The Illinois Central Railroad built a wonderful depot in Hammond, Louisiana back in 1912. And it is still in use today, though in modified form. The track is now owned by the Canadian National Railway, and the passengers are served by Amtrak. It is still a busy place. The views below were recorded in February of 2004.
Here is the track-side view of the depot. The central building section was the original passenger depot, with the agent and ticket office in the center (where the turret is), and waiting rooms to either side. The two building sections to either side of that were a restaurant at left, and a Railway Express Agency facility at right. One can no longer duplicate this view as several years ago Amtrak added an elevated passenger platform along side the track, so it partially obstructs the view from this side.And here is the view from the street side of the depot. In its present use, Amtrak is using the building section at left (formally the REA facility). The wall at far left (where the blue/white pavement striping is seen) had an elevated freight door and a small platform for loading the REA trucks. The center section is now the city’s Chamber of Commerce, and the right section is the Clerk of Court office. The giant yellow paw prints on the roadway show support for the Southeastern Louisiana University Lions, the campus being just a few blocks away. Indeed, one can hear the cheers from the football stadium on an otherwise quiet night while lingering around the depot!
cool