Lorain N & W Train Depot – March 1973

Although this week's previous blog entries from March 1973 reflected the cultural changes that were occurring at that time, at least one vestige of old-time Lorain made the news that month.

Above is a photo (by Michael Pugh) of Lorain's train station that ran in the Journal back on March 18, 1973. The caption notes, "The weather outside was frightful and wind pushed the snow around outside the Norfolk and Western train depot in Lorain. Inside, it was cozy and warm for N & S employe Bob Moes and his dog, Ben. Bob, who lives in Vermilion, kept the lonely vigil at the station through the night."

It's interesting knowing that even as late as 1973, there was a person inside the train depot all night.

I've written about the train station a few times on this blog. This post (with photo) tells how the depot (then affiliated with the Nickel Plate) was getting a facelift back in September 1949.

This post includes a neat "Then & Now" photo comparison of the depot in the 1980s and the same property (sans depot) in 2011. Another "Then & Now" photo study, this time of the Reid Avenue railroad crossing shows the depot off in the distance in the late 1940s/early 50s "Then" shot.

And I sketched the train station as it looked from the Broadway railroad crossing back in Frank Hicks' Art Class at Admiral King High School around 1974 or so (below).

Yup, I've said it before how jealous I am that other cities (like Amherst and Vermilion) still have their train stations, while Lorain – as usual – relegated a piece of its history to a smoking, steaming pile o' rubble. (It's close to St. Patrick's Day, thus the 'o.')