New use for old railcars and rail buildings --- Post your Google images here.

J

JCitron

Trainzing since 12-2003
Here's a new thread dedicated to old freight cars resurrected for a new purpose rather than pollute Dave Snow's thread on locomotives. Many have become diners, hotels, motels, garden and farm sheds, and even bulk loaders such as this one. Please use the same format for this thread that Dave Snow suggested for his.

http://goo.gl/maps/OZtWe

John
 
Now... Not a former structure, but a miniature, narrow gauge railroad on someone's farm in central-eastern Colorado near Strasburg. This is another place I remembered seeing while out that way a few years ago. It was too dark to take pictures of. Neat.

http://goo.gl/maps/E2R1U

Here's some guys working on the bridge too.

http://goo.gl/maps/SklwT
 
jfriedrich said:
Group of 8 hoppers used as some form of storage in London,Ontario Canada

https://maps.gstatic.com/m/streetview/?panoid=fNSnA9c0RFEgAEmWA4n3qg&cbp=0,155.7722546676573,,0,0
Click to expand...

Sure is. Pretty cool. I think someone could make some of these for us. :)

Last year I saw a bunch of old Santa Fe hoppers on some stands. They were setup so trucks could drive under them. Unfortunately, I can't remember the area in Texas and didn't get a photo because it was a bit too dark and at the wrong angle - kind of hard while whizzing by at 70mph and bouncing along the highway. By the time I got the camera focused, we were gone!

John
 
If I remember right from driving by them they are all ex-TILX. I have no idea what the industry does that's at this location.
 
Kinda hard to see behind the trees, but this is an old wooden caboose that is now a barbershop, the "Cut Loose Caboose".

It's the former Great Northern X200, built 1941 and retired in 1965. It sits next to a trail that was formerly a rail line owned by the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern then by the Northern Pacific then Burlington Northern then BNSF.

http://goo.gl/maps/XI4yz

http://www.issaquahreporter.com/news/123650614.html]

Exterior:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cut-...y5PlHZUGs_8CooCiWiFGHw#y5PlHZUGs_8CooCiWiFGHw

Interior shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwhonan/5719586549/

Todd
 
RacerTodd said:
Kinda hard to see behind the trees, but this is an old wooden caboose that is now a barbershop, the "Cut Loose Caboose".

It's the former Great Northern X200, built 1941 and retired in 1965. It sits next to a trail that was formerly a rail line owned by the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern then by the Northern Pacific then Burlington Northern then BNSF.

Todd
Click to expand...

Nice use of an old caboose. At least it's not stuffed and mounted in a park where it could get vandalized. That happens too many times to old rail equipment.

Here's a couple of old heavyweight baggage cars now used as storage sheds.

http://goo.gl/maps/xh4nb

These are in West Springfield, MA down the street from the CSX (Boston and Albany) yard.

Now part of a Chinese restaurant in Methuen, MA

http://goo.gl/maps/1PmVd

This looks like a former passenger car. I wonder what's under all the plywood and shingles!


John
 
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http://goo.gl/maps/4Rfh7 Front

http://goo.gl/maps/JjfCh Back


A former MILW station located just west of Forsyth, MT on US12. This is a short distance north of the former Pacific Coast Extension which was tragically abandoned and ripped up in 1980.

I remembered this one too from chasing out there in 2012. I only saw 1 severe storm for 10-days out there!

John
 
That's a great restoration of that station.

Here's some more from up my way.

Bradford, MA station now a Laundromat.

http://goo.gl/maps/xcqwH

Lawrence, MA station, now a selection of small stores. The platforms are still in place, but are unused. The new station was built a few years ago and is located about a mile away. This station was opened in the 1930s to replace a grand terminal in downtown Lawrence, located on the old M&L which would be behind us, and was built on the B&M mainline between Boston and Portland. There were 5-tracks including the M&L wye-lead. The M&L is now a weeded over truncated branch which I think is now abandoned.

http://goo.gl/maps/qJl9y

Shawsheen Depot which now houses a private business, built in the 1910s when the rest of Shawsheen was built by William Wood, founder and owner of American Woolen Co. The B&M mainline continues passed it.

http://goo.gl/maps/ia8FF


Andover:

Freight house. This was once a derelict, poison ivy covered, building which now houses little shops.
http://goo.gl/maps/Yhetl

Station. Missing the extend platforms that ran along the tracks in both directions - It's now a private business.
http://goo.gl/maps/uV5ya

And there are so many more to hunt down. :)

John
 
North of York alongside the railway.

http://goo.gl/maps/5KOmL

I have a vague recollection that when we used to cycle past there in the past with the York cycle rally that there were just a couple or so of Pullman coaches there. Can anybody tell me if my memory is faulty?
 
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I just found this today, on another site.

Here is an ex-NYC observation car in San Francisco, CA. There is another passenger car of some sort behind it. Not sure what it's being used for, but it has an air conditioner in the window.

The blue building is a restaurant.

http://goo.gl/maps/mFlos
 
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