No, Windsor Hills. Maybe it was a different set of tracks, but they went right through our neighborhood.

No, Windsor Hills. Maybe it was a different set of tracks, but they went right through our neighborhood.Were they just a bit west of Meridian? I seem to recall a grade crossing on NW 36 in that area, in the mid to late 60s...

I can't get over how there were train tracks that far north in town! I was flying over this and another area some time back in Google Maps, and this confirms my suspicions of a possible abandoned easement.
Most of the sections have been sold off, I know my dad tried to buy the section behind his house but they would only sell it as a whole piece to be subdivided between the adjacent property owners. Most on his street didn't have any interest in it. Some sections in Windsor Hills have been sold to the adjacent property owners.


Those train tracks were between my house and my elementary school. My mom used to worry about that. I remember kids putting pennies on the track.
We did that, played football, wiffle ball, rode motorcycles and all sorts of other things. It was like having a park in the back yard.


A Hilldale Tiger, huh?


That's where I was thinking she went too. Hilldale is a school that went from a great neighborhood school to a school that's unrecognizable as the "old" Hilldale. Sad.
That is where my sister and I went, she was a teacher for a few years at Mayfield. My parents still live down the street from the school. Not sure how much longer though as many of our old neighbors have moved out of there in recent years as the neighborhood (and whole area) has changed significantly.


Were they just a bit west of Meridian? I seem to recall a grade crossing on NW 36 in that area, in the mid to late 60s...
It was a bit closer to Ann Arbor in that area and had a few bends in the Windsor Hills neighborhood north of 23rd.

Just east of Ann Arbor where Windsor Hills School is. About a block east.

The Oklahoma Railway track near Grand Boulevard was removed after World War II (August, 1945). The track connected with the East-West portion at about NW 39th and Independence Avenue. The Grand Blvd. line crossed the Rock Island main in the current location of the Fairgounds and continued Eastward to the Oklahoma Railway offices and shops near Exchange Avenue. Their freight operation served many customers including W&W Steel and all the produce houses at the Public Market. There is a short segment of the original line still in service at Forest Lumber Co. and Tom Davis Lumber Co. The Oklahoma Railway track was then relocated to just about a block East of Ann Arbor and connected to the Rock Island main between Meridian and Ann Arbor. On the relocated portion there were team tracks located at NW 10th and NW 23rd and maybe NW 16th. The track serving Acme Brick and Purina, etc. was the original mainline of the Rock Island through Oklahoma City. There was actually a depot near Acme Brick on Villa and in 1927 had a lady station agent. The station was called Ambric.





That makes sense to me. Can you fill me in about a line that ran along Grand Blvd around NW 23rd? As a lad I can halfway remember remnants. My dad said they ran north and south along Grand down to what became the new fairgrounds. Was it also CRI&P? I do know about the line that ran from the north side of the future fairgrounds past Acme brick, the "new" AMC, Purina, and into downtown. I am also trying to learn more about the location of the interurban lines from Guthrie to Norman and from OKC to El Reno. I know a little about the El Reno line but the north-south line is a mystery. Are we talking Shields, perhaps? Thanks.

Here is an aerial of the area in 1941
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r170/OkStateBBall78/1330552207-1.jpg

Since there are no tracks in this shot (except for those running down the middle of NW 39th St., I'm expecting to receive an image from 1951. Will post that later.

Cool!

Do you have a bigger sized image of this aerial?

If so, I would appreciate a copy.

No. It's a 500-600kb image that was scanned from the Map Room of Edmon Low Library at OSU and sent to me via email. I've got them running around all day. I don't know if they can provide a more detailed image. I posted a link on page 2. Now I feel like making a donation since they've been running around doing the work for me! I do have the section to the west of this if you'd like me to post it as well.

Also, they didn't have 1951 so I requested an aerial from 1970. I'll post that when I get it.

Ha - good times. I worked at the Monterey House (I think I was 13) and across the street at the Roy Rogers after that.

Since there are no tracks in this shot (except for those running down the middle of NW 39th St., I'm expecting to receive an image from 1951. Will post that later.The tracks were just north of NW 39; they were where the westbound lanes now are, and the original street now forms the eastbound lanes.

Aren't those tracks just to the east of Grand Blvd?

Here is an aerial of the area in 1941
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r170/OkStateBBall78/1330552207-1.jpg

Since there are no tracks in this shot (except for those running down the middle of NW 39th St., I'm expecting to receive an image from 1951. Will post that later.

One thing I notice on this '41 overhead is that the N-S rail spur between Meridian and Ann Arbor, and the East and West spurs off that line are absent; evidently they were laid sometime after 1941.

The tracks were just north of NW 39; they were where the westbound lanes now are, and the original street now forms the eastbound lanes.

Aren't those tracks just to the east of Grand Blvd?

I'm referring to the industrial tracks that ran from the CRI&P between Reno and 10th up towards 39th east of Ann Arbor. The tracks you're talking about are in the image above.

Yes, those are tracks east of Grand. I'd like to request the next section to the east.


One thing I notice on this '41 overhead is that the N-S rail spur between Meridian and Ann Arbor, and the East and West spurs off that line are absent; evidently they were laid sometime after 1941.

Those are the very tracks, once again, I was referring to. Please read the notation under the pic...

My parents neighborhood (Hilldale) was built out in the mid-50's. When I worked at Triangle A&E in the mid-80's the most current quadrangle map for that area of town was 1957 and their neighborhood (and I think the tracks) was the far west edge of the OKC city limits, everything west of there was the unincorporated Council Grove area. I wish that I would have bought one of those maps before it was updated.

Here is a site that specializes in vintage aerial shots. I have not used them but, stumbled across their page. http://vintageaerial.com/photos

rondvu, it looks like they only have aerials of Oklahoma County for 1987 and 1988. Google Earth has them starting in 1990.

For that 39th aerial, I actually purchased it from http://www.aerialok.com/historical.html.

They have them for OKC for pretty much every decade, but they are expensive: $35 per square mile than $17.50 for each contiguous square mile. I just bought the one as little test, mainly for high school reunion purposes. I will say the quality of their images is fantastic and they scanned what I wanted and emailed it to me the same day.

I'd love to map out most of OKC starting in the 40's, labeling the main businesses and buildings on a zoomable grid. The problem is that with AerialOK it would cost over a thousand dollars per decade to use their images.

There are other copies I've found on the Internet that have images from various years, but their costs are equally prohibitive in terms of doing any larger area.


BTW, according to the link below, the OSU library should have aerials for 1963 and 1970 as well:

http://libraries.ou.edu/cms/?id=100

This first image is Bethany and surrounding area from July 17, 1941

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r170/OkStateBBall78/1330729832.jpg

This image here is the same area and a little further out to the southeast. The black triangle in the lower right hand corner is over Meridian & NW 23rd St.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r170/OkStateBBall78/1330729959.jpg

I have two more but they have yet to upload to my Facebook page so...those will come later.

The second one is from 1963...

Do you have that same year a little further north?

My family bought a house on 64th between Meridian and MacArthur in 1963.

These are the only other two I have:

Grand Avenue North
Notice in this shot what appears to be railroad tracks hugging the Grand Boulevard alignment, those of which tie in to the tracks that run east-west between NW 39th & 36th streets. In this pic, it looks as if the tracks do dead end where Lowes is today.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6801640300_85d28d4035_z.jpg

Grand Avenue South
State Fair Grounds in the lower right hand corner. The CRI&P railroad used to go right through the northern half of the fairgrounds. The alignment that Union Pacific uses today is the re-route of the tracks.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7040/6801638390_bab2d14a7d_z.jpg