Need help finding depots? Maybe the maps on this website will help. This site contains maps of the 48 contiguous U.S. states, with over 9,000 markers indicating the locations of historic railroad depots. If you're taking a trip by car check these maps first - you'll be able to determine what depots are located along your route. Put the cursor over a State's name to see how many photos are available. Click on the State's name to view the map for that State with markers showing the locations of the depots. Clicking on a marker displays a thumbnail image with some basic information on that depot. Click on the thumbnail image to view a larger photo of the depot.



The following icons link to other areas of DepotMaps that may be of interest to you.



Depots by Railroad

State Statistics

Recent Photo Contributions

Roger Kujawa - IL

James Burt - IL, IA, KS

John Matrow - KS

Tom Eisenhower - TX



_____________________________________ Major Contributors _____________________________________ John Jones Fred Heggi James Burt Jack Marshall Ron Reiring Jim Spears Deb DeSantis Louis Van Winkle Jimmy Emerson John Montgomery Mark Hinsdale Dale Anderson Stephen Rowe James Lowman John Matrow Roger Daniels Teresa Rogers Earl Leatherberry Robert English Jeff Borne Motivation for these Maps



My depot mapping project began as a way to display the pictures I've taken of passenger train stations. During the early phase of my depot-hunting exploits I simply visited towns to see if I could locate a depot. While I found this an interesting "treasure hunt", it did result in a lot of wasted time and gas!



Once I discovered the national database of railroad depots ( www.rrshs.org ) my hit rate improved dramatically! However, the RRSHS data is organized by State, then the Counties within the State, and then the Cities within the County. It took me significant time to determine which depots existed along various routes I might be traveling - what counties would I be passing through, and where were the depots located within those counties.



To resolve this issue I started mapping the locations of depots I hadn't yet visited. Eventually I switched to an on-line map with depot locations color-coded for visited or not, with or without pictures, etc. These maps allowed me to optimize my routes on picture-taking weekends. And, when traveling out-of-state, I could tell what depots would be close-by during the trip.



What the Maps Offer



The maps include the locations of historic depots that still exist, and the locations where they were originally sited if they have been moved. The maps do not mark the locations of depots that no longer exist. Just keeping track of the depots that still exist is tough since many have been moved multiple times, been split in half, converted to other uses, etc!



The map markers are color coded, and clicking on a marker will show info and/or pictures. The color code used on the maps is as follows:

Green - A depot on (or near) its original site, with a photo available

Red - A depot on (or near) its original site, without a photo

Blue - A relocated depot, with a photo available

Yellow - A relocated depot, without a photo

Purple - The site where a relocated depot was originally situated



One subtle point is that all markers are not visible from the high-level view of a state's map. That is because depots in close proximity have their markers so closely placed that they appear as one. If a marker's shadow is darker than the others, that is an indication that multiple markers are at that location - zoom in for a better look. Zoom in on the map by double-clicking an area near the depots you're interested in. Do this several times until your low-level view allows you to discern the individual markers. If you're just interested in looking at pictures of depots, the states with the most pictures are North Carolina, Michigan, Texas and Illinois. If you position the cursor over the State list on the left side of this screen, the count of photos will display for each State. Select a state from the list, then either click on a green or blue map marker, or click on the "View All Photos" icon at the upper left corner of each state's page. To see the complete list of State stats click here . Note: I don't count a depot as relocated unless it has been moved more than a few blocks - depots moved back from the tracks, or moved across the street, don't count as relocated. I'm sure there are a number of errors since it isn't always obvious from the addresses / descriptions how far a depot has been moved. (It seems that every wooden depot has been moved, while few brick/stone depots have been!) Also note: This website is dedicated to historic depots, not Amshacks. I've included a lot of metro depots that are replicas, and quite a few that are 'not very historic'. But, in general, I've avoided shelters, platforms, and modern Light-Rail, Metra, BART, and Regional Rail stations under 50 years old. No attempt is made to keep up with the constantly changing list of commuter stops/shelters. Geotagging



In order to plot the depots on the maps, I need to determine the latitude/longitude of each depot. Unfortunately, over 10% of the depots listed in the RRSHS database have no address specified, and another 20%-30% have vague addresses. Therefore, in many instances the plots are off-base, especially in large metro areas. If you find instances where depot markers are mislabeled or misplaced please send me a note . To determine the latitude/longitude you can zoom in on the map to locate the depot. Double-click on the depot location to center the map on that spot. You will then see the coordinates in text below the map - you can select the coordinates, copy them, and paste them into an email to me. Recent Photo Updates Depot Stats by State Depots by Railroad Depots on National Register Diamond Depots