I am posting a series of pictures of our station in Parsons, and its subsequent demolition as a result of Urban Renewal, which resulted in forever changing the landscape of our city. The pictures were taken by Fred Norton, a local railfan, who with Tom Kuffler, started the Parsons Historical Museum. I purchased his slide collection in 1983. So follow along with me on this trip. April, 1970: The Katy Parsons passenger station is still in use. the Railway Express Agency building is still north of the station, The water, electric connections and poles are still standing in front of the station on the platform between tracks 2 and 3. The view is looking northeast toward the subway and Trainmans Hall. A small park area was directly south of the station in earlier years, where the Red Cross Canteen was set up during wartime, then the office building sat south of that. I think it was dismantled in 1959, and the park became a gravel parking lot. The concrete edges of the platforms can still be found at the site, as well as one of the original water hydrants on the platform, used to water the train cars. The foundations of the office building are also very plain to see. Fred Norton photo, Bill Collins Collection.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 18:48:21 +0000