One of the better resources I have come across to this end is the plethora of
old post cards still around depicting many of these structures, some better than
others.
Most of the postcards were found on EBay unless noted, other pictures, mostly
the more recent ones, come from Google and/or Bing images - credit given if the
source is known.
Dates are in the picture name, x means the date is approximate. If they were
available, and interesting, I included the back side of the postcards. 1910a
and 1910b would be the same card, both sides.
If the picture was really, really bad, some of them have been cleaned up and/or
repaired when I had the energy.
If you have the time, other good sources for pictures are:
Shorpy, Google, and
Bing images, and the
Library of Congress (you have to be very patient to find things here :-)
Since many of these stations are no longer around (railfans seem to prefer the
term "extant", I'm not one of them! :-), this page is mostly for historical
reference.
What's the difference between a station and a depot? Most people will say
"nuttin", it's a matter of preference, although many will use depot for older
buildings.
If you have a picture you would like to contribute, please see the bottom of the
page for how to find me, credit is always given to contributing photographers.
I used to get to Minneapolis a fair bit for work
during the 1998-2002 timeframe, so somewhere, I have pictures of some of these and more,
all I have to do is find them :-)
Pictures from the Hennepin County Library are accompanied by a whole lot more info on their
website. Check them out, as they have what looks to be a very nice collection available online!!!
Another link I came across while looking for Minnesota info, with a few RR pictures in Fargo is
here
Note: the pictures with PHOTO and/or a black sub-title on them come from EBay listings by
"rustygold". He lives in Australia. I'd like to
know how this here down-under fella got so many vintage photos of "our" railroad
stations!? Most of the depots featured from his collection are no longer around.
ALBERT LEA - former M&StL Depot
For my railfan guide to Albert Lea, click here
GPS Coordinates: 43.64735, -93.37614
My pictures are from a trip I took to Albert Lea in 2006.
A wooden bridge and the headquarters for the Northern Pacific Rwy. Photo by William H Illingworth.
From theHennepin County Library collection of railroad photos.
Built in 1865 by the Minnesota Central RR as their first station, by
the time this picture was taken in 1900, it appears that the station had been converted and in use as an Armour meat packing plant. The railroad later
became the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul RR.
From the
Hennepin County Library collection of railroad photos.
MINNEAPOLIS - ex CM&StP depot
At 3rd Ave S & Washington.
This is the second station for the railroad, having replaced a frame structure a block away.
It was razed in 1884 :-(
It served the St Paul & Duluth RR and the Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste Marie RR.
From the Hennepin County Library collection of railroad photos.
MINNEAPOLIS - ex St Paul & Pacific depot
At 4th Ave N & Washington.
From the
Hennepin County Library collection of railroad photos.
The St Paul & Pacific later became
the St Paul & Manitoba, and then theGreat Northern.
MONTEVIDEO - former Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul RR Depot
GPS Coordinates: 45.050666, -93.195483
The Union Pacific used to bring some of their big freights up to the New Brighton Yard!
Don't know if they still do.
A current photo of the Amtrak station in St Paul, soon to be replaced (late 2013) by the St Paul Union Depot. This station started
seeing service in 1978, and is referred to by Amtrak as Midway. Only one train a day stops here, the Empire Builder,
and services about 350 people. It is on tracks owned by the Minnesota Commercial (a very railfan friendly RR, BTW).
Picture by Peter Van den Bossche, from Wikipedia
here
ST PAUL - Union Station
ST PAUL - former Chicago, Minneapolis & St Paul RR Depot
I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an expert. My webpages reflect
what I find on the topic of the page. This is something I have fun with while
trying to help others.
Please Note: Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad
signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to
locate them. For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my
indexa page has a list of
almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least
a few pictures to help you detail your pike.
If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the
information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct. Once in
a while, an error may creep in :-)
My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for
railfanning. Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost
or disoriented. Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps
are still better if you get lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get
local maps for free when you visit the local branches. ADC puts out a nice
series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not
have the railroads on them. If you can find em, I like the National Geographic
map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really
good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too
lack the railroads. Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.
Aerial shots were taken from either Google or Bing Maps as noted. Screen
captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith
product... a great tool if you have never used it!
By the way, floobydust is a term I picked up
30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means miscellaneous
and/or other stuff.
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to
take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or
correct.... credit is always given! Please be NICE!!! Contact info is
here
Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as
being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.
Courtesy Edward Nolan
From 1911 or so.
The tracks may be gone,
but at least they still have a "Railway Street"!
Card from around 1908.
Postcard dates from around 1912.
Courtesy Edward Nolan
Today, nothing but grain elevators
Courtesy Edward Nolan
Courtesy Edward Nolan
Courtesy Edward Nolan
1908
From about 1911.
From about 1910.
From about 1907.
Courtesy Edward Nolan
Courtesy Edward Nolan
Courtesy Edward Nolan
From the early 1900's.
