Image of the Day - Grinnell, Iowa - Then and Now

[jridge]

By virtually traveling there, found this "Now" photo of the joint Rock Island/M&StL station.  Is now a restaurant called the Peppertree at the Depot Crossing.  From the latest Google maps image, the tracks appear to still be there.

Jeff

[dakotafred]

Yep, both lines are active, the old east-west Rock Island (as Iowa Interstate) and the north-south Chicago & North Western, nee Minneapolis & St. Louis (as Union Pacific).

I've been back there in recent years, eaten at the restaurant -- be sure you choose the old, East, part, which was the actual depot --  and lucked out to see trains on both lines. More lucky, I boarded Rockets there as a college student in 1960-61.

[jeffhergert]

My wife and I ate at the restaurant some years back.  (I think it was under different ownership and had a different name then.)  We also were lucky and saw an IAIS train go through.

As part of my engineer's training, I did a week on the UP wayfreight that ran from Marshalltown to Eddyville, IA and return.

Some of my first RI pictures were taken in August of 1976 at Grinnell.  Back then it was still an open agency/train order office on the RI.  The agency was closed December 31, 1976.

Jeff