Railroad Depot in Galena, Kansas
Another Railroad Depot (That’s a Good Thing)
As we continued our brief visit to Galena, Kansas, during our October 2022 visit to Kansas and Missouri, we had one more place that we wanted to visit: the Galena Railroad Depot, which is located along the path of Route 66.
The Galena Railroad Depot has been converted into a mining and history museum. And as with every other place we visited that Monday evening, the visitor center was closed. Thank you, Columbus Day holiday, and also the lateness of our arrival. We can’t blame Columbus for everything, after all. But that was okay because we still got to look around outside and see this interesting building. And some surrounding items, too.
The Depot was built in 1900 for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, also known as the M-K-T. And as with most old buildings like this, it was moved from its original location near the old Route 66 location to where it now stands on the current highway. I can’t imagine anyone moving our house, or even wanting to, so I am glad that there are people who specialize in that sort of thing.
An old semaphore signal stands next to the station. Those were used to signal arriving trains of the conditions of the track ahead. Way before cell phones, of course.
Engine and Caboose
Near the Depot is an old Whitcomb engine and a caboose. You can probably tell by its size, but this engine was not a main-line engine. It was used by the Navy and also at a nearby chemical plant. Maybe not as glamorous as the big engines, but still necessary to get the work done. It was painted green and yellow to match the nearby caboose.
The caboose was used by the Burlington Northern Railroad, which gave it the signature green and yellow color scheme of the railroad. It is built of metal, unlike the wooden caboose that we had seen in Ellsworth earlier in our trip. It was still built in much the same arrangement because that apparently worked well no matter what the caboose was made from. Why change a good thing if it works?
This railroad inspection car bears the plate of the Frisco Lines railroad. As you can guess from its name, it was used to run out and inspect things. Wouldn’t it be great to have one of those and be able just to jump on the tracks and run around for a while? I am guessing the big trains would not appreciate that, however.
And to finish up our photo tour, here is one last look at the Galena Railroad Depot, with its M-K-T signage. It was another fun place to see, and a great addition to our collection of railroad depot visits, too.
More Photos
That just about wraps up our visit to Galena. But here are two more photos before we go.
Yes, we can’t resist climbing up on these old railroad items, as long as there are no signs prohibiting it. And for this engine and caboose, there were steps going up to them, which made it even easier for us. But do be respectful if you are visiting such places and they don’t want you to climb on them. Be a good citizen.
As we were leaving Galena, we stopped by a gas station nearby for a brief rest stop. And across the way, we saw this large Coca-Cola mural. You may know of my fondness of Coca-Cola, so of course, I had to get a photo of it with its Route 66 connection. But because it was getting late and also sprinkling rain, I did not try to get Laura to go stand by it. It still made for a good photo, however.
And then we left Galena, deciding to make one more quick Route 66 stop, even though darkness was setting in on us. Hopefully, there would be some lights there. (Hint, there were.) More on that some other time.
Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. - 1 Peter 4:10
About the Photos
While I was not happy with the light when we were just a short distance away at the Texaco station, everything looked better with these photos. Perhaps it was that it was even later in the evening. Or perhaps it was that the clouds were even thicker, blocking more of the sunlight. Whatever the reason, I was able to process these in a way that I was happy with. Just the right kind of photographic charm for this old railroad depot.
Also, I used two different aspect ratios for these photos, 3:2 and 2:1, which I had used in the previous post. Instead of making all of these photos one or the other, I decided to mix it up and use whichever worked best for each photo.
Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in GIMP and Raw Therapee. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Rokinon 35mm f/1.8
Date: October 10, 2022
Location: Galena, Kansas
