You guys are too young to have experienced the ultimate in train watching
locations.
ie THE ELMS HOTEL at Villisca Iowa....Sadly it burned in about 1955 or 56.
The place was probably built circa 1890...Typical wood structure for a small
town hostelry.
I think it was 3 stories with the second story floor being the roof over the
first floor porch.
If you're familiar with Villisca the hotel was located in what would be the
Northeast Quadrant where the Main St of the town goes under the Q Mainline and
what was then a small yard....Not 50 feet from the action. The depot was
across the North South street on the north side...The one stall engine house
was
across the main tracks to the south.
My railfan buddy Jim Christen and I discovered this treasure on our first
overnight railfan trip summer 1951. We had a second floor room on the west
side..The place, of course, was not air conditioned...We found that by removing
the
screen on the room window we could climb out on the roof and see everything
there was to see. Both of us have some pix and movies taken from this vantage
point.
The next year, seeking the same digs, Jim wrote the hotel requesting the same
room...Not wanting to reveal the 'railfan nature" of our visit, he told the
hotel manager that we worked for a magazine taking pictures of trains and
needed that same room.
When we checked in the guy at the desk said...."Boy..you guys sure have an
interesting job"...We were 16 and 17 then...
If you're ever in Villisca, I think the foundation of the ELMS still mark the
best train watching spot on the CB&Q.
Pete
Note to Bob Campbell....Take this over and show it to Jim...He'll probably
give you some additional details.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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