Recently my travels took me through Franklin County, Missouri. U.S. 50 through most of Franklin County parallels the old Rock Island St. Louis-Kansas City mainline. The line is still in place, but "rail banked" and owned by the State of Missouri. A portion of the line from the old Rock Island Page Avenue Yard in St. Louis to the town of Union, Missouri is operated by the Central Midland Railway.
The town of Gerald is just west of Union. Just west of downtown, in a park, sits the old Rock Island Depot. The depot is in excellent shape, maintained by the local Chamber of Commerce. Signage at the depot indicates that it was moved from downtown to the park in the mid 1980s and is the only remaining depot on the line. While not on the old Rock Island anymore, the depot remains just across U.S. 50 from the old mainline.
As for the Rock Island line, there has been on and off talk the past several years about reopening the entire line. It is unclear if and when this would ever happen.
Thanks, Counsel. I learned something today. I was not familiar with "railbanked" but easily looked it up and it fit right in with your comments.
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