Mystery Depot

Peter Nicholson · **Posted:** Mon Oct 15, 2018 10:04 pm

Dick_Morris wrote:

Trainkid456 - There is a chance that the elevator and building will show on a Sanborn fire insurance map of the city.

Apparently, Cayuga was too small to attract Sanborn's attention - the University of Illinois's fire map collection doesn't have one. There is an aerial photo of Cayuga from 1940 available, but it's taken from such a high altitude that details of individual structures are impossible to pick out (you can, however, see the old interurban right-of-way):

http://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/webdocs/ilhap/county/data/livingston/flight6/000v3a076.jpg

There is a .tiff version of this photo available on the site that may reveal a bit more detail.

p.s. Arguing in favor of it being the (or an) Alton/GM&O depot are the green roof shingles.
p.p.s. First and Fastest (journal of the Shore Line RR Historical Society) did an article on the interurban back in 2004 - they're usually pretty thorough and if a station building did exist in Cayuga (a regular stop), the article might well have something about it.

Trainkid456 · **Joined:** Thu May 05, 2016 6:30 pm **Posts:** 238

Peter,

Thank you for sharing that photo. I was able to make it somewhat clear and can make out the Cayuga station on the C&A. It appears that it very well could be the same building. I can also identify a scale house for the elevator but it’s not where the depot is now, which means the depot was likely never a scale house after all.

Thomas

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6467

Trainkid456 wrote:

Hi,

Just north of Pontiac, IL in the small community of Cayuga is a derelict grain elevator and accompanying scale house. The scale house was most definitely a railroad station at one point in its life, but according to historic photographs, it is not the Chicago and Alton depot. Could this be from the Bloomington Pontiac and Joliet interurban railroad?

Any help with identifying this structure would be greatly appreciated.

Thomas

Thomas -

Wondered if you had any luck with determining additional info on this possible railroad depot there in Cayuga, Illinois? Peter Nicholson mentioned an article on the BP&J interurban from a 2004 issue of FIRST & FASTEST Magazine and wondered if any additional info had come from that possibility.

Just curious.

Les

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6467

Les Beckman wrote:

Trainkid456 wrote:

Hi,

Just north of Pontiac, IL in the small community of Cayuga is a derelict grain elevator and accompanying scale house. The scale house was most definitely a railroad station at one point in its life, but according to historic photographs, it is not the Chicago and Alton depot. Could this be from the Bloomington Pontiac and Joliet interurban railroad?

Any help with identifying this structure would be greatly appreciated.

Thomas

Thomas -

Wondered if you had any luck with determining additional info on this possible railroad depot there in Cayuga, Illinois? Peter Nicholson mentioned an article on the BP&J interurban from a 2004 issue of FIRST & FASTEST Magazine and wondered if any additional info had come from that possibility.

Just curious.

Les

Thomas -

It's been just about a year now since the subject of the structure (depot?) in Cayuga, IL was last mentioned. Wonder if you ever found out any additional info?

Les

Trainkid456 · **Joined:** Thu May 05, 2016 6:30 pm **Posts:** 238

Les Beckman wrote:

Trainkid456 wrote:

Hi,

Just north of Pontiac, IL in the small community of Cayuga is a derelict grain elevator and accompanying scale house. The scale house was most definitely a railroad station at one point in its life, but according to historic photographs, it is not the Chicago and Alton depot. Could this be from the Bloomington Pontiac and Joliet interurban railroad?

Any help with identifying this structure would be greatly appreciated.

Thomas

Thomas -

Wondered if you had any luck with determining additional info on this possible railroad depot there in Cayuga, Illinois? Peter Nicholson mentioned an article on the BP&J interurban from a 2004 issue of FIRST & FASTEST Magazine and wondered if any additional info had come from that possibility.

Just curious.

Les

Thomas -

It's been just about a year now since the subject of the structure (depot?) in Cayuga, IL was last mentioned. Wonder if you ever found out any additional info?

Les

Les,

I talked with some local “depotologists” through Facebook and found out that this is indeed the former C&A depot, originally built at Pontiac prior to 1860 (likely 1852-53 or so when the railroad was built) and moved to Cayuga in 1913 to make way for a new depot in Pontiac which interestingly also still stands. Once in Cayuga it was modified and added onto, as discussed earlier in this thread. Other than that, I haven’t been able to find out much more, such as when it was moved to the grain elevator.

Thomas

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6467

Thomas -

Thanks for following through on this. Lots of speculation made as to the building's history. Would be nice if some organization was able to do some restoration work on it. It's age in itself (over 165 years old), should make it worthy of some type of preservation effort.

Les

Mystery Depot

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