Nostalgia & History > CB&Q Prescott, Wisc. Depot

As the substitute Agent for the vacationind Agent I worked the Prescott, WI Depot a couple of weeks during the 1964 summer.  I do not see the depot on Google.

1.  Taken June 24, 1964.  If you look really closely to the lower right of the depot roof you can see the top of the bridge over the St. Croix River, which I'll show you later.  I don't remember droping the Order Boards.  The shot is looking northwest toward St. Paul about 19 miles away.

2.  Looking southeast.

3.  This is a crop of Photo 2.  If you look beyond the speeder shack, you can see the track becomes double track.  The bridge over St. Croix River is single track.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/20 13:48 by MartyBernard.

---

---

---

4.  CB&Q E5A 9912A and 2 E7As on June 30, 1964.  You can't see the cars because they are on the other of the double tracks.  This must be the Morning Zepher.

5.  CB&Q SD24 500 on June 26, 1964.  The rear end of the train is on the St. Croix River Bridge.

6.  An eastbound on the CB&Q's St. Croix River Bridge about 600 ft. northwest of the Depot.

Enjoy,
Marty Bernard
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/20 13:51 by MartyBernard.

---

---

---

When I saw the first picture including the signal I knew this was a Burlington line because the green is in  the middle ,  yellow would be in the top signal and red on the bottom.

A NICE and interesting series!

Larry

Nice pics - thanks for posting.

Having gone to UW River Falls about 12 miles from Prescott I had been through there a lot.  Alas, it was the BN times of the mid-70s and early 80s.  Depot was gone when I was in college.  I have a friend who lives in Prescott so we get there at least once a year.  The town sure is different now.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/20 19:39 by MILW16.

Thanks for these, Marty.  I've stood on that embankment on the right side of the freight shot, but only in the BNSF era and long after the BN replacement of the St. Croix River bridge.  I'm thinking the train on the bridge is probably the Morning Zephyr.  If the train is east bound, it's obviously a morning shot.  Since it's not the EB or NCL consist, that makes it the Zephyr.  What say you.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Nick, the sun seems to be coming from the south or the southwest.  The train is physically headed southeast.  I'd say it is about 2:30 pm.  So it's neither eastbound Zephyr.

June 24 was a Wednesday so I should have been at the Depot at 2:30.

So I don't know which train.

Marty

Note the icebreakers on the upstream, north, side of the bridge pier, and that there is no highway bridge in background.  This has to be a westbound train.

-John

But John, the sun is on the noise.  Yes I must have been on the north side of the bridge.  But it had to be the Prescott end because the sun is on the noise.  I'm thinking it's the eastbound Mornng Zephyr.  Marty



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/20 11:52 by MartyBernard.

Could that slide be mislabeled?  Your first post, of the depot, does indeed reveal lift towers in the background as you pointed out. And, now that I think about it I seem to recall that the old bridge was a lift bridge, as is the present bridge.  But, the last picture shows a swing bridge. 

-John

What was the highway bridge then?  I only spent time there once.  Marty

Ahhhh....  Yes.  Found this picture on the web of the old Highway 10 lift bridge, the tops of the towers which can be seen beyond the depot in your first picture.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prescott,_Wisconsin_Bridge_Spanning_St._Croix_River.jpg

Hwy 10 is roughly parallel to the railroad, a few hundred feet to the north.  The Q bridge can be seen in the background.

-John

Okay, now we've got a mystery.  Since we've established this is not Prescott, WI, where is it??  Possibly Quincy IL, before the current bridge was built.  I can't recall when the Q had to do that, but it is possible, And I recall seeing a photo of the old bridge which was a swing span.  This is just a WAG and anyone can correct it.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

ntharalson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Okay, now we've got a mystery.  Since we've
> established this is not Prescott, WI, where is
> it??  Possibly Quincy IL, before the current
> bridge was built.  I can't recall when the Q had
> to do that, but it is possible, And I recall
> seeing a photo of the old bridge which was a swing
> span.  This is just a WAG and anyone can correct
> it.  
>
> Nick Tharalson,
> Marion, IA

The bridge in the last photo with the CB&Q passenger train is definitely the old swing bridge at Prescott.  I have attached a screen shot from a web site that shows an aerial photo of the original bridges over the St. Croix River.  The photo was taken from the west-southwest.  Note the swing portion of the CB&Q bridge was on the east end of the bridge.  That matches the last photo above.

The current railroad bridge runs pretty much directly east-west.  I don't remember if the old bridge was directly next to it, but it was possibly on a slightly different angle.  At any rate, if the photo was taken in June, the afternoon / evening sun can be slightly north of directly west, which could get sun on the north side of the train.  Thus, judging by the bridge structure shadows on the train, I believe the photo is taken in late afternoon or early evening.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/20 20:16 by MILW16.

---

HI, I'll throw my 2-cents into the guessing game regarding which train is on the bridge in the last photo. In June, 1964 the sun would be shining on the NORTH side of the bridge and the train in early evening. Look at the extreme left side of the photo and analyze the dome car. It doesn't have any skirts, and the colors, though not sharp seem to be green tones. Just after the motors seems to be a stainless steel 'Zephyr car'. In 1964 The North Coast Limited had an RPO car [aka Silver Post, Silver Page, etc] just after the motors. Without looking at the 1964 schedule, NCL had left Chicago at 12:10 PM and was probably due into St. Paul around 6:45 or 7:00 PM. Therefore, I'd guess the train is #25, the North Coast Limited. I wonder if Marty ended his tour of duty and wandered over to the place where he took the photo? 
Mike-Silver View

Okay.  I think it safe to say we've established this as a westbound.  Looking at the far right of the photo, the consist does appear green, no orange, which would make this the NCL.  This time in June, it would be possible to have sunlight on the
north side of the consist.  Looking at the aerial provided, the highway was not as close as it is now to the tracks and probably wouldn't be visible in a shot.  The guess that Marty may have taken this after his "tour of duty" may well be spot on!

Marty, I've enjoyed all your posts of your time working for the Q.  This "little" mystery has just added to the enjoyment!  Thanks so much for posting.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA