville, PA: Erie Buchanan (BK) Junction: Erie vs. Erie

(HAER; Satellite)

HAER PA,20-MEDVI.V,2A-
5. Detail view of switching equipment, rods and trackage, taken October 1972 - Erie Railway, Buchanan Junction Interlocking Tower, U.S. Route 322 vicinity, Meadville, Crawford County, PA
[Note the signalling pipelines following the curve of the track.]

Darren Reynolds posted eight photos with the comment:

Erie Railroad Company
"BK" tower (Buchannon Jct)
Meadville,Pennsylvania

Dennis DeBruler: The Library of Congress has six photos: https://www.loc.gov/item/pa0379/

1
"BK" tower (Buchannon Jct.) Photo by: Scott Wertans Aug.1978

2
Inside of "BK" tower.. No model board like other Erie towers, thay used little Semaphore Signals.. Photo & Date: Unknown Steve McMullen: Drop annunciators! Steve McMullen: Darren Reynolds i first saw them in Deval in Des Plaines, IL!

3
The CTC machine at "BK" tower Photo by: Scott Wertans Aug.1978

4
Looking down the tracks at "BK" tower Photo by: Ron Stafford July 1986

5
An aerial view of "BK" tower Photo & Date: Unknown

6
"BK" tower Photo by: Scott Wertans Aug.1978

7
In this picture you can see the pipeline for the Crossover switches.."BK" tower Photo by: HAER

8
A Conrail interlocking diagram of "BK" tower All images from North American interlockings States A to Z and Canada...

Zachary C. Gillihan commented on Raymond's post
BK lives!!!
[I gather from the comments that this is a CTC machine.]

Fortunately, the second map that I looked at showed me that the junction was south of Meadville. Erie Railroad is #16.

1950 Pennsylvania Railroad Map via RailsAndTrails

Looking south of Meadville, it was easy finding the junction on this topo map.

1943/43 Meadville Quad @ 62,500

Ludlow, KY: Southern Roundhouse, Backshop and Railyard

Roundhouse: (Satellite, many of the trees are growing on the roundhouse land.)

Railyard: (Satellite, some of the tracks still exist.)

Rick Shilling posted
c1922 Southern Railroad Roundhouse, Turntable, Shops and Yards, Ludlow, Kentucky.

The roundhouse was already gone in 1955. The backshop building has been replaced by a locomotive service building.

1955/57 Covington Quad @ 24,000

The roundhouse was close to Davies Street.

1914/14 West Cincinnati Quad @ 62,500

The foundation doesn't look correct. Note how they have reused just half of the turntable.

Satellite

I found an image from 2004 before the trees took over. They had removed just part of the foundation.

Google Earth, Apr 2004

Judging from a label on Google Maps, the locomotive service building was removed rather recently. Indeed, it was removed between April and October in 2020.

Wabash, IN: Big Four Roundhouse, Backshops and Railyard

(Satellite)

Steve Sheets posted
This was Wabash IN back when it was the Division Point for the NewYork Central before the Division Point was moved to Anderson, IN
Scott Reynolds: Where exactly was it located? Steve Sheets: Scott Reynolds , The railyard was located on the Southeast side of the town along the Wabash River. There is a park there now for part of this area. There is still a track that runs North and South from the river up through the cutright. This was part of the Big Four. Steve Sheets posted again

Dennis DeBruler commented on Steve's post
This 1948 aerial photos shows that Big Four still had the land, but the roundhouse and backshows were gone. [AR1HW0000010099]
Steve Sheets: Dennis DeBruler , Thanks for the photo! Wabash was my mom's hometown. My dad worked as a brakeman for the Big Four in the 1950s. My photo was take back in the early 1900s.

I got the above aerial photo to confirm that this topo map was correct to show that the roundhouse was already gone.

1952/52 Wabash Quad @ 24,000

Damorion Page posted nine images with the comment: "Remnants of the yard at Wabash, IN. Friday, June 5th, 2026."

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Maysville, KY: 1.6 gw Spurlock Power Plant and Amtrak/C&O Depot & Freight House

Power: (Satellite)

Depot: (Satellite)

Freight House: (Satellite)

Street View, Aug 2016

[gem]
Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year
Unit 1	operating	coal: bituminous	357.6	subcritical	1977
Unit 2	operating	coal: bituminous	592.1	subcritical	1981
Unit 3	operating	coal: bituminous	329.4	subcritical	2005
Unit 4	operating	coal: bituminous	329.4	subcritical	2009

1.6gw and it is used for base load. [power-technology]

It gets its coal from barges instead of railroad.

Aaron Orr posted
Anyone ever work here or know the plant. ekp spurlock...

Amtrak/C&O Depot

It is nice seeing Amtrak using the town's railroad station.

Street View, Apr 2018

Dale Proctor posted
C&O/Amtrak depot at Maysville KY, 11/22/85. The matching C&O MOW building is partially visible on the far left.

Emma Gallo, Feb 2021

Jordan F. Klink posted
Four decades ago, the Chessie Steam Special roamed their system behind ex- Reading 4-8-4 #2101. Here is the Special in its second season passing the classic C&O Colonial-style station at Maysville, KY on a trip out of Cincinnati.
Cox Jordan shared
Jim Kelling shared
Maysville Kentucky (C&O/Amtrak station)

This topo map accurately marks the location of the depot, but it did not label it.

1952/53 Maysville West Quad @ 24,000

Freight House

Dale Proctor posted
Edited: C&O freight building, Maysville KY, 11/22/85.

T.J. Mahan: C&O freight depot, you can see the brick passenger depot in the distance.

Actually, the depot is behind the brick building that is predominant in the left background. A comment on Dale's June 2025 post says it is a mow building and that it has been moved to the other side of town. That move must have been recent because this Nov 2024 street view shows it in the original position.