... and placed in this station, I'd be able to identify where I was by the way it smelled: a mixture of coal smoke, stale cigar smoke, and the faint aroma of a spittoon in the corner. In the late 1940s Midwest, I remember taking the train with my grandmother 15 miles into the local "big town" (population 20,000) for a day of shopping. Every small town had a train station. Gone forever, sadly.

If you have one of these buried in your barn, pull it out and eBay it. Depending on condition and age it could be worth anywhere from $1,000 to $4,250.

On top were plates to keep your coffee hot and maybe toast that sandwich Mom packed for you.

My maternal grandparents had a stove just like that in Crosby, Mississippi -- it did a fine job keeping the farmhouse warm and even toasty. I was too young to have to chop the wood, but loved making a fire in the mornings.

That waiting room is about the size of their entire house, or maybe half the size.

Memories ...

This old building on Google Maps has small-town-train-station characteristics, anyway.

"Are you telling me there is no separate ladies waiting room?"

As best I can read the sign, the city of San Augustine is offering a $100 reward ($1,805 today) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone guilty of arson. It's signed by the mayor of San Augustine. Dave -- how close did I get?

San Augustine is in East Texas, home of large tracts of piney woods. Arson is serious business there.

Click to embiggen