What is that old depot in your town used for today?

[tree68]

The once Pere Marquette depot in my old hometown in Michigan still stands. It think it's a contractor in it now.

The depots in my area now run the gamut from parking lots to parks to restaurants. Once is the anchor (and offices) for a window company. One is a microbrewery, another was just renovated and expanded to a restaurant (it was a tiny depot). One got moved years ago, many miles from its original location and is now - a museum about a railroad attraction (Rail City). Another small depot was the headquarters for a local rail historical group, but is currently empty, and possibly for sale. There's one that's a lumber yard, another is part of a farm supply store complex. A few miles north of me, a couple of nice brick stations (one pax, one frt) are still in the hands of the railroad, albeit for MoW and the like.

I could go on...

There is a site with almost all existing stations in NY State listed. The owner of the site has done a really nice job...

[Mookie]

Rock Island is now a bank.

CBQ/Amtrak is still partly a depot - otherwise commercial use.

[edblysard]

Hummm...
They tore down the SP Grand central, build a new main Post Office on top of it...then tore down the Katy's lovely building, now Houston Community College Downtown sits there.
Union Station became part of Enron Field, now Minutemaid Park.
Building still stands, but you can’t tell it was ever the depot for 5 class 1s, an electric interurban, and a city trolley system.
Ed

[ericmanke]

The Milwaukee Road depot in Brookfiled WI is still in great shape. I'm not sure what is used for though. I've seen MOW trucks parked there over the years, but I'm not sure if CP still uses it or not. I've been to that brewery in the old CNW station in Gren Bay, and the food, train watching, beer are all good.

[Kevin C. Smith]

As in so many towns, the depot where I grew up is now a parking lot, too... Elsewhere (close to home) the old Milwaukee Road depot in Green Bay is (not inappropriately) the Chamber of Commerce office and the C&NW depot is now a brewpub/restaurant (both the food & train watching are highly recommeded-try their beer cheese soup!). Alas, we lost the GB&W depot to arson some years ago.

The Milwaukee Road depot in Madison, WI, housed a restaurant for some years but now appears to be a bicycle store.

[Anonymous]

a lot of the small town depots around my area are gone. the depot here in Ladd, IL...i believe of which was former milwaukee, was torn down a year ago to make way for a pole building to be used by a construction company. it stood unused for years and plans were to move it and turn it into a museum of sorts for the town but that never worked out. the guy who bought the property where it sat couldn't wait any longer to use it.

the closest standing depot is in LaSalle-Peru, IL. it is a former rock island depot and is in business now as a small lawnmower repair/dealership. i haven't been in it, but it looks good yet and hasn't been modified much. the "Rock Island" name tag and "LaSalle-Peru" is still on it and the really tall 3 light signal is still standing (dunno what that was used for).

to ramble on some more...also nearby in Princeton, IL there's an old CB&Q depot. there are 6 amtrak trains that stop there daily (3 each way). over the past few years there's been close to a million dollars or better spent on renovating it. all new station platforms, all new windows and other assorted fix-ups and it's lookin good. last i read, there's something like 10-15,000 people who pass through there a year.

when i get around to learning how to, i'll put some pictures up.

[jeaton]

I couldn't be sure about this, but rumor has it that part of the house on the farm where I grew up was office and housing for the agent at what was once a named station on the CMStP&P logging branch that ran through the land that we now own.

The classic MILW depot in Merrill, WI on the Valley Line (now CN) was converted into a parking lot a few years ago.

[CShaveRR]

The old depot in Lombard was replaced by a new depot--and it's being used as <gasp!> a depot!.

Now, if you go to Grand Haven, Michigan, the town I grew up in, there were two railroads and three depots. The 1870 GTW depot was converted to a crew layover facility after passenger service ended (freight agent and track department were still housed there). When the City bought the property and built a waterfront stadium, the tracks were taken up for a few hundred feet and a new building built for crew layover and agency. When the GTW pulled out of town completely, this newer building became some sort of commercial office. The original, over 135 years old, is now a historical museum. Besides these depots, a concrete coal dock is still standing, and a caboose is on display near the coal dock.

The 1930 Pere Marquette (later C&O) depot housed an agent until the end of passenger service in 1971, and the track department for some years after that. It lay derelict for a while, then was purchased by a high-school classmate of mine--it now houses his dental office and a couple of other similar ventures. A few trains still pass by it, but the platform has been taken up. The PM is also represented in Grand Haven by a caboose, box car, and Berkshire 1223, all near the old GTW coal dock.

[n2mopac]

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