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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 7:07 pm 
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Location: Hamilton, Illinois
About a dozen volunteers showed up. Several worked on this north window; most of the windows are boarded up and broken. I spent the day shoveling debris from the rear platform into a dumpster.


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Last edited by rlsteam on Tue Jan 03, 2017 11:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:46 pm 

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rlsteam wrote:
[img] In the far end of the building, the mayor found two decorative clay ornaments that must have been placed at the roof gables when the depot had a tiled roof. Probably they will not be usable on a shingled roof but should be put on display in the Depot.


Richard -

You might have the mayor (or someone else) check to see if the train order board might still be laying around somewhere. Sometimes removing crews would leave them on the premises of a station or tower in case there might be a change later and they might have to be reinstalled. From one of the old postcard drawings, it looks like the order board was controlled by an operator up in the still existing dormer so even if the original semaphore used for the order board is not discovered, perhaps a replication can be made at some point in the future.

Les


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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:50 pm 
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I received a private email to the effect that the "train arrival and departure blackboard" was in the possession of a former CB&Q operator at Keokuk in 1968. That may not be the item to which you refer. However, I plan to attempt to track that item down if I can locate the gentleman or his heirs to see what became of it.

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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:23 pm 
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More cleanup days this weekend. A dumpster was filled on Saturday (April 9), mostly with cheap junk furniture from a former crew layover room upstairs, and from the ticketing area. I think the gutter cleaning has now been completed. My task has been clearing debris from the rear brick walk along the building and nearby brick street. Stone curbing there has deteriorated and we are considering the best way to replace it before resetting the paving bricks. We have a possible lead on recovering the original train arrival and departure board from the 1960s; will report on that again if it turns up.

I loaned the Keokuk library art center director three timetables showing trains operating at Keokuk: CB&Q (1937, showing Mark Twain Zephyr), Rock Island (1948) and Wabash (1949, showing mixed train from Bluffs to Keokuk). He is going to create a display from these items promoting the April 29 open house. The head of the cleanup crew also has photos of the Mark Twain Zephyr with both the original Pioneer Zephyr and the later non-articulated shovel-nose unit; I am trying to get those photos incorporated into the display as well. Eventually those displays could be mounted in the depot waiting room.

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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 9:56 am 
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Here's a link to an article in the Daily Gate City on April 23, 2011, summarizing the Keokuk Union Depot project. The Gate City staff writer is Megan Spees, who has been active in the cleanup work. She has a personal interest since her grandfather (still living) was relief yardmaster here for the Burlington Route/BN.

http://www.dailygate.com/articles/2011/ ... 624945.txt

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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:14 pm 
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Here's a link to a blog entry about the depot from January 28th, 2011, by Jennifer Sandy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She refers to the interest in the depot on the part of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A group from the Art Institute has visited the depot at least twice now.

http://blog.preservationnation.org/2011 ... -on-earth/

There is the possibility of an internship program for the study of the depot's architectural restoration possibilities. An Art Institute student is interested, but finances (travel, lodging, etc.) would need to be worked out.

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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:18 pm 

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rlsteam wrote:
Image
We finally got some lighting into the ticket office.
WOW! Very Nice! It's going to be wonderful.


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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:19 pm 
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The "Save the Union Depot" group held an open house at the depot on Friday, April 29 from 4:00 till 7:00 p.m. It was successful beyond our hopes. People came through the waiting room in a constant stream. Plywood was removed from the windows for the event, and immediately replaced afterward.


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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:22 pm 
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One of the committee members had made an HO-scale model of the depot, which was on display.


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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:24 pm 
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Members of the committee conducted tour groups around the facility, explaining what repairs were needed and answering questions. Some visitors were retired railroad personnel who had worked at the depot, who supplied invaluable information.


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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:26 pm 
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Hy-Vee, Inc., the supermarket chain, supplied the meal and beverages. They had to send for additional food twice. The tank cars carry products from the Roquette America plant; the tracks in front of the depot are interchange tracks between BNSF and Keokuk Junction Railway (Pioneer Railcorp).


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Last edited by rlsteam on Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2011 2:12 am 

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rlsteam wrote:
Image
Hy-Vee, Inc., the supermarket chain, supplied the meal and beverages. They had to send for additional food twice. The tank cars carry products from the Roquette America plant; the tracks in front of the depot are interchange tracks between BNSF and Keokuk Junction Railway (Pioneer Railcorp).

Now wouldn't be nice to have the Mark Twain Zephyr restored and parked on the mail and express track! And a 2pm train to Burlington, Iowa from Saint Louis to connect with today's "California Zephyr" everywhere west.


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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2011 9:41 am 
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One of our committee members has photos of the MTZ stopping at Keokuk, mid-1930s. Yes, it would be great but probably the City of Hannibal has, by rights, first claim on any potential restoration of the train. We don't have control of any of the trackage at the depot; even the stub track at the down-river (south) end is still owned by Pioneer Railcorp. We are hoping to persuade Pioneer to move this old maintenance combine that has been on a siding in Hamilton (across the river) over to the stub track at the depot, since they don't have anything spotted there now.


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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2011 8:58 am 

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Just registered after seeing the pictures of the work that's been going on. It's great to see. I visited the depot in 2004 and was so impressed with the building and the waiting room in particular. I've been collecting information on Keokuk's railroad history for about a decade now. If I can help in any way in that respect, I'd be glad to. Unfortunately, I can't join in the work parties as I live in Toronto. I'd would love to connect with the committee member who built the model of the depot if that is possible.
Duncan Cameron


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 Post subject: Re: Keokuk Union Depot
PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2011 12:33 pm 
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Duncan - Email me privately at rleonard@railarchive.net, and I will give your email address to Leon Erlandsen and let him contact you. -- Richard

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