Joel Dinda's photos with the keyword: abandoned

A couple years ago I posted a photo of a burning house . Someone's been (slowly) cleaning up the lot; this tractor's pretty much all that remains of a yard that was mostly full of junk. If you ignore a still-smoking ruin where the house used to live. It's a not the same fire--they piled a bunch of junk on the wreck and set that afire--but this one's been smoking, now, for months.

This is the same barn I photographed yesterday , but from a very different angle. Shortly after taking the other pic I realized I'd previously photographed the farmyard, and last night I went looking for those pix. When I took this photo a few weeks ago I rejected it as "not sharp enough." It's still not as sharp as I'd like, but it's an interesting view, especially paired with the other image.

Downtown Galesburg, Michigan.

Seems to be doing something right. Wish he'd do it somewhere else....

Baby Raccoon prepares to take a nap in the shade. Ain't he cute?

Twin Lakes, Michigan. Another photo from last week's vacation. We found this when we set out to walk around the lake. Another view of this bus here .

I was wandering around the local backroads a few days ago when I spotted this sprawling barn and these tall grasses; seemed like a possible photograph.... Further research about the location turned up an unexpected gem. Seems that Shaytown was named for Ephraim Shay , inventor of the classic narrow-gauge lumbering locomotive , who became famous after bestowing his name on this corner. Recovering railfan that I am, I knew who he was , but hadn't recognized the local connection. Near as I can tell, Shay owned this property for four years or so shortly after the Civil War , where he ran a sawmill and (probably) a general store.Those are gone, and to all appearances the existing barn and house were built by later owners. [He lived across the road, just out of this photo. See my comment, below .] Nonetheless, a delightful surprise. Unfortunately, and despite the truck parked in the yard, both the house and barn seem to be abandoned.

Erie Mining Company, Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. LTV filed for bankruptcy early in 2001, and this mine kind of stopped in place at that time....

Explored! #477 on Friday, October 19, 2007, but no longer in the top 500. Thanks! The Narrow Gauge Trail at West Virginia's Babock State Park, in the New River gorge. The tracks were pulled up decades ago, and the trestles have collapsed, but the ties remain.... The Babcock Coal and Lumber Company's Manns Creek Railway carried coal down to the Chessie at the bottom of the Gorge, and lumber to the mill at Landisburg. This track was the coal line from Clifftop; the lumber mainly travelled on the higher track. Photo taken in September, 1998, with my Nikon N90s.

This was the New York Central depot in Springport, Michigan. This photograph continues my exploration of the LS&MS Lansing line ; there will be more photographs as I locate and/or take them. It also begins a brief exploration of Springport, which I visited one afternoon in 1988. According to this article by Frank Passic of Albion, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern tracks from Jonesville to Lansing were laid in 1872. The tracks north of Springport were removed in 1940, which made this little building a terminal until the southern tracks were removed in 1968. This building has been restored , and now looks like this . Certainly appears that it was being maintained in the 80s. Camera: Minolta Freedom 100 ========= This track was built by the Northern Central Michigan Railroad Company, which was a front for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. The LS&MS was, in turn, a captive/component of the New York Central. You've likely noticed that I care about this built by/owned by/merged with/trackage rights detail. Many railfans talk this way. History majors generally like checking this stuff out....

"Sunday Nov. 6 1938 Discarded wooden barge 'Chieftain' rotting on river bottom Davidson Shipyard" This one's a little sad. When Chieftain was built in 1902 she was the largest hull on the Great Lakes (360 feet long), and apparently remains the largest wooden lakes vessel ever constructed. She was built as a barge by Davidson Shipyard for Davidson Steamship, and was part of a fleet of two steamships and three barges for most of her career. The entire fleet was technically obsolete by 1929, and all five vessels were thereafter moored at the Davidson yard. The Davidson's Bay City shipyard originally opened in 1873. It was abandoned in 1932 as there was no longer any need for a shipyard specializing in repairs to wooden ships. The Davidson family was invested in American Steamship Corporation and in the Tomlinson fleet, so they remained active in the industry. (There's much more information about the Davidsons here . It appears reasonably accurate, but some details differ from my other sources. These disagreements are pretty common, and in this case are relatively minor; don't let them throw you.) John Greenwood's book Namesakes 1930-1955 tells me Chieftain wasn't declared abandoned until shortly after this photo was taken, apparently because her oak construction kept her seaworthy long after maintenance ceased. Perhaps it was news of that impending abandonment that sent Mr. Borucki to the deserted shipyard. We have a couple more photos from that excursion, which we'll soon share. Borucki's Lakers

These structures are out in the middle of a field near where I used to work. The trees marking the fields' edges looked better before a tornado wandered through fifteen or so years back. That underbrush in the foreground runs along what the maps call the Old Maid Drain. I've discussed the Old Maid before . ========== I had a specific photo in mind for 366 Snaps a year ago, but took a roundabout route to the site, snapping an occasional photo on my way. I stopped for breakfast, then visited the credit union (thus the near-work photo, above), then headed for Moyer Road, where I expected, and found, my photograph. I grew up in Kalamazoo, and southern Kalamazoo County's had large agricultural sprinklers as long as I can remember. When I moved to Eaton County--parts of which are certainly as flat as the land surrounding Schoolcraft and Vicksburg--I found fields without the elaborate irrigation systems I'd grown accustomed to. If asked, I'd have said there were no large sprinklers near my house. Until one day I spotted the system I photographed for 366 Snaps . It can be seen from Mulliken Road if you're heading south to Clinton Trail, a route I travel regularly--but visible only in winter, and it's only briefly so if you're moving at speed. So I may have missed seeing it for years. There are some oddities: The field it waters wouldn't seem ideal for the device, which I usually see on larger farms. And it borders the Thornapple River, so one wonders whether the project was, strictly speaking, necessary. But I'm not the farmer. I trust he--and his bankers--were convinced it's helpful. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . Number of project photos taken: 17 Title of " roll :" Here & There Other photos taken on 12/17/2012: none.

This is an alternate treatment of the 366 Snaps photo I posted last June 26. The Northern Central Michigan Railway connected Jonesville (on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, for whom they were likely a front) with Lansing in 1873 or thereabouts. The route included a Grand River crossing in Dimondale. There was a station in town, of course, I think near the north end of the bridge. Successor Michigan Central (itself part of the New York Central System) abandoned much of the Lansing/Jonesville line around 1940 and the tracks were pulled up as World War II began. The scrappers left this pier, another like it, and the north anchorage, all built of cut stone; there's been a nice house atop the anchorage as long as I've known the town. I've tried from time to time to capture this view, which is from the Bridge Street bridge. This photo came out well. As you can see, I processed it three different ways. Each, I think, brings out different details. ========== This photograph is an outtake (well, an alternate version, actually) from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project stats for June 26 .

While I was taking this photo I had a pleasant chat with a local resident about fishing in the Grand from the bridge. ========== This photograph is an outtake (actually an alternate treatment) from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366 Snaps project stats for June 26 .

This is the photograph I was setting up when I noticed the signs on the trees . While this pic works in monochrome, it's better in color. You may notice that there's another home--a double-wide modular, actually--in the neighboring lot. It, too, is abandoned, and appears unlikely to survive for long. But it's not especially photogenic. We'll be seeing that barn again .... ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366/2012 project discussion here .

The sign claims the door's open, but the place has been abandoned; thus the rental sign. Sad to report the storefront is still empty, as the building's quite attractive. ========== This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps . 366/2012 project discussion here .