Need help finding depots? Maybe
the maps on this site will help.
This site
contains maps of 45 of the United States with markers
indicating
the locations of historic railroad depots. If you're taking a trip by car check these maps first -
you'll be able to determine what depots are located along your route.
Clicking on a marker returns some basic information on the depot.
If pictures are available (and over 1,100 are!) they are also displayed.
Place the cursor over a state's name to get basic statistics -
more detailed statistics on depots/pictures per state are available
here.
Motivation for these Maps
My depot mapping project began as a way to display the pictures
I've taken
of passenger train stations (depots). During
the early phase of my depot-hunting exploits I simply visited
towns to see if I could locate a depot. While I found this an
interesting "treasure hunt", it did result in a lot of wasted
time and gas!
Once I discovered the national database of railroad depots (www.rrshs.org)
my hit rate improved
dramatically! However, it still took me significant time to
determine which depots existed along various routes I might be
traveling - what counties would I be passing through, and where
were the depots located within these counties.
To resolve this issue I started mapping the
locations of depots I hadn't yet visited. Eventually I switched
to an on-line map with depot locations color-coded for visited
or not, with or without pictures, etc. These maps allowed me to
optimize my routes on picture-taking weekends. And, when
traveling out-of-state, I could tell what depots would be
close-by during the trip.
What
the Maps Offer
The
maps include the locations of depots that still exist, and the
locations where they were originally sited if they have been
moved. The maps do not mark the locations of depots that
no longer exist. Just keeping track of the depots that still
exist is tough since many have been moved multiple times, been
split in half, converted to other uses, etc!
The map markers are color coded, and clicking on a marker
will show info and/or pictures.
The color code used on the maps is as follows:
Green
- A depot on (or near) its original site, with a photo available
Red
- A depot on (or near) its original site, without a photo
Blue
- A relocated depot, with a photo available
Yellow
- A relocated depot, without a photo
Purple
- The site where a relocated depot was originally sited
If you're just interested in looking at pictures of depots, the
states with the most pictures are (in order) North Carolina,
Minnesota, South Carolina and Iowa. (To see the complete list
click here.).
Select a state from the list on the left side of the screen, then either click on a green map
marker, or click on the "View All Photos" icon at the upper left
corner of the screen.
Note: I don't count a depot as relocated unless it has been
moved more than a few blocks - depots moved back from the tracks, or
moved across the street, don't count as relocated.) I'm sure
there are a number of errors since it isn't always obvious from
the addresses/descriptions how far a depot has been moved. (It seems that every wooden depot has been moved, while few
brick/stone depots have been!)
Also note that I don't have all 50 states covered. In fact, I
don't have all 48 contiguous states covered. Four states
(Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Carolina and Oregon) do not
have RRSHS-compliant data available, nor have I included Hawaii
or Alaska. Although not in the RRSHS database, I have included
markers and pictures for South Carolina thanks to the work of
John Jones..
Geotagging
In
order to plot the depots on the maps I needed to determine the
latitude/longitude of each depot. Unfortunately, many (most?) of
the depots listed in the RRSHS database do not have specific
street addresses. Therefore, in many instances the plots are
off-base, especially in large metro areas. If you find instances where
depot markers are misplaced
please send me a
note. To determine the latitude/longitude you can zoom
in on the map to locate the depot. Double-click on the depot
location to center the map on that spot. You will then see the
coordinates in text below the map - that is the info I need.
