A few years ago, our museum received a rather simple, small building that was donated to us by someone who was "cleaning up" an old farm. Rather than just also destroy this structure, he thought that it looked like it might have originally been a railroad building and offered it to us. We agreed that it might have been an old telephone shack, but also resembled an old crossing shanty. And one of our members, Ray Stokes, decided to restore it as the latter. Ray passed away last year after getting the project about 95% finished. Now, we would like to install the building at one of our road crossings. But, we would like to get it situated correctly. The building has a door in the front, a window on each side, and no window in the back wall. How were crossing shanties set in relation to the track, and to the street? Did the door face the street, face the track, or perhaps, even face AWAY from the track? Ray also made a sign showing the name of the street, which I think should face the track. Or would it? Most photos I have seen of these old crossing shanties, aren't real clear as to which way these structures sat. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, Indiana)

Les...

Hope these photographs might help. ( they were not taken by me ), however I believe they might prove helpful... One was taken on the NY&LB in South Amboy NJ... and the other at Ashley on the CNJ.. The black and white photo is at Ashley, and the color image is at South Amboy. ( I am not sure of the photographers so credit can unfortunately not be given )

Perhaps these old photographs can offer some ideas as to how to place that building ?


Dean Levin

As a child, I remember a crossing shanty in my hometown. It was a wooden ground level building (not elevated) and was property of the C&O on the main line near Huntington, WV. It was removed sometime in the late 1970's when automatic gates were installed.

It faced the tracks (door to tracks) and had windows on each side looking both directions up and down the track. The rearmost wall did not have a window, and faced away from the track.

What cool photos that depict a side of railroading often overlooked. Thanks for sharing.

Exact same situation at Norwood Park on the C&NW suburban district in the fifties. The door faced the track, there was a window that looked down that track on each side, and a potbelly stove occupied the back wall. The watchman and shanty were gone before 1960.

We have the former CN Nolan's Station at RMEO. Nolan's was a flagstop just east of Smiths Falls, Ontario.

This octagonal structure was brought in from another location following a fire which destroyed the original Canadian Northern Ontario Railway's Nolans station, and its precise ancestry has not yet been determined.

On CN, at least, flagstop stations typically had the door facing the track. Windows were optional depending on the original owner's standards. They would sit on a wide shoulder area, normally near a road crossing, and the quality of platform could vary from a low plank platform to cinders thrown down on the mud.

Some CN flag stations had their doors facing the road although that was not common. Glen Elbe, Ontario had the door facing the road: http://railwaychronicles.com/glenelbestation.html

The substantial wooden platform in front of Nolan's is definitely not typical- the little station shares the platform with our brick and stone CNoR Smiths Falls station.

http://public.fotki.com/elliottd/sfrmeo ... ation.html

Here's the SF station, definitely not a flagstop, with Nolan's visible to the west:

http://public.fotki.com/elliottd/sfrmeo ... g1302.html

Hopefully this will help,

Steve Hunter,
RMEO
Smiths Falls, Ontario

It depended on what the shanty was for. If it was for a crossing gate operator or crossing guard, it would face the road so he go get in place sooner. If it was a telephone booth the door would face the tracks. Window location could also depend on function. A bridge operating shanty might require windows all around.

Kind of a far reaching pronouncement, considering that several people have just given examples of crossing watchman shanties where the door faced the tracks.