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Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

mobilene

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Everything posted by mobilene

  1. The FHWA Web site recently put up a short article about the abandoned section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back1007.cfm The thing I think is cool is that it calls out the fair amount of info on the Internet about this road: "This stretch of paved roadway has not gone unused in the last 40 years. The Internet is full of documented trips by nature lovers, bikers, and other outdoor adventurers who have explored the roadway and the tunnels." Since the people who've ventured out there have been trespassing, strictly speaking, I think it's neat that the FHWA writer acknowledges this activity without judgment. Peace, jim
  2. We saw a little of that on our trip, Alex, where the former highway towns decayed or disappeared. Mexico, IN even put a big red arrow sign on the new highway pointing to town, but it didn't help; the one block of downtown is decaying and it looks like very little happens there now. And our maps and our old road guides mentioned a town called Green Oak, but there's nothing there anymore but cornfields. Not only am I not old enough to remember when 31 went through Kokomo, but at least since my first trip through there in 1976 the bypass has been Kokomo for all intents and purposes as most anything worth doing there is along that strip. Now the state wants to build a limited-access bypass around the bypass! Meanwhile, nothing is going on in the old downtown. jim
  3. In September, an old friend and I followed US 31's original alignment between the Michigan state line and Indianapolis. We traveled the three US 31 alignments through South Bend, the old two-lane from south of La Paz to south of Peru, the original routes through Kokomo and Westfield (but not Carmel, because it was under construction), and finished with a stroll along North Meridian St. in Indianapolis to look at the grand old homes. You can take the tour with us at http://www.jimgrey.net/Roads/US31NorthernIndiana/index.htm.
  4. Nice to know you've always got my back! I was 34, but I *have* grown up a lot since then.
  5. My goodness, those pics were taken two months before I was born! They are great to see at any rate. I saw a collection here in Indy once that includes a Stanley Steemer. I remember it being whole lot bigger than the one in your photo, but no less funny-looking. Weren't Franklins air-cooled?
  6. Wow! What a road! You are very fortunate to have that kind of a drive so close to you! Also, thank you for starting my morning off by crossing a couple iron bridges. jim
  7. I am hungry to find old road photos. I put Shorpy.com in my feed reader not just because it's interesting, but because it sometimes shows photos of cars and/or the road. One of these days, I'll scour that Lincoln Highway archive online. I keep hoping to stumble upon caches of Indiana photos. You know what's funny? If I never do Route 66 I'll be fine. I'd rather explore in my own stomping grounds. I am endlessly fascinated with the way things used to be. I am currently writing up my US 31 trip from September. I probably have 4-8 hours more work to go. My ABBs send people bound for Indianapolis down Westfield Blvd, through the former town of Nora, through the former town of Broad Ripple, along the canal, and then down Meridian St (US 31). I wondered why until the other day when I found a 191x map of the county that shows that Meridian St. goes no farther north than the canal. My mind raced: Why? When did Meridian St. get built farther north? Was is part of building US 31? I have noticed that I am becoming increasingly interested in architecture. This is not because I love old buildings, but because this knowledge helps me date a road. Dave, I've already started to surprise (or bore) my passengers with the details I do know. But as long as there's more for me to learn, I will find this all utterly fascinating. The character of life is what I really want to learn. Building foundations, abandoned alignments of various pavement materials, etc., prove that the past is real. But to transport into the past, as you describe, clearly knowledge of life then is the key. What a great idea. Many trappings of society gone by are available every day on eBay. This is a fabulous time to have this hobby; so much is available for the taking (or bidding). jim
  8. Those houses look a lot like the houses in my neighborhood, actually. I can't imagine watching my childhood neighborhood be demolished, either. The one I lived in until I was 9 is such a shambles now that I may live to see it go, however. These were 1950 starter homes, basic pre-fab units, and now they're all rentals that get no care. I imagine more the lifestyle from the day the old or abandoned alignment was in use. When I found the old cement alignments of State Road 37 on my trip last spring, I was excited to think about the people automobobling in their merry Oldsmobiles, etc., along the route, and about the slower pace of highway travel in that day. What did they encounter as they stopped in the small towns? Did they pack a lunch for the trip or did they stop at a tavern? There hasn't been too much in the way of abandoned houses in my travels. I wonder why.
  9. I came across this blog today by a woman who grew up in a neighborhood that has been demolished over time to make way for an airport runway. When the 2,000 homes dwindled to 56, she started photographing the area. Looking over her site, which links to a large pool of Flickr photos, gave me a similar feeling to what I experience on an abandoned alignment: People used to use this, but now they don't or can't. It's disturbing to see streets and sidewalks running through houseless neighborhoods. You can take a peek at the link below. http://56housesleft.wordpress.com/
  10. I didn't get anything road related. Guess I didn't drop the right hints. But I did get a dandy Henry Kloss Model One table radio that's sitting on the desk next to me here. I've wanted one for years.
  11. If a business has a long-standing or historic name, I'd oppose changing it to honor a road. I'd think that businesses could acknowledge the roads on which they sit in other ways. The Adele's Diner sign could have been amended to add, "on the Lincoln Highway," for example. Here in Indiana, I see National Road stickers in the windows of some businesses along US 40. Although those stickers are too small to be easily seen from the road, something like that could be executed more effectively. jim
  12. Chris, thanks for the tip about the IU library! And you even gave me the right call number. Now I just have to make time to go. jim
  13. Chris, It's astonishing that the sign still stands, mangled as it is! How are you doing your research in those Maryland State Roads Commission reports? Hardcopy of Internet? If hardcopy, how do you get access to them? I'd love to look back through historical records in Indiana, but don't have the first clue how to start. jim
  14. WOW! I read that book ... well, sometime during my public schooling in the 1980s, and I really liked it then. The whole thought of being an efficiency expert just resonated with me. But I thought I had never heard of the ABB before when Keep started talking about them after I joined here. Guess I was wrong! jim I learned assembler (8-bit, no less) on the PDP 11/70, but that was one of those competing DEC machines!
  15. Great trip report. I especially liked the old alignment photo at Gratiot.
  16. I know that the Road started out as free, and then I gather the state privatized it in the late 1860s. The sense I get is that gravel companies improved the road with gravel, and then charged tolls to recoup the cost. I'm not sure how long the toll gates lasted. In the mid 1920s, I gather that there was a push to improve the Michigan Road; I imagine, but don't have any citations to support it, that by this time the state took the road back. Looking at the maps of the pre-1926 state routes at illi-indi.com, there's no single state route covering the Michigan Road, and the map there that shows the Logansport to Rochester connection doesn't even show the Michigan Road between the two towns. I can see that if I'm not careful, I could consume the whole winter researching this road.
  17. Ohhhhhhh rapture. On page 88 of the 1860 Shelby Co. atlas, I found the Michigan Road in Liberty Twp. as it passes between Waldron and Middletown. Then I looked it up on Google Maps. Except for I-74, these images are nearly identical! Waldron's grown a little, Middletown not at all it seems. Very little in the way of additional roads appear as far as I can tell, and the existing roads follow the same alignments -- except for the MR where it crosses the creek. It currently swings north of its original alignment to cross the creek, but (it's hard to see) the original alignment is still there. In Indiana, this is about as close to untouched as it gets. Peace, jim
  18. How could I forget about the IUPUI collection? I'll bet I can map the whole road out from stem to stern using the 1860s atlases there.
  19. So I've been tracing the Michigan Road route from my house south on Google Maps. Roadmaven, I don't know much at all about MR's route through Indy, and I'm not able to find much out there on the Net. If I were making the trip today, I'd just assume it followed the old 421 route as you describe it. Sounds right to me. Chris, you're right, the road hugs I-74 for a lot of its route, at least until 74 bears east toward Cincinnati. 421 is multiplexed with 74 to that point; 421 follows the MR south of there to Napoleon. The old road diverges from 421 there and, when it passes New Marion, follows the east edge of Jefferson Proving Ground*. * My stepson's dad was some Air Force muckety-muck at Jefferson Proving Ground as they began closing it down. My stepson tells stories of unexploded dud bombs, dropped from planes who knows when, sitting out in fields, and other plenty dangerous stuff. I believe my stepson once told me of a patch of ground full of land mines. Just past JPG and just before Madison, MR splits from 421 again. It looks like 421's path caused a portion of MR to be torn out, and you have to make a left and a right to get back onto MR. There's a stub left; it apparently was once Indiana SR 107. Anyway, the MR goes straight into Madison from there. I can't tell for sure what it does in Madison, whether it follows West St., or goes over to Jefferson and merges back into 421, or what. 421 didn't come to Indiana until 1951, according to illi-indi.com, and so I wonder if the MR was signed as any highway in southern Indiana before that. I'm also interested to know whether the 421 split north of Madison is modern (caused by the coming of 421). I'll have to check my maps tonight. I know that in northern Indiana it was SR 29 Indy to Logansport, then SR 25 to Rochester, US 31 to South Bend, and US 20 to Michigan City. Dave, when the time comes I will be very happy for any map/guide assistance you can provide, esp. through Madison and Shelbyville. I'm interested in what the 1910 and 1913 ABBs say, too! Peace, jim
  20. I have 2 midwest ABBs, 1916 and 1924. I'm watching for one from 1908-1910 too. If I don't have one by the time I make the trip, I'll hit you up for help! I live about two, maybe three miles from the toll house, by the way. There are also two very old -- 1800s -- houses along the route north of the toll house, too. I'm wondering how many very old houses I'll see in southern Indiana along the route. Southern Indiana was populated first, I believe because it's on the Ohio. I could cram this trip into two days, but three or four would be more comfortable, especially if I find old alignments. jim
  21. I started my blog on a lark, and chose WordPress.com because the blog I was reading at the moment the lark hit used it. Fortunately, I really like WordPress.com. All of the blog sites have pre-done layouts for you. You can customize them if you want, by just uploading photos (like the road photo at the top of my blog, an autumn pic I took of Indiana SR 47 just east of Turkey Run State Park) or by doing your own coding in cascading style sheets. The hardest part about blogging is writing and, if I have pics to share, processing the pics. The blog software makes the rest easy enough -- no futzing with HTML at all. When I do a long road trip writeup for my regular Web site, doing the HTML becomes the hardest part -- and I even use a layout template I created! jim
  22. I found this blog today -- maybe it's not new to some of you, but it was new to me, and I think it is very well done. http://historichighways.wordpress.com The blog reproduces photographs and paraphernalia (map covers, motel brochures, etc.) from the golden age of the US highway. jim
  23. Yeah! I was thinking "Asphalt Roast." But maybe that should be saved for the espresso, if ever there is any.
  24. Keep. Dude. Do we need to do an intervention? ;-)
  25. Keep, if you make a Midwest trip, I hope I can make it to wherever you are for a day or two to explore with you! Or if you come to Indiana, I can show you what I know about the National Road, or US 36, or any of the other stuff I've found out here! Poor Bo. Malamutes are great dogs, but I do know that larger dogs have a harder time traveling when they're old, if nothing else because lifting them into the car is such an ordeal. It's a long story about how this happened, but my ex-wife just gave me the two dogs we had while married. Sugar's a Rottweiler, and Gracie's a Golden Retriever/Chow mix. Both are almost 12, which is extremely old for a Rottweiler. Fortunately, both of them can still travel, even though I have to hoist poor Sugar in and out of the car. I hope to take them along on my trips this year. I'll even roll the side windows down for them so they can stick their heads out. Meanwhile, this winter I need to write up my US 31 trip and my recent return visit to the National Road in Illinois! jim
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