Nostalgia & History > Depot Friday: Manhattan KS at night

My friend Jim Watson recently found these slides in his collection. This is a very timely coincidence. Several days ago TO member ‘UPTRAIN’ posted a thread over on the Steam forum about his recent visit to UP’s Durham Museum in Omaha, NE. As usual, he posted some superb photography! (here’s a link: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,4028496 ) The 10th image in his thread is of the classic “Overland Route” neon depot sign that I’m pretty sure used to hang on the east side of the elegant passenger depot in Topeka, KS. Union Pacific transferred this sign from Topeka to corporate HQ in Omaha for safekeeping. But long before it was in Topeka this sign had been affixed to the east end of my hometown depot in Manhattan, KS.

I can remember seeing this sign scads of times while growing up in Manhattan. It was especially prominent when we loaded up in the family wagon for some trip out of town that took us across the highway overpass spanning both the UP (KP) mainline & the Kansas River. This overpass gave motorists a press-box view of the sign & general depot area. By the time I picked up a camera in the mid-70s and started shooting trains Uncle Pete had moved this sign from Manhattan to Topeka. This generally coincided with the onset of Amtrak and the total loss of passenger service through Manhattan over the KP. I never got a chance to shoot the sign day or night while it was still in Manhattan. But I did get to shoot the sign at night while it was in Topeka.

I’m especially thankful for another hometown railfan, the late Mr Thos R. Lee for recording these wonderful night scenes of the Manhattan depot. They were taken in March of 1972, after Amtrak was already a reality. It’s very likely Tom got some word about the sign’s imminent removal from Manhattan. So he went to work with his tripod. I believe the sign was moved to Topeka not long after he got these shots. It was gone by 1976 when I first started in 35mm photography. Here are 3 night time shots of the Union Pacific passenger depot in Manhattan from Tom’s camera. Enjoy…

1. Looking SW at a 3/4 view of the left front corner of the Union Pacific depot in Manhattan, KS.

2. Same angle as above with no sunlight left.

3. Looking SSW directly at the east face of the depot.
(3 photos taken in March of 1972 by Thos R. Lee, copy slides from the James W. Watson collection)

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Jim Watson (UP6900)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/22 00:17 by santafe199.

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Here's the Manhattan station in October, 1961. I was hoping for a PA, but F7A 1482 and an unidentofied E8B led Train 70, the Ellis-Kansas City local that evening. The big UP sign is visible on the side of the station. Jim will remember that I was teaching freshman English at K-State that year. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/16 13:12 by BillMarvel.

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Nice pic of No.70 but looks like an F9A and F3B. No E unit for sure.

In the 1961 daylight photo is the track going off to the right a team track?

BillMarvel Wrote: > Here's the Manhattan station in October, 1961...
What a marvelous peek back into my home town memories! I was in the 1st grade in October of 1961. I sure wish someone would have whacked me over the head and told me I could have been taking pictures as a kid. Even if it was only B/W stuff with the family Kodak Brownie...

Lance/199

Thanks for providig an ID for that second unit. My notes from the time just identified the lead unit, and I tried to guess the second unit by squinting at the slide through my glasses. My familiarity of this train stems from the other end of the line, Denver, where it arrived amd departed as mixed train 369/370 to and from Ellis. I did manage to catch it once with a PA near Sandown Junction.    

millerdc Wrote: > ... is the track going off to the right a team track?
I'm not sure what UP called that track. It was a stub that I believe provided service to the old Ice Co. building just out of frame to the right. This is just a shot in the dark, but I would also guess the old motor car passenger service between Manhattan & Lincoln, NE [via Marysville] loaded & unloaded from this track. This motor car ran up to Marysville through the Big Blue River valley, which is now Tuttle Creek Reservoir. I would also imagine that motor car parked here overnight as well. I remember as a very little kid (Kindergarten, probably) bringing my paternal grandmother down to put her on UP #10 for Kansas City. I remember when Dad parked our car on this track I burst into terrified tears because I thought some train would surely come and smash our car. Then we would have to walk all the way home.
(In those days 'home' was about a 10 bazillion mile long walk... ;^)

Lance/199

Old UP RR train crews on that passenger train above, were based out of Kanasas City and worked between KC and Ellis, KS. KC based hoggers worked between KC and Junction City, KS.
 

Somewhere near the U.P. depot the Rock Island crossed over the U.P. tracks heading both east and west. Part of the old
ROW can be realized in an alley behind the station.

ValvePilot Wrote: > Somewhere near the U.P. depot the Rock Island crossed...
The Rock Island crossed on the west side of the depot. Look at the base of the tree line in the background in Bill's shot and you can find their rails and trace them out of frame to the left. They pass right over the top of the "Golden Belt Limber Co" building. Once you spot the rail line it stands right out, and you can see slicing through the entire top 1/3 of the image. In my adolescent & badly uneducated railfan days I spent many hours "hanging around" at that UP/CRI&P crossing hoping for either RR to give me a train...

Lance/199

Very, VERY nice!  My wife and I had the privilege of being married in that great structure just over 3 years ago.  I'm glad such an effort was made to save & restore it.

Wonderful images from a nice town I resided in for 16 years.. --Kelly

The motorcar was in the enginehouse. wag216