B & O Station Barely Hanging On [now gone 2013], Syracuse IN - Train Stations/Depots on Waymarking.com

This station is in the sites for restoration of the Indiana Landmark Organization but so far more prestigious sites have taken precedence. The situation has deteriorated so badly it is now possible to just walk in as we did to take some photos. Unfortunately vandals visit more often than history buffs and find it a place to do their trade. In several spots the roof has given in over the last ten years and the interior has all but been ruined. The floor is still in good shape less the freight area where vandals started a fire and burned it through to the basement.

Some original furniture remains inside and the building was used by the railroad to store parts until they moved most of their parts to the nearby storage pods.

The history of the depot dates to 1912 when it was commissioned by the B&O railroad which had been operating in the town for some time into the late 1800's but had just been using platforms and a crude wooden depot located to the east of the present depot.

Syracuse had two other railroads but this was their first one and was truly the pride of the community. On several occasions local history records the town trying to court other lines to pass through because of the comerce the B & O brought to the community.

On that premise the second line was a run from Milford Indiana to Syracuse and farmers had agreed to the land sale based on the promise of passenger service as B&O offered but were sort of shamed by the Portland Cement Company. They never intended to offer passenger service it was recorded in a local history book found at the library. They used the line to haul marl from lake beds to their cement company and that is about all it was used for.

The third railroad was also a disaster. It was a worse scam. It never had a station and only operated for one day. The last 4 miles of track into town was laid at a cost of $40,000 and made of used rails which were never paid for. The owner of those rails sued the railroad and was awarded a judgment for them and other assets of the railroad. The one day the railroad was in service it brought in one car of 12 passengers (all officers of the railroad)using one locomotive. It was later discovered that both the car and locomotive were borrowed from another line to do the run. The rails were removed after the judgment was awarded and no station depot was ever built.

Around 2000 the local historical society looked into acquiring this depot for its use to house their museum as they were being relocated from the local library. At that time the building was in much better condition and was still a viable building if work was done to it to halt the intrusion of the elements through the roof. Sadly the railroad was not interested in selling it. Later when it did become available it was too late and the stipulation was made that it had to be moved as well. Given its present condition it will likely be raised soon. If you love old stations stop by soon before its too late to see this one. [as predicted it is now gone as of 2013 - only the foundation remains. visits can be logged by photographing the foundation or surroundings, sorry you missed the real thing :-( ]

Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: No Is the station/depot open to the public?: No If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?: The rail line still owns it but has just abandoned it and is letting it decay. What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: B & O Station/Depot Web Site: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/09/2012 walkingwildly visited it 10/26/2011 DnRseekers visited it

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