I was driving by the old Missouri Pacific depot in my town, Otterville, MO along the old Sedalia sub (now busy UP main) and I thought this would make a good discussion. Tell us what old depots are being used for in your town–or better yet take a pic and show us.
Below is ours. It is now owned by a grain elevator and ag supply dealer and has been converted into a mechanic shop and catch-all storage. It was moved about 100 feet from the tracks and turned 90 degrees years ago. At least it still looks like a depot.
I can’t wait to hear about your old depot.
Ron
Our depot in Orange CA is still used as a depot for commuter rail and a restaurant. The Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner goes through, but doesn’t stop. Quite a few depots in Orange County have been restored and are used by Amtrak and the commuter rail.
Bill
The former CNW freight depot here is now a printing shop. The depot in Hollister, MO is now city hall.
Tom
The Milwaukee Road depot in Jefferson Iowa, where I grew up is museum for RR.
Our depot. in Courtenay, BC…still is! However, aside from servicing passengers for the E & N Ry RDC, it serves as a meeting place for odds n’ sods groups. For example, my wife and I attended a public meeting of the local seed savers society last fall.
The NYC,Harlem division ,Croton Falls station is now a liquor store.
One an hour south of me turned into a museum.http://home.earthlink.net/~loathar/id8.html
I went on a job interveiw yesterday and stumbled across an on old magnificent depot that was three stories tall and all borded up int he middle of an industrial crack neibhorhood. I kicked myself for not taking my camera!!![banghead][banghead] Even though it had seen better days, It still made you go WOW! when you looked at it. (It is in Columbia Tn.)
The old Carlsbad, Ca is now a visitor’s center. It is across the street from the new coaster station. You can see both the old and new stations here: http://www.danzukowski.com/journeys/2006/01/california_is_o.html
The station still is used as such, although it’s much reduced. Passengers only use the platforms and a single ticket office/waiting room now, the rest appears to be storage for the local MOW crews. The original engine shed still survives too - it was a single-track one intended to house a small tank loco. It’s now a Vauxhall (GM) dealer!
The NS depot in Tipton IN is used by the Signal Maintainer, the Track Supervisor and the Track Maintenance gang for offices.
In my little town (LOL) the old connection and depot for Maine Central and Sandy River Narrow Gauge has all been refurbished. Some of the old buildings are used for storage, and the old passenger statopn has been turned to offices and the railroad approach has been turned into a theater (called the Narrow Gauge) and parking area.
East Rochester, NY; Old Terminal there has been a Model Train Store for years. Has a great Picture window in the back to veiw the old Main Line that is still in use. Being that the place has been in business for quite awhile the inside is a little dark and the isles are a little tight. OK Pricing, but not great. Does make for a nice stop if you are out of town.
Coldwater Station, Gates NY. This station is now once again a Bar/Restraunt. Been used for this by a few companies. Not been to the lates incarnation.
Chris
They actually made good use of our old L&N depot. It’s now the lobby of the
Crown Plaza Hotel here in Pensacola. It has a nice lounge and is just across
the street from the Civic Center. We always go there for a couple of drinks
before concerts at the Civic Center.
They restored the depot beautifully and I am glad to see it still standing. I have
seen many depots falling down… Dave
Here’s a pic:
(From the Crown Plaza website):
The depot was built in 1912 by L&N construction engineers; it replaced the original L&N depot (circa 1882), which had been, located at Guillemard and Wright Streets just two blocks from the Crowne Plaza.
" After serving the Pensacola rail industry for 58 years, the last train rolled out of the station in April 1971. The structure soon fell in disrepair. However, in 1978 the structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an important architectural landmark. Six years later developers purchased the depot from the L&N railroad with the intent of restoring it as part of a hotel project. That project ultimately evolved into today’s Crowne Plaza – Pensacola Grand Hotel."
the one in Houston is still being used as an Amtrak station but most of the ones in this area and the small outlining areas are making railroad museums out of them…in some of the small towns, it’s the only attraction for miles…chuck
In Bedford, MA, the old depot is in the middle of what is called “Depot Park.” There is a slow-moving project to create a small train museum there, based around an old B&M RDC car which is parked on the last of the old rails. The rail line itself has been converted to the Minuteman Bikeway, which (I’ve heard) is the most used Bikeway in the country. The Park stands at the end of the paved Bikeway. Right now, there is a small shop (a former bakery) with light refreshments for the bikers, plus a small display of railroad things. The original Depot building has fallen into disrepair, but there is some interest in restoring it as part of the project.
You can check the project out at http://www.bedforddepot.org/ if you’d like.
This is a shot of the area in 1949, from the above web site:
The old DL&W station in East Stroudsburg PA has been converted into a restaurant called the Dansbury Depot. Still a heavy railroad theme, even a G-Scale train running around on a overhead track.
In Erie, PA. Amtrak does stop there still for service east and west. Also a resturant and a BREW pub ( BEER)!!!. Second floor of the old station was leased by a new trucking firm around town.
The closest station to me is currently a restaraunt called Baldwins (oooo,pricy) and will probably survive for a long , long time. Life-like made a model of it (Sykesville MD station)
The NH station in Danbury CT. is nowhome to the Danbury Rail Museum.They seem to be getting more equipment every month.
In my home town of Harrington Park, NJ (NYC West Shore line) the original staion became the police station when commuter trains stopped in 1959. 30 years later it burned down, so the police rebuilt it. Where my parents currently live (Whitehouse Station, NJ, CNJ main line) the station is still an active stop on the NJT Raritan Valley line and serves as a branch of the county library. My current home (Creve Couer, MO) has no rail service.