Ft. Madison, IA's Depots

Two Santa Fe depots survive at Ft. Madison, IA. The first is the 1910-built brick depot at mile 232.9 near downtown. Now serving as a museum, the depot was almost-but-not-quite unique on the system. The now-gone Alva, OK depot was fairly similar in appearance when built (it had a nearly identical tower, later removed), and the Bartlesville, OK depot also had some similar features. In 1968, Santa Fe built a new depot at mile 234.3, close to the Santa Fe shops and the timetable location of Shopton. One of the last new depots built before Amtrak, the modern structure still serves the Southwest Chief. The remains of one of the shop buildings can be seen in the background of the lower picture.