Long ago on independence square (Lee's Summit, Union: houses, school, live)

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

The term didn't exist then, but today it would be considered infrastructure. At one time there were at least 15 in the KC area, today I know of 3 still in service.

The three that are still in service are easily visible on the satellite views, if'n you know what you are looking for!

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

The three that are still in service are easily visible on the satellite views, if'n you know what you are looking for!

Is one of these on north Main?

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Is one of these on north Main?

Nope, and there never has been one there. Remember, the entire KC Metro never had more than about 15 of them. Currently there are about 3. As the remaining ones retire I seriously doubt they will be replaced, and building a new one is not likely.

[Anonymous Lurker]

What was a Railroad turntable ?

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Lurker

What was a Railroad turntable ?

The Newbie takes the prize! You have won a ride on the Independence & Missouri River Railroad, if'n it is ever resurrected.

Some will recall that this RR used mules for motive power, thus you would wonder why they needed a turntable, which was typically used to turn a steam locomotive. The turntable in question was used to direct freight cars into one of several warehouses. In 1852 when the RR ended the turntable was paved over. Road work on Maple between Liberty and Osage uncovered it in 1897.

The Union Pacific still has a working turntable at the east end of their Neff Yard in the NE bottoms of KC. This one doesn't have a roundhouse near it. They also have one in KCK that feeds a small roundhouse (although it is a modern building, not an antique).

The Norfolk Southern has a working roundtable in NKC, just south of the hospital. It feeds several bays that were extensions to the former Wabash RR roundhouse. The original roundhouse was razed in the winter of 2013-14.

A non-working turntable, with a RR car on it, is in front of the former KC Terminal RR roundhouse at 27th & Southwest Boulevard. That building has been converted into an office complex.

The 1879 C&A Depot in Independence has an office chair from that roundhouse.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Lurker

What was a Railroad turntable ?

Welcome Lurker.

With that kinda knowledgeable answer, it would be appreciated if Anonymous Lurker, could join in by tossing some questions at us.

[Anonymous Lurker]

Thank you,

I simply figured if it was something that could easily be seen by aerial imagery and it was unearthed and large in scale, and was transportation related and as you say described as "infrastructure" it really narrowed the options down. This and the fact Kansas City was at that time one of the largest and most important rail hubs in the entire nation the answer was simple for me as a history buff.

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

Some will recall that this RR used mules for motive power, thus you would wonder why they needed a turntable,

Because mules are not known for their ability to walk backwards

Actually because not every rail car was designed to work from both ends as well as it took a great deal of down time to unhitch a team of animals to relocate them tot he other end of a car (if the car was even able to work from both ends) so rather it was much faster and easier just to turn the entire rail car and team around on a table and get on your way again than it was to deal with all the other hassles

[Anonymous Lurker]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Welcome Lurker.

With that kinda knowledgeable answer, it would be appreciated if Anonymous Lurker, could join in by tossing some questions at us.

Thank you but it was simply an educated guess thus the question mark at the end.

This being a thread about Independence MO I really cannot contribute much at all here since I don't recall ever visiting there or knowing anything about the town. I was just lurking the past few days and was well... lurking when I decided to register and respond to the question.

Again thank you

[Anonymous Lurker]

@ Mad Anthonie

Did you attend President Truman's Funeral?

The below images are views looking out from a car towards the George C. Carson Funeral Home in Independence, Missouri, near the corner of Lexington Avenue and South Fuller Avenue. These photos were taken in August of 1972 as part of the covert planning for the funeral of former President Harry S. Truman. (Donor: Terry Van Meter, U. S. Cavalry Museum, Fort Riley, Kansas)

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Lurker

@ Mad Anthonie

Did you attend President Truman's Funeral?

That depends on how you define "attend". During the several days of funeral activity I was a courier for the Associated Press. My assignment was to accompany one of their photographers to his assigned location. After the photog shot a number of rolls of film he handed them to me. I jumped on my bicycle and pedaled quickly to the old Independence San, where they had a temporary darkroom. I also took a few shots with my own camera. I did pass through the library lobby at about 4 am, where HST was lying in state. The actual funeral service was held in the library's auditorium, and was strictly by invitation only.