Nostalgia & History > Then and Now_Richmond, Indiana

Here are two shots taken at the C&O depot in Richmond, Indiana. The first one was taken circa 1977 of Amtrak's soutbound (eastbound) Cardinal arriving. Only a corner of the depot and the train order board are visible in this shot. As the C&O came into downtown Richmond, it passed under the former Pennsy mainline. You can see a trailer train passing overhead in the background beyond the Richmond Avenue bridge. The second shot was taken on Monday, October 19, 2009. The changes are sadly evident. There are still a few ties embedded in the ground to mark a once-thriving mainline and small yard. The depot still stands, although forlornly. Although it's not visible in the second shot, one thing that hasn't changed completely is the former Pennsy overpass. It still sees several trains per day as it carries the Norfolk Southern's New Castle District. The C&O ROW hasn't been totally lost. There is a parking area and trailhead for the Cardinal Greenway on the other side of the white building on the left. Walkers and bikers can now walk and ride where C&O (and Amtrak) trains once ruled.

Kim Heusel



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/09 18:03 by KimHeusel.

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Very sad indeed. The 2nd shot is a view that is all too common in the U.S. in these modern times.

I have to agree. Every time I see a now and then photo group it is very sad indeed.
Thanks for posting the great photos.

Here is a photo shot at Richmond on a Sunday morning of Southbound train # 90 which did not normally stop anywhere between Peru and Cincinnati to work as well as it's counterpart # 91 which was also a hot shot, I grew up in Richmond and to see what a run down mess it has become causes me great pain. For a short time in 1976 we had 3 railroads in Richmond, Conrail, C & O and N & W now there are just two and one only comes into South Richmond which is the Indiana Eastern. It looks like from Kims photo that someone has stolen the rain gutters off the depot and broken into the empty building. Is that correct Kim ? I wish the Cardinal Green way folks would take the station over before it is totally trashed and is no good to anyone. Ed



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/09 21:51 by cpr-hogger.

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cpr-hogger Wrote:
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> Here is a photo shot at Richmond on a Sunday
> morning of Southbound train # 90 which did not
> normally stop anywhere between Peru and Cincinnati
> to work as well as it's counterpart # 91 which was
> also a hot shot, I grew up in Richmond and to see
> what a run down mess it has become causes me great
> pain. For a short time in 1976 we had 3 railroads
> in Richmond, Conrail, C & O and N & W now there
> are just two and one only comes into South
> Richmond which is the Indiana Eastern. It looks
> like from Kims photo that someone has stolen the
> rain gutters off the depot and broken into the
> empty building. Is that correct Kim ? I wish the
> Cardinal Green way folks would take the station
> over before it is totally trashed and is no good
> to anyone. Ed

I couldn't really tell if the old depot had been broken into or not. Wouldn't be surprised if it has, however. It looked like it was pretty well sealed when I walked around it. There are still air-conditioners in the boarded-up windows, but just about everything that identified it with C&O is gone. I was there 5-6 years ago and the Chesapeake and Ohio sign was still on the side of the building. Here's a photo I took probably the same year as yours, Ed, 1976, of Amtrak's northbound Cardinal from about the same place as your picture. I wish I'd taken the time to get more freight train pictures, but I was too impatient back then and settled for Amtrak because it was something different on a line that had been freight-only for so many years, and I knew about when Amtrak would show up.

Kim

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Great photos. I have a cabride video of this line from Richmond to Fernald Ohio. I bought it at a train show from a retired CSX conductor. the video was shot in the early 1990's and it shows them pulling cars from the interchange track to the ex PRR behind the C&O depot. i will try to find the info on the video so anyone interested can call and get a copy. About this time last year I was offered a job with Indiana Eastern. I really liked that shortline, but I worked there only two days and got furloughed.