Rail Features. Thyra Thompson Building, Casper Wyoming.

The State of Wyoming recently completed the construction of a massive new state office building, the Thyra Thompson Building, in Casper.  All of the state's administrative bodies, except for the district and circuit courts, are housed there.

The building does house, however, the Chancery Court for the entire state, a new court that's only recently been established.

The building is built right over what had been the Great Northwest rail yard in Casper, which was still an active, although not too active, rail yard into my teens.  I can't really recall when they abandoned the line, but it was abandoned.

In putting the building in, and extending the Platte River Parkway through it, the State did a nice job of incorporating some rail features so that there's a memory of what the location had been.

They also put in some historical plaques, which are nice. The curved arch at this location, moreover, is the location of the old turntable.  It was a small one, which I hate to admit that I crossed over when I was a teenager, a dangerous thing to do.

 

Abandoned rail line, North of Casper Wyoming

These are photographs of an abandoned rail line north of Casper Wyoming.  I'm unsure of the data on these and will have to research it, but the line itself is long abandoned.  I recall being told that this line, which is quite evident in the locations running north of Casper, was never fully constructed, but I don't know that to be the case.  If true, the construction was quite advanced as can be seen.  I tend to think it was a completed, but abandoned, like running from Casper north to Buffalo and Sheridan.  However, at least as of 1915, it does not appear on the state railroad map.

The Burlington, the Great Nortwestern and the 33 Mile Road. Natrona County, Wyoming.

These photographs might not seem to show much, but in a way, the illustrate the rise, decline, and rebirth of American rail.

This is the spot where the Burlington Northern crosses the 33 Mile Road in Natrona County, Wyoming.  While not really detectable here, it's also the spot where the Great Northwestern once joined the Burlington Northern, and where there was a spur line into the Casper Air Base.  Some years ago, all that was taken out.

After that, however, the BN rebuilt their line with modern taller, and uniform, rail, reflecting increased rail traffic in the area.

Up on the hill an abandoned farm house looks down on the long lasting scene. The farm ground is still farmed, but the farmer no longer needs to live there, and hasn't for decades.