Nostalgia & History > St Joseph & Grand Island in 1908!

Date: 09/22/18 19:12
St Joseph & Grand Island in 1908!
Author: santafe199

When it comes to antique photographs, one just cannot be picky. Here’s an extremely rare case where the exact date is known, and it’s likely the photographer’s initials are known. But boy-oh-boy, those pixel squares are as big as watermelons. Not really, but you get the idea. I’m not complaining, though. Over 110 years have passed since KWB (or whomever) made this photograph of a St Joseph & Grand Island passenger train at the old Marysville depot on the west (TT south) side of the tracks. In this scene the photographer is standing virtually right on the sight of the future platform of a new depot that will be built in the 1920s.

74 years later a photographic comparison was enabled. TO member Jim Watson (UP6900) was in Marysville to record the crew change of a passenger special led by a pair of distinctive GP40-X units. Jim stood just a scant few yards off of the spot where the 1908 photographer stood. If that’s not enough, yours truly was also in town for some follow-up shots. After shooting the train minutes earlier from a handy elevated embankment out near Herkimer, KS I hauled buns, seat cushions, assets & whatever else I could to get into to town for another round of shots. I knew the crew change just might give me the precious extra few minutes I would need. I’ve tossed in my own previously posted “away” shot of the train running through the streets of downtown Marysville.

Added note: my slides show a date of March 10, 1982 while Jim’s trader slide (in my collection) shows March 16. I would tend to trust Jim’s date over mine. But would any of you Union Pacific scholars happen to know for sure which date is correct?

1. SJ&GI passenger scene at the depot in Marysville, KS. Photo taken by K.W.B (?) on May 6, 1908.
(Photo courtesy of the Marshall County Historical Society)

2. UP 9001 & 9003 lead an unknown business special into a crew-change pause at Marysville. The old depot from the 1908 shot is now gone, and the modern stucco depot has been in place since the late 1920s.
(Photo by James W. Watson)

3. The 9001/9003 combo glides over Carolina St, US hwy 36 & Broadway St on its southeasterly way out of Marysville.
Photo #3 is mine, photos #2 & #3 taken March 10, 1982 (??) or March 16, 1982 (??). Maybe we’ll never know which…

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