May 17, 2010
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EDIT-Local C&O Train Depots - Video added
The Depot at Russell, Ky.
I've lived in Russell for thirty years and today was the first time I have walked over here and looked around this depot.
Hmmmm, it's also a museum. And they serve lunch!
There's a nice old caboose on display.
And a military memorial.
The bricks are inscribed with the names of deceased C&O employees.
Inside the caboose.
Russell was once home to the largest independently owned railyard in the United States, some say in the world. It boasted 240 tracks (182 miles total), including the huge Raceland Car Shop for building C&O's freight equipment, along with the caboose shop there, a large engine terminal (servicing motive power from five C&O subdivisions), and at one time a huge crosstie processing plant of the American Creosoting Company (replaced in 1963 with Chessie's ribbon-rail welding plant).
It starts here in Russell and runs about 8 miles downriver to Wurtland and the car shops.
Russell is also home to the C&O Railroad YMCA.
When it was closed and abandoned in 1992 it held the distinction of being the oldest and longest continually operated restaurant in the states. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for over 103 years. It was the place to be at 2am for biscuits and gravy after a night of running the bars in Ironton or Huntington!
Back to the depots
The depot in Ashland, Ky.
The depot in Ashland is the largest and most stately of the three.
It's used as the headquarters of the PNC bank.
No caboose here, they have a dining car parked on a siding!
I peeked thru the locked doors. Looks like they use it as a meeting room. Neat!
The depot in Catlettsburg, Ky.
Here they are getting ready to set up a caboose on display also.
I am assuming they are going to restore this thing!
It'll be interesting to see how this progresses. It's right behind the bank I use so I can check on it every Friday.
I'll keep ya posted!
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EDIT
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Found a video on YouTube from the guys that moved the caboose.
Comments (40)
Dear Harold,
Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. RYC: Cancer of any part of the face, and especially the jaw must be devastating. My condolences on the passing of your friend. I've lost three best friends over the years, besides Joel, one died from a heart attack at 47 and before that, one died from a workplace fall at 37. Joel was 53. That's one each decade. My latest friend is my neighbor, who's over a decade younger than I, but I told him he really should stop drinking as much alcohol as he consumes, and quit smoking.
I love this post. I'm a bit of a railroad buff. We have a small "railroad museum" in Lomita, where I live. (Well, now I live in Harbor City, CA, which is next door, but I lived in Lomita for most of the past 25 years.) It's only on two lots in a residential area. There is a wonderful train museum in Perris, CA, with a lot of the old red and yellow car trolleys which traversed Los Angeles before the freeways were built and they tore up the system.
Wonderul photos, and I love old train depots. The shots of the caboose being readied for installation are great. I bet it'll look great when it's restored.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
All this talk about cabooses and oversized loads made me a little self-conscious. heh.
I enjoyed the tour though!Thanks! t
These are fascinating sights! It's a shame to see so many of them closed up. I'm glad the big depot has been refurbished. Maybe eventually they'll find a use for the Y, but I don't know what the economy is like over there. I visited Johnson City, TN, a few years ago, and it seemed like 25% of downtown was boarded up. When they lost Eastman Kodak, everything slumped. Too bad we can't turn some of the big-city overcrowding into small-city prosperity...
@fauquet - @freakygirlwannabee - Thank you!
@Jaynebug - Nice link. Thanks Lyne!
@ItsWhatEyeKnow - @nattata - @styx_site - Thanks, guys!
@TheBigShowAtUD - I've driven past it on a daily basis, just never did stop and look around. I'm a little slow, sometimes.
nice. this is sort of like a PBS special where you say "I didn't know that was HERE." there's a railroad museum near me, but i've never been there... and i've lived here for nearly... THIRTY YEARS. it's almost time, then. haha.
Wonderful photos and so much history there.
Trains of legend in the US .history .
Beautiful report .
In friendship
Michel
@buddly47 - I don't, but how about a nice link? Click right HERE
How cool to discover something in your own backyard! My little loves trains...
I love when people restore things from days gone by!
Such cool photos!
Love the video too!
i would have loved to seen the caboose get off-loaded. I like stuff like that. We love see stuff like that.
@the_rocking_of_socks - I shouldn't talk. I've lived in Russell for 30 years and Sunday was the first time I'd looked at the depot here! lol
@buddly47 - I've lived here my whole life. Embarrassing, I know. I knew about the Ashland building, but I never knew it used to be a depot. I've never been inside it. I think this calls for a look-see now.
we used to house the Santa Fe shops in our town and it closed in 1989 I believe and we are trying to get stuff going but they torn down the old Depot can't replace that.
@WildWomanOfTheWest - How sweet of you to take time to come and visit with all that you're going thru. Thank you, Tamy!
This is amazing stuff~ love it!
@seedsower - awesome idea! That would go with my wild west theme~
@seedsower - @Still_groovy - I'll check on it every Friday when I go to the bank.
@angi1972 - LOL! Well, I hope Ben carries out your wishes!
@Jaynebug - I visited Golden while I was stationed in Denver. Toured the Coor's brewery, but didn't see the train depot. Got pics?
Great post, Buddly! Do keep posting about the caboose's restoration progress. I really like the Ashland depot building, too.
Kathi
@jacksoncroons - My grandfather retired from the C&O and had a lifetime free pass to ride the train, and never took us anywhere.
@MedicMark - Don't really know, but I'd say they're not cheap!
@ItsWhatEyeKnow - @they_call_me_steffyjean - @jtqueenbee30 - @murisopsis - @dinhtrinh - @wematter - @WakeUpLaughing - @Karen - Thanks!
@the_rocking_of_socks - Really? How long have you lived in the Ashland area? You should go in the Ashland depot (PNC bank), it's beautiful if they haven't changed it.
Pretty kewl!
thanks for the tour of Russell. i love the memorial and caboose pics. it's so neat that they use that one as a meeting place! how interesting!!!
Love the train photos! Nice tour.
Thank You for THIS entry. It tells alot about the US people.
It must have been an incredible train system back in the day. The detail on that last building is really nice. Thanks for the tour!
Train depots and old trains. I could wander all day. I wrote a piece a while back just from sitting in some old train station seats. Every ride I had on a train was an adventure of sorts. Some more than others, but all memorable. Have you seen the one in Golden Colorado? Thanks for the pics!
Very cool!
Trains are such an amazing part of this country . . . and these little pieces of history fascinate me. I always wanted to ride the rails as a kid, but we never did. As I got older, I couldn't image going anywhere that slowly. Now, I thinking I might finally make that dream come true.
You really got around! I have to say... When I'm gone, I hope no one puts my caboose on display.
Cool!
I wonder how much a junk caboose would run ya. Would be cool to have.
Please do keep us posted,I am interested in seeing how they fix it up,there is a train graveyard near here POST and it is my dream to get one and make it a guest house.
I love the depot pix and trains,so glad you posted this.
How incredible. Thanks for taking pics and sharing with us!
Neat! I didn't even realize those buildings were there.
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