Featured Louisville & Nashville depots on the blog this month are those in Nashville, IL; Knoxville, TN; Wetumpka, AL; and Cartersville, GA.
The depot at Knoxville was built in 1905. It served as a passenger station until 1968 when the L&N ceased passenger service to Knoxville. The station continued to house L&N offices until 1975. It remained vacant until 1980 when Alex Harkness and his partners purchased it. In 1982 it was renovated for use during the Worlds Fair. In 1985 it was further renovated by Alex Harkness and Station 82 partners for use as office and special events.
The depot at Nashville, Illinois, was built in 1885 as part of the L&N’s expansion through Southern Illinois in the 1880’s. The building has a simple vernacular design common to L&N depots in small towns, which were intended to be functional rather than elaborate. The depot also served as an information center for Nashville. The depot remained in service as late as the 1950’s but closed sometime prior to 1984. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places March 1, 1985.
The depot in Wetumpka, Alabama, was built in 1906. The station served as a passenger and freight depot until service was terminated in the 1930’s and as a freight depot until 1973. In 1975 it was purchased by the First Methodist Church of Wetumpka and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Cartersville, Georgia’s former NC&StL depot looks a bit stubby because the freight room, which occupied some three-fourths of the buildings 200 foot length was demolished in 1972. The surviving passenger section dates to 1902. Parts of the walls on the freight side are older, dating back to the 1850’s and 1860’s. The original Western & Atlantic depot on this site was constructed in 1854. In 1890 the W&A was leased to the NC&StL which merged with the L&N in 1957. L&N was folded into CSX in 1980. CSX still operates the line under a lease from the State of Georgia, which has owned it through its entire history.
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L&N Railway Depot – Knoxville, TN. (Credit: Wikipedia.org)
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L&N Railway Depot – Cartersville, GA (Credit: http://www.railga.com)
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L&N Railway Depot – Nashville, IL (Credit: Wikipedia.org)
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L&N Railway Depot – Wetumpka, AL (Credit: http://www.panoramio.com)
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Featured subjects on February’s Canadian Corner are Canadian National Steam Locomotives in various Ontario and Quebec locations:
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