BLoomington Depots

[Pete Pedigo]

We have yet to see a clear picture of such through track, but geometry from a photo or two will authenticate a through track.
Pete

[George Carpenter (G3)]

I don't think the depot in the photo I posted earlier was a run through station. That photo was the second of three known depots at that location. The question that I have always had is were all run throughs built the same. I forget when the first depot burned, but it also was a brick structure.
G3



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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.352977,-85.972645

[Ron Marquardt]

George, what's that big Google map that comes up at the bottom of all your posts, and shows where your street is located?  What's the purpose of it?  It's shown up twice in this thread.  / Ron

[Joe Land]

1887 Sanborn drawing overlaid on Google Earth image.

[Ron Marquardt]

I think that may be the same building Geof, and they just closed the ends on it.  / Ron

[Christopher Stone]

I know that there are few known photographs of downtown Bloomington roundhouse (the only one I've seen is of a snowplow).  So here's another, from the 1906 IU Yearbook:

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/archivesphotos/results/item.do?itemId=P0033885

The text says they haven't confirmed the location, but since I don't believe that the track was configured like that around the McDole roundhouse, I think it was downtown.  If anyone can confirm this location, I'm sure that IU Archives would like to know.

-Chris Stone

[Ron Marquardt]

[not allowed]opher, that was the wooden roundhouse they built at Hillside Drive (kind of middle of McDoel yard on the East side, across from the dispatchers/yard office).  It burned in 1908, and that's when the brick one we all remember was built farther south down in the yards.  / Ron

PS, they never had a "roundhouse" downtown.  All they had downtown were square engine houses with the tracks into them leading off a Sellars turntable.  See Joe Land's overlay.

[John Butler]

As far as IU archives goes they have had several problems with innacuaracies regarding the Monon that they need to correct.  The most glaring is that they have the LNAC being labeled as the Louisville, New Albany and Corydon in the 1891 photograph of downtown Bloomington showing the old downtown turntable and depot.  This error in names has since then appeared on the official Bloomington downtown historical signage.

[Pete Pedigo]

[not allowed]opher,

It was nice meeting and talking with you at breakfast during the convention. 

I had that photo from IU in my possession a couple of years ago when I was researching it for them to verify it's location.  The roundhouse and track work matches a roundhouse that was built after the one downtown dissappears from the Sanborn maps in the 1890's. This roundhouse was located in "Railroad Park" which was south of Grimes "Pike" on the Samborn Maps.  This photo matches the roundhouse that was located at South St. (later Hillside).  See the attached Sanborn map of 1907.   The matting on the photo appears to be hiding a couple of flaws in the photo. On the right side it appears someone moved during exposure and put a big blur on the right.  On the left the Sanborn Maps indicates that the roundhouse had a hole in the back wall for a run through track across the turntable.  It must have detracted from the photo of Mr. Menke and the locomotive as the matting also covers that part of the photo.  Needless to say if that were our photograph I would have removed the matting.



See the attached Sanborn map of 1907.   

Pete 

[George Lortz]

I found this photo on the Internet and I hadn't seen it before.  The photo is labeled:

Depot; Bloomington, IN; 1906; IU Archives collection; IU students leaving for home.

George L.

[Ron Marquardt]

George, notice the similarities between this depot and the Gosport depot.  We believe this was the run through depot that was later modified as was Orleans and several others.  / Ron

[George Lortz]

Ron,

Sure looks like it could have been a run-through depot.  The doors look big enough.  The 1906 date is a good time frame.

George L.

[David Longest]

Yeah, Ron, But with a train you can nudge the cars and get a little room to navigate.  Right?  I recall hearing that story
a few years ago.

David

[J.Butcher]

Thanks for posting these photos, I have never seen the old depot before, and I agree, it looks like the same plan as Gosport.  Also never knew there were engine houses downtown.....

[David Longest]

George's entry of the older Bloomington depot; how far back was that depot in construction?  I am thinking 1868.

Thanks David