Railroads; Railroad tracks; Public utility companies; Inclined railroads; IKE
In the early 1990s the Indiana-Kentucky Electrical Company (IKE) refurbished the tracks to enable it to haul heavy cargo down the hill to its plant on the Ohio River. This is a picture of a large transformer being taken down the incline. This was...
Railroads; Railroad roundhouses; Railroad construction & maintenance; North Madison
This view of the roundhouse in North Madison is looking northward. The "Coliseum", as the locals called it, was for the purpose of servicing the engines and other rolling stock of the railroad.
The photo is of the old freight depot along the river in Madison. It covered almost an entire block. The hill locomotive "M.G. Bright" is visible on the far left.
Steam shovels; Bridges; Ohio River; Road construction
Here is another way steam was used, this time to the detriment of steamboats and railroads. It is seen chopping away at the hillside opposite of Madison, Indiana, where a new road is being made to connect with the Madison-Milton Bridge. The...
Before the locks and dams were built along the Ohio, a frozen river and ice build-up were big problems for navigation. This happened often. It was said that farmers in Trimble County, Kentucky, waited for the river to freeze so they could drive...
She was built as the "Dolphin No. 3" at Jeffersonville, Indiana and was called the "Harry Anderson" for a brief period before receiving the name "Julius Fleischmann." She was owned by the Hatfield Coal Company and towed between the Kanawha River...
Construction was begun in 1879 and the intended use of the building was as a "school house for the colored pupils." In short order the patrons were unhappy with the location of the school. "The noise and bustle of business localities" seemed to...
The Madison-Milton bridge is advancing. It will soon reach the last piling. Notice the bracing and support structures used to reinforce the grid. The "Margaret J" is in the foreground.
The 'hill engine' was built in 1895 at the PCC & StL. Railway at Columbus, Ohio. One advantage of the "8434" was its use of coal instead of wood. Coal burned longer and hotter. In 1896 this locomotive replaced the "M. G. Bright". It was given...
This is a photograph of the old Pennsylvania Railroad depot in Dupont, Indiana. The wooden crates stacked beside the depot are egg crates ready to be put on the train. Two gentlemen stand in the doorway. It is surmised that the one on the left...
This picture was taken at Dupont, Indiana. It shows the Graston Lumber Mill just to the side of the railroad tracks. There is a boxcar with two men on top just to the right of the mill. On the far right is a tunnel bridge over the creek.
Built in 1902 in Dubuque, Iowa, she was the largest towboat ever built. Her early beginnings, however, were rocky. On her maiden voyage she collided with a showboat and only a year later had to have her engines replaced. It was difficult for...
Steamboats; Riverboats; Stern wheelers; Greene Line; Madison-Milton Bridge; Ohio River
Built in 1925, this was the second "Chris Greene" of the Greene Line. One can see the Madison-Milton Bridge in the background on the left hand side; it was built in 1928. The first "Chris Greene" was lost in the great fire at Cincinnati in...
In the 1887 Madison City Directory James T. McCoy operated a livery stable in the building. In 1912 John Feurstien maintained a livery there. By 1925 M. C. Litson owned and operated a livery and in 1927 the sign above the door was Wallace...
The "Hattie Brown" was built in 1884 and made a regular run from Warsaw to Madison, Indiana and back daily. She was converted to an oil engine in 1915; two years later she was lost in the terrible freeze of 1917-1918 when the Ohio River froze for...
Maps; Horse railroads; Steamboats; Lanier, J.F.D.; Hanging Rock Hill, Indiana; Rowboats; Madison, Indiana; Ohio River
This is an inset from an old map (no date given); in it you can see steamboats on the Ohio River along with three men in a row boat. On the shore horses pull the quaint little train along the track. The house to the far left that is partially cut...
According to Harry Lemen, this coal oil wagon was fifty-three years old in 1927 and the owner, Paul Meyers, was its twenty-third owner. In the late 1800s and early 1900s coal oil, or kerosene, was much in demand. Its primary use was for lamps and...