The photo shows a hand powered hand car to the right center along with a locomotive and what would appear to be two people on the platform. Also, notice the lower quadrant semaphore. The engine is a Richmond locomotive (2-6-0?) built about 1895. Maurice Lewman Collection.
Roger, when I saw Carthage, I thought of Carthage, NY, close to my wife's home town of Watertown. Big Four should have been a clue. Carthage, IN looks a little different, but nice to see more history of the Central. Great old photo. Wish I had that hand car!
Roger, great photo from an era when railroads were the main streets of America. Jim, I agree, but I doubt if either your or my shoulders could survive more than 100 feet of pumping....assuming we could even jump on after pushing to get the crank off dead center....
The two houses to the left are still there. The house on the right is there and the dark building behind the tree burned down in 1946 and took the freight house, which is the building in the background between the loco and the depot . Before 1905 between the car house on the right side of the photo and the house was a water tower. The elevator was rebuilt but the railroad never rebuilt the freight house . This was located at mile post 193.3 , the mileage from St. Joseph Michigan . This was the start of the 1% grade with a reverse curve south bound . If you go north 5mile to Knightstown you have another 1% grade, both letting the trains out of Blue River Valley and both are about 2.5-3 mile long . There also was a siding at the top of each hill used to double trains when need be . LEW
