This way to Lakewood Amusement Park....
Many thanks to reader H.E., who alerted me that, courtesy of our NCDOT-denuded streets downtown, cobblestones and streetcar tracks were now visible along Kent Street. Many readers will know/remember that this route extended west from downtown along Chapel Hill St., turning southwest at Kent on its way to Lakewood Amusement Park at the end of the line. See this post I did ~3 years ago for a map I made of the rail lines in Durham during the early 20th century.
Very exciting to have these tracks see the light of day again. I'm hoping that these will be reburied, unlike the ones pulled up downtown during our streetscape work - it makes me glad to know that this archeological stratum is preserved beneath the asphalt.
Tracks and cobblestones on Kent St., 07.24.10
Tracks and cobblestones on Kent St., 07.24.10
Below, the curve at Kent and Morehead....
07.24.10
Find this spot on a Google Map.
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12 comments:
how cool would it be if we did something like this in durham?
http://tinyurl.com/2ffeoeu
There's more track exposed on (I believe) Mangum near the loop. I'll try to get a better location for you.
The Durham version of Pompeii.
That IS super-cool!
I looked up your map on the railroads of Durham and now can appreciate the entire Durham Traction Co. street car system. On the opposite end of the line from Lakewood Park, wasn't the big attraction the Long Meadow Park softball field? The line East out Main Street seems to turn South at Alston Ave. and then turn East on Angier Ave. to Driver Street.I'm assuming that the short branch on Driver St.South of Angier Ave. was for workers at the textile mill at Pettigrew St. and Driver Street. Did this line cross the Seaboard Air Line RR and Southern Ry. tracks? Is the turn West onto Holloway Street from Driver St. near the Fire Station?
Anon
You are correct - the East Durham Baseball Field (on the later site of the East Durham Junior High / Holton School) was the attraction at the east end of the line. (And the reservoir was the attraction on the northwest end.) I don't know much about the small branch heading south on Driver from Angier, but I have the same assumption - that it was for workers at the Durham Cotton Manufacturing Co. The former Fire Station #3 (2nd iteration) was at East Main St., so no, the turn west was not at that station.
Thanks for the questions!
GK
On a slightly related note, does anyone know the history behind the short section of coblestone road in Duke Forest off 751 (labeled "Old Oxford Road" on the Duke forest maps)?
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=&daddr=36.009447,-78.962023&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mi&mrsp=0&sz=16&sll=36.007503,-78.963997&sspn=0.012324,0.02635&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16
That's pretty cool - I haven't seen that (are there digital copies of the Duke Forest Maps?) It appears, looking at the old county maps and google that it may line up with Duke Homestead Road, Denfield, and then either Hebron/Jim Lyon or some lost road through the Teer quarry to hook up with the Old Oxford Highway. Looks like it could have been an active connection between Erwin (and Chapel Hill) and Oxford in the 19th century.
GK
There don't appear to be any digital copies of the forest maps (you can order them from the Duke bookstore), but you can the see the portion of the old road marked at the map boards at any of the major entries to DF - easiest point to get to the remaining stone section is the trail entry on the North side of 751 just east/south of Constitution Drive.
Yes, there are tracks visible on Mangum St. in front of City Hall.
Does anyone know when the trolley tracks were covered? I seem to remember them from the 40s but without assurance that is right.
I took a picture of the tracks and cobblestones on Mangum this week. What I found interesting is that some were laid diagonally and some straight across. Anyone know why this was? Was it for aesthetics? Feel free to use the picture I took that is posted at the bottom of the blog post (without me in it :-)
http://genealogybyginger.blogspot.com/2010/08/cobblestones-and-trolley-tracks-exposed.html
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