An update on the mention of the train arrival and departure board from the Keokuk Union Depot -- The retired CB&Q operator we understood had taken it around 1968 visited our open house on April 29. It turns out he never got the board, though he planned to take it. What happened was this: the agent learned that a CB&Q official had told another worker to get the board for him. He didn't care for the official, so he decided to grab it before the official could get it. However, when he went to take it down it was gone already. The official didn't get it, the agent didn't get it -- no one knows who got it or where it might be now.

Richard -

Any information as to the heritiage of this combine? Also, does the Committee trying to save the KUD also own the car?

Les

I have no information about this combine. The "Save the Union Depot" committee is not concerned with this car; it was only my suggestion that we try to get Pioneer Railcorp to spot it at the depot instead of on a siding in Hamilton, just to add to the historic ambiance of the depot. The mayor of Keokuk suggested the city could waive the fee for moving this car over the Mississippi River bridge. (The bridge is owned by the city, which charges Pioneer a per-car fee to go over it.) However, to my knowledge no one has yet followed up on my idea. Eventually the combine might be a candidate for restoration, if somehow the city could secure ownership from Pioneer. I am guessing the car has been gutted and is used for track maintenance purposes. However, I have never observed it in use.

The "Save the Union Depot" group had another meeting today. It was reported that the open house on April 29 netted more than $2500, with money still trickling in. Emergency roof repairs (and repairs to walls damaged by water) have been completed, under budget at a cost of around $18,000. The committee is considering additional fund raising efforts such as Christmas cards and ornaments, decorative tiles, or joint efforts with other community groups. (I am composing a musical play, "Phantom of the Depot," which could be part of a dinner theater event. The mayor's wife wants a murder mystery, but that would have to be a later effort.) Students from Southwestern Community College in Keokuk have suggested ideas for future use of the depot, ranging from a fitness center or regional historical museum to a restaurant or night club. (I think committee members favor a railroad-oriented usage.) Students from the Art Institute in Chicago will be coming back in mid-June for further architectural study and suggestions for use. The number of local residents interested in this project, and attending our meetings, continues to grow.

Reportedly, when Pioneer Railcorp vacated the depot they allowed railroad employees to take the waiting room benches that should have remained with the depot. Benches, and baggage carts for the platform, will have to be reproduced or located from sources. If anyone knows about such items that might be available at reasonable cost, I would appreciate hearing from you. Email rleonard@railarchive.net.

As temporary replacements for deteriorated limestone curbing on the depot's street side, we are installing 4x6 treated timbers anchored with rebar. Here, Leon Erlandsen drills a hole for a length of rebar while Jim Kisor looks on. My job today was to start relaying the sidewalk bricks in their herringbone pattern.

The first meeting of the Keokuk Union Depot Commission took place on June 30, 2011. Per municipal ordinance 1899, officers were elected for a one-year term. Chairperson is Debbie Marion, whose husband Tom is the mayor of Keokuk. Committees were formed consisting of both Commission members and other interested persons (Commission members must be residents of Keokuk). The committees are: Structural Analysis and End Use; Fund Raising; Grant Writing; Clean-up and Maintenance; Finance; and Publicity. An intern from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago was introduced at this meeting. Her initial task will be to prepare an application to return the Depot to the National Register of Historic Sites.

A second meeting of the Commission took place on July 28. During that meeting the Art Institute intern presented a progress report on the National Register application. Her presentation included a 3D computer model of the building she is developing. After hearing committee reports The Commission voted to allocate funds for the purchase of dehumidifying equipment for the Depot waiting room, to counter moisture buildup due to high summer humidity.

A project is under way to develop a web site for the Keokuk Union Depot. There is already a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-the- ... 2635310405 .

Dr. Richard Leonard

On Saturday, September 17, 2011, from 9-12 a.m. there will be an event, "Coffee at the Depot." People with stories, pictures and/or memorabilia to share about the Depot are invited to come and present their reminiscences. Hopefully some of this oral history will be recorded.

Also, a temporary web site for the Keokuk Union Depot Preservation Project is at:
http://www.forecyte.com/kud
Eventually it will be moved to the registered domain, http://www.keokukuniondepot.org, but it is not there yet.

The site's pages are:
1. Home page (general description)
2. Depot History (short history of the Depot)
3. Preservation Progress (building needs and what's being done about them)
4. Passenger Service (description of passenger service in the 1930s-1940s from CB&Q, CRI&P, Wabash, and mention of TP&W freight operations)

The web site for the Keokuk Union Depot is now at its proper location, http://www.keokukuniondepot.org . (There is a .com domain also, that is supposed to forward to the .org domain, but that isn't working yet.) Comments are welcome.

Attendance at today's "Coffee at the Depot" event was 40-50, with several "old-timers" sharing stories relating to the depot. Some remarks were videotaped, and photos and memorabilia that were brought for the occasion were scanned. Of particular interest was a visit by Kieth Courtney, the CB&Q operator who signed the clearance for the last passenger train through Keokuk in April 1967 (he had a copy of it, which was scanned). He was also the last on-site superintendent of the depot for the Keokuk Union Depot Company, which was jointly owned by the CB&Q, CRI&P, TP&W and Wabash.

In the photo below, looking into the depot's ticket office, Mr. Courtney is speaking with Megan Spees, reporter for the local newspaper Daily Gate City and also a member of the preservation group. At left, with a video recorder, is Cristin Sundquist, intern from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, who is doing an architectural study of the depot.

Sadly, the combine that has been sitting on a siding in Hamilton since February 2011 is being scrapped on site. The siding is next to the Central Iron & Metals scrapyard. Evidently they rolled it back and pulled it off the tracks from one end, since the rails are severed further along the siding. The trucks are gone already.

I was hoping to get this car moved to the stub track at the Keokuk Union Depot, and contacted at least two Pioneer Railcorp officials about it. There was never any significant response. Evidently the plan was to scrap the car all along, which is why it was spotted at Central Iron & Metals. Perhaps it had been sold to them last winter.

It is too bad, because this was a nice old piece of heavyweight equipment that could have made a nice display at the Depot.

Carbody looks quite good from the photo. Unusual that there are no vestibules; was this an RPO originally? Any idea as to railroad?

Howard P.

I have no info about this car. Apparently it was last used by Pioneer Railcorp in maintenance work -- has no railroad markings. A member of the Keokuk Depot Commission knows somebody in Central Iron & Metals and was going to make inquiry as to whether we could get the car back. Hopefully the trucks still exist somewhere and haven't been cut up -- may have been taken up to the company's main scrapyard a mile south. It's a long shot. Will try to keep you posted if something else develops.

Latest word on the Combine -- The trucks are said to have been sold a year ago to a railroad museum, I was told in Colorado, but have no more specific information. There is a possibility of our acquiring the car body from the scrapyard for eventual display at the Keokuk Union Depot. It would have to be moved across the Mississippi on a flatbed, for which we would have to find additional funds. It is too bad the trucks are going elsewhere, but at least they are being preserved (I suppose to help restore some other piece of equipment). Since the car would not be operable, is it possible to create fake six-wheel trucks of similar appearance?

Are there any plans for sharing the stories the former railroaders were able to tell?
I continue to work on my railroad history of Keokuk and know how much it would be helped by some first hand experiences of wroking around the depot.
Duncan Cameron

I will have to ask around regarding what form the reminiscences are in at the present time. I can relate a few stories I was told, but that would be second-hand.