mobilene

I'm such a devoted introvert. I don't reach out to strangers on the road easily. But if they approach me, as long as they don't look threatening (been through that a time or two!) I'm glad for the contact. In smaller towns, ones whose best days are past, often someone will come out of a shop and ask why I'm taking photos, and that usually blossoms into a nice conversation about the town, often including its history and fortunes. I also like to take my dog along on trips. I get some attention because of that, as I put her on the leash as I walk around with my camera, and that sometimes leads to interesting conversations. A surprise: I got more attention because of the dogs when my Rottweiler was still living; people were really curious about her. jim

Great photos! Would have loved to see old 86 continue past the private fence.

I thought the photographer's best trick was to take a bajillion photos because one of 'em was sure to turn out!

Excellent find, great photos!

What great photos! I also learned a lot about stage lines, something that is kind of foreign to me. What's a jehu? Reminds me of a character in the Bible, Jehu, who was known to drive his chariot furiously. (2 Kings 9:20)

I've started blogging about our trip down the National Road. Here are the first two entries: http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/th...ad-in-maryland/ http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/ellicott-city/ More to come, keep checking back at jimgrey.wordpress.com. Bought a new car, too; another 2003 Matrix, but this time the top-line XRS model. Didn't set out to get another Matrix, but I needed something to haul the kids and the dog and luggage all at once while getting good gas mileage. That narrowed the field considerably, to Focus wagon, Chevy HHR, Matrix/Vibe, and Dodge Caliber.

I don't do anything deliberately, but it so happens that my car gets 35 mpg, so I suppose that's "good."

A fellow I follow on Flickr whose old-bridge photographs turned me on to US 50 in the first place has uploaded recent photos of the suspension bridge at Carlyle. They're not embeddable, but here are a few links. http://www.flickr.com/photos/seinfeld99/34...in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/seinfeld99/34...in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/seinfeld99/34...in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/seinfeld99/34...in/photostream/

Dave, you keep telling me about how we have such road gems out here in the old Midwest, but daggone it, we can't touch scenes like the one you describe in your video. We just don't have the terrain for it! Looking forward to more reports. I hope things go smoothly in San Jose.

I have often wanted to explore the roads on my bicycle, but of course the low speeds would make covering significant ground impossible and could pose a safety issue in traffic on narrow roads. I dunno, I have so many things I need to spend money on before I buy something like a scooter, but the idea does appeal to me. jim

Eric, In my few years of roadsleuthing I have once been chased off an abandoned alignment by police (apparently, it was privately owned). I also once had to do about a 20-point turnaround on an old dirt alignment of US 36 that had narrowed down to barely one lane, with falloffs on either side, where a bridge was out. And once I managed to back my car off a road, "beaching" it over an abandoned alignment of the National Road: I love the old alignments, but I worry about my car! I keep saying I should buy a battered old Jeep for my trips -- still small, but with ground clearance, and if I do have a problem it's not like I've harmed my daily driver. I am very intrigued by your use of a Vespa for road trips for this reason! Especially after being chased away by police that one time, I'm with you about private property. I don't want to cause anybody any concern. I have been known to deliberately, but very cautiously, break that rule, but it's an exception. I think you did a great job sleuthing out the alignments. Following along like I did, I got the familiar "old alignmenty" feelings about every turn you made. jim

Cool video. I dug the railing on the bridge.

I have followed your entire trip using Google Maps and, when Google's imagery ran out, Live Search Maps. I am quite jealous of your trip, mostly because of all the juicy old-alignment goodness you found! I'm looking at Calhoun Rd. on Google Maps, and when I turn labels off, the road turns into barely a trace past a certain point, remaining that way to just before it intersects with 2 again. That bridge must have been out for a looooong time! By the looks of it on Google Maps, Sofie Rd. must have once crossed the railroad track at an awkward angle. I would have been utterly delighted by Fern Bluff Rd! And I totally loved your roadsleuthing around the old (missing) US 2 bridge. It looks to me, also, like Cascade View Dr. and Sultan-Startup Rd. are old alignments. Where Sultan-Startup Rd. crosses 2, I've never seen an old road rerouted quite like that, where you have to double back a bit. Remarkable that the bridge near Index was built like that in 1999!! Here in Indiana, it would have been an eyesore slab to be sure. Could Mt. Index River Rd. have been an old alignment? What is up with all the missing bridges? Doesn't Washington believe in bridges? :-) Where you turned around on the private dirt road, I would have done the same thing, and regretted it later similarly. I love that photo of Old US 2 east of where 2 splits from 97. The long abandoned (?) road where you went through (?) Moses Coulee is amazing. I would love to find something like that -- but I'd probably be too chicken to take my car through it!!

I'm a penny pincher of the highest order -- so bad that I have Lincoln thumbs. My favorite way to keep my road trips inexpensive is to do day trips from some home base where I can sleep for free. My own house is my usual home base, but family and friends have provided lodging. For me, the journey is the destination, and it's all about the road.

Another great trip report, Denny. Dug the octagon house. jim

Holy cow, of course the toll house I shot isn't the one in Stewart's book. The scene looked deceptively the same, but yes, of course, Stewart shot a brick toll house. Remarkable to me that the two toll houses are so similar in design despite the different building material. I believe I actually missed Brownsville. I think I missed the turnoff and thus followed 40 around town, and didn't know it until you mentioned the town, Mark. Bummer. I was following Christopher Busta-Peck's excellent maps, and he had the route through Brownstown marked, too. I did see Braddock's Road, but too late, and by that time my rule was "no turnarounds" so I could get to Wheeling before dark. I was surprised to learn that Ellicott City is one of the wealthiest areas in the nation. I did note a fair number of what I guessed were probably taverns on the NR in PA. I also enjoyed the S bridge very much, even moreso now that I didn't get to see the ones in OH. Here's an aerial-map link to the abandoned alignment west of Hagerstown: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...1&encType=1

Photos are up on my Flickr space! Washington, DC: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets...57616588699605/ National Road in MD: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets...57616680143574/ National Road in PA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets...57616681313344/ Wheeling, WV: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets...57616592989987/ A few favorite shots. The Wheeling suspension bridge: Toll house in PA - see Stewart's book! Saw another one, identical, but was running out of time and didn't stop. Ellicott City, MD -- again, see Stewart! Wilson's Bridge (MD) The view from Gilpin Rd., an original NR alignment (MD) Abandoned alignment west of Hagerstown, MD Casselman bridge (MD) Capitol dome (DC) National Museum of the Native American (DC) Not sure why Abe is splotchy with color, but I like the shot otherwise (DC)

sit_properly, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Gilpin Rd. was state-maintained; it had that look and feel. Denny, somehow I didn't see a single x M to B marker. We saw several of the larger (and thus easier to spot) markers west of Cumberland, though. With luck, I'll post the pics to Flickr this afternoon.

Make no mistake, Dave, the NR in PA is more interesting than the NR in IN. The whole thing got made into a 4-lane divided highway in the 30s, thereby eliminating most of its charm. Only a few minor old alignments remain. sit_properly, the best parts of the NR in MD were Ellicott City and Gilpin Rd., which is an original alignment that (I don't think) ever made it into the state highway system. Ellicott City is just charming, and the view from Gilpin Rd. is amazing. My son Garrett also dug the "Garrett County" sign on the road; we stopped and got a photo of him next to it. We were extremely fortunate that we were not injured in the accident. Garrett was sitting next to the door that got creamed, but from the inside he couldn't tell that. He didn't have any idea about it until I told him to get out of the car on his brother's side, since his door would no longer open.

My sons and I are back from our vacation along the NR. We started with 2 days in DC to see the sights, and then we drove up to Baltimore to start our journey across the NR. I am in love with the Maryland portion of the road. Except for a couple confusing places where they rerouted the road around I-70 or I-68, it is a charming and lovely drive, alternating between historic towns and beautiful countryside. There are even a few breathtaking views. It's funny how the road in Pennsylvania lacks much of the charm it had in Maryland. The road doesn't spend much time in West Virginia, but Wheeling is worth seeing as a real diamond in the rough. It's an old town, with roots to the 1700s, and its happiest days seem to be behind it. But a great deal of interesting architecture remains, waiting for restoration funds to come along. We had planned to tour Ohio as well; it was to be the second day of our trip. But just as we crossed from Wheeling to Bridgeport, OH, I ran a red light and was T-boned. We all walked away from the accident, but my poor little car was totaled. We spent the day in Bridgeport waiting for a rental car, which didn't come for several hours. We climbed on I-70 and headed straight home. I'll post pics to Flickr and my blog eventually. Peace, jim

Denny, great report. I'm surprised to learn that the "new" bridge in Fort Wayne dates to 1915; it looks like a standard modern (e.g., plain) design. I looked up that abandoned pony truss bridge on Google Maps. You can see how the road used to be aligned there; they sure smoothed out that curve. Same can be said for the brick strip left behind near Ligonier. I'm glad you got to stop at Bonnie Doon's! You've now had a classic Michiana experience. The other classic Michiana experience you had, but may not have noticed, was driving under the Grand Trunk Western railroad overpass in South Bend, between Miami and Sample Streets. The Packard Predictor was at the Studebaker museum last time I was there. Maybe they've rotated it out for now. I'm really surprised by the condition of old 30 west of Hamlet. Did you notice the Yellowstone Trail lurking on the other side of the tracks from there? Thanks for the hat tip! I wonder if the United Brethren were in the habit of signing their parsonages. I've seen other "UB Parsonage" buildings around. One's in Fulton, IN, along the MR/DH.

Mike, if I may offer a tidbit, I encourage you to squeeze a bit less in so you can enjoy what you do see all the more! jim

I know that a couple guys who work for Illinois DOT lurk on misc.transport.road, so I asked about the US 50 alignments there. I learned from the replies I got there that the stage route, the one signed Old State Road, was once Illinois 12, but that the segment between Aviston and Carlyle was never US 50. IL 12 was probably realigned before the US system was instituted. There was some inconclusive discussion about whether US 50 was supplanted by I-64. One reply included a link to a video of the "new" segment of US 50 that has all the phantom bridges (though you can't see them in the movie). It's an ultra-high-speed jaunt down that segment. http://www.millenniumhwy.net/videos/US_50_super_2_ill.mov

Yep, Dave, that's the segment I'm interested in. I've never heard of a dugway before -- new concept to me. Thanks for introducing me to it. Your explanation of what you see at that spot sure sounds plausible. Yes, I noticed the other New US 50 bridge, too. Every bridge on new 50 between Carlyle and just east of Lebanon is twinned, the south bridge apparently unused. With so much of Old 50 paralleling New 50 east of that spot, I am ready to conclude that Illinois was thinking toward a divided US 50, but much like they did with US 40 to the north, something caused them to abandon the idea. I-64 is the nearest Interstate I could find, far to the south, and it doesn't follow the US 50 corridor.

Ooh, and in 1937, the two roads merged at that point. The plot thickens!