Mystery ATSF Depot location

Harry Nicholls · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2015 8:14 pm

OK all you sleuths, I need help in finding the location of this ATSF depot. I am told it may be in"central Texas" but then again, it may not be. Central Texas leaves lots of ground to cover. Please tell me where the mystery depot is hiding.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2015 10:42 pm

Post an image big enough for us to see details, and we may be able to help. A "postage stamp" ain't helping.

QJdriver · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2015 10:59 pm

Looks like Lomita, maybe, from what I can make out. There were of course a zillion similar depots bonce upon a time...

StLSW · **Joined:** Tue Feb 25, 2014 10:56 pm **Posts:** 39

Unless that says "Freight Station" on the end,(Which it looks like it might) from the small image, looks like a two-word name.. Sure would be nice to see a bigger version.

Unless it's on the other side, most Central Texas GC&SF stations I'm familiar with (Killeen, Moody, Valley Mills, Clifton, Rogers) all were equipped with bay windows. We can rule out, of course, Morgan and Mcgregor since they were L shaped, and McGregor had Tower 26 in the corner.

Bradley

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2015 12:19 am

Let's try this......

trolleyira · **Joined:** Fri Jul 22, 2005 11:22 pm **Posts:** 219

It appears to be the small town of "Freight Office" Texas.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2015 10:22 pm

Revised

rbd3985 · **Joined:** Thu May 28, 2009 3:35 pm **Posts:** 24

Could be Goldthwaite, TX which is the next town west of Lometa. A friend of mine says that Goldthwaite had two depots which is why this one is labeled as the freight station. The Lometa depot is still standing and looks different than this. It is shorter and doesn't seem to have had a door in the end of it like this one does.

Ricky
Austin, Texas

Harry Nicholls · **Posted:** Thu May 28, 2015 1:34 am

Thanks, I will research Goldthwaithe to find more photos.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Thu May 28, 2015 8:11 am

The reality is that it could be any of five hundred or so Santa Fe depots.

Here's a sample of what you're up against--and this is just SURVIVING depots:

http://atsf.railfan.net/depots/

Harry Nicholls · **Posted:** Thu May 28, 2015 9:55 am

I may be facing such a great number of depots, but Goldthwaite did have two depots of similar design and the freight house was sold, when closed, and moved to Saledo, TX for use as a residence. I shall find out if this location had the depot in question when I see the book SF Depots by Robert Pound. His book does show the depots in Goldthwaite according to a summary I read last night. The hunt goes on.

Harry

Evan_Werkema · **Joined:** Mon Jun 01, 2015 4:18 am **Posts:** 1

It's not Goldthwaite. This is the freight depot at Goldthwaite:

http://www.texassantafehistory.com/imag ... te0002.jpg

I agree the mystery depot is probably of GC&SF origin, and is also wider than the usual 18-foot width of most GC&SF board and batten depots. There were a few GC&SF freight depots that were 22 feet wide: 22x112 built 1889 at Milano, TX, 22x120 built 1895 at Temple, TX, and 24x200 at Ardmore, OK (built as a 24x90 combination depot in 1887, turned into freight depot in 1902). The trouble is finding photos of any of those...and the answer may well not be any of them.