mobilene

Hey, thanks for the coordinates! I feel so much better now. I see that the RR crossing is one of those pesky "jog left and over the tracks" kind that was always oh so safe. No wonder it's closed.

I just killed 20 minutes trying to find that non-through old alignment you found, to no avail. But other than that, I enjoyed this trip report. Sounds like the DQ staff has really made a good go of it. jim

Sounds like this trip will be much like it was in 1917 then!

Dave, this dissertation could earn you your Ph.D. in roadology! I am following along, fascinated. jim

I'm not aware they're working with individuals, but they are working with libraries. You might learn more by going to books.google.com and exploring Help or About Google Books.

Google actually manages not to damage any book it scans. Here's how. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/02/it-tu...scanning-books/

Woo-hoo!!!!!! Thanks for the tip, Dusty!

I've finally written up my US 50 trip: http://www.jimgrey.net/Roads/US50Illinois/index.htm I also plan to write a few blog posts about specific sites along the trip; those are forthcoming. Peace, jim

Dave, Any chance that when you're done doing all this research and telling the story here, you would create a Web site for the story for the Internet at large to read? It would be an important and interesting resource. jim

A whole bunch of great photos, Dave!

I am very much enjoying these photos. They only make me want to make another trip to Maryland, with a whole week just to explore the various alignments.

I am thoroughly enjoying following this story, Dave; unfortunately, I'm a bit overloaded personally at the moment and so have not been able to reply as usual. jim

Totally digging these photos! jim

Great trip! I've got to do the 56/156/56 portion of the Ohio River byway one of these days.

Were you aware that the courthouse in Madison recently burned? Some photos: http://sindianavisions.wordpress.com/2009/...ourthouse-fire/ http://sindianavisions.wordpress.com/2009/...urthouse-burns/

It's a Yahoo! group. It's not very active.

Never been, but would love to see your photos!

Anybody heard much about the USA Network specials about US 50 Tom Brokaw is working on? Link to a snippet: http://www.usanetwork.com/highway50/videos/index.html

There appears to be a TON of old-alignmenty goodness on US 50 in IN. That and much of US 50 is twisty/windy in IN, and fun to drive.

Some photos from the trip. Just inside Illinois, mere feet from the Wabash River, this is old US 50. A bridge used to cross from Main St. in Vincennes in IN; in 1933, a new bridge was completed (and is still there) one block south. The approach on the Indiana side looks to be brick, too, per Google Maps. Old gas station in Noble, IL. Ice-cream parlor today (closed that day, darnit). Concrete old US 50, right alongside current asphalt US 50 (on the left, but you can't see it). Could Illinois have thought they might build a 4-lane divided US 50? Hmmmmm???? Three abandoned bridges in a row, boom boom boom. First: Abandoned bridge over Big Muddy River. Second: Abandoned bridge over Little Muddy River. Third: Abandoned bridge over Little Wabash River. 1859 General Dean Suspension Bridge in Carlyle, IL. US 50 is one block south, but this bridge was never on US 50. It was, however, on the Goshen Road, an early east-west road across southern IL. And then, on current US 50 just west of Carlyle, we saw one of the unused bridges. There are three or four of these on this alignment, built in about 1973 and then left to sit. Time was short and the weather wasn't always cooperative, so we didn't get to see everything we wanted to. This road absolutely warrants a return trip someday. There were several old motels along the route, some abandoned and some still in business with lovely neon signs still at the roadside. And there's more of the old stagecoach route to see, esp. where new US 50 severs it, and where a stretch of it sits in some farmer's field. jim

I sometimes wonder why our numbered highways could not have retained (or been given) prose names, too. Interesting to get this glimpse into the transitional period where the numbered highways were just starting to come into play, Alex.

Postcard nut? You don't say? I've gotten into postcards only as a relatively inexpensive and easy way to find old-road photos and photos of long-ago places along old roads. I am building a collection of cards along Indiana's Michigan Road, for example. The postcard books from Arcadia Press are generally really interesting. Looking forward to the photos from Licking Creek.

Very interesting, Warren. I said "ca 1930" because I've seen photos dated from then, give or take a couple years, that show this kind of pavement looking to be fairly fresh. jim

No kidding!

Warren, that angle on the Wilson bridge seems to be the one everybody finds! I found it myself, and after I took that shot, I started noticing how many published photos were taken from the same place!