Depot Park hosts railroad meet and greet

Railroad enthusiasts turned the old Chicago Great Western Railroad depot building in Kenyon into a makeshift museum on Saturday, May 4.

Depot Park hosted Mr. B’s Meet and Greet and Railroad History Day, the latest in a series of events organized by railroad historian Anthony Bianchi of Red Wing. Bianchi and other railroad enthusiasts came prepared with artifacts and plenty of knowledge to show off.

Bianchi operates the YouTube channel Mr. B’s Hiawathaland Rails, where he digs into the history of railroads in southeastern Minnesota. He began organizing in-person events throughout the region last year.

“It’s fun to go out and meet the people,” said Bianchi.

Bianchi said Kenyon first landed on his radar due to the old railroad trestle outside of town. His search for historical photos of it brought him to the Kenyon Public Library. Library Director Michelle Otte, also a railroad enthusiast, was happy to help. Learning he was interested in hosting an event in Kenyon, she offered the library’s partnership.

“I thought it was such a great, unique opportunity for our community,” said Otte.

Otte noted the railroad was instrumental in building Kenyon, with the population jumping from 50 to over 600 after its introduction.

Depot Park proved to be the perfect venue for the meet and greet. Bianchi said the building was “special,” noting it’s a rare surviving example of the train depots that were once common throughout the state. The depot building dates back to the 1880s, and was in operation until the Chicago Great Western Railroad merged with another company and discontinued the line in 1968.

“A lot of this has faded away. This is what built our towns,” Bianchi noted.

Bianchi brought a variety of artifacts he’s gleaned from eBay, including pieces from the Chicago Railroad Fair, an opulent event held in 1948 and ‘49 that included a number of Minnesota railroads.

He was joined by Todd Hein, whom he credits with sparking his interest in trains and railroads. The two met through Civil War reenactments, and Hein shared his passion for model trains. Hein brought a sample of his enormous collection, sharing some of the antique Marx model trains he’s refurbished.

While they’ve known each other for years, Bianchi connected with his other companions since he began making videos. Ethan Krueger, a photographer who lives in Northfield, discovered Bianchi through his video on the Kenyon trestle and attended his first meet and greet in Red Wing. Krueger introduced himself and shared some of his photos with Bianchi. Krueger has since used his drone for some of Bianchi’s videos, capturing shots of old railroads that aren’t accessible on foot.

Krueger has grown increasingly interested in railroad history since the two met.

“It’s like one big puzzle and you’re trying to put the pieces together,” he said.

Bianchi also invited Shawn Lopez of Rochester to share his collection of railroad artifacts discovered while scrounging around old railroad beds.

“Unfortunately. 99.9% of what you find out there is either absolutely nothing or just a little piece of broken glass here and there where there was something,” he said.

Lopez showed off a wide array of telephone pole insulators he’s found, showing a rough timeline of how the technology evolved from the 1870s to the 1940s. The earliest insulators he’s found are crude, handmade ceramics, while later ones are more precisely manufactured glass. Some of his most recent finds resemble the porcelain models used today.

In becoming something of an archaeologist and even an “amateur cartographer,” he hopes to safeguard these fragile pieces of history.

“I figure they’ve lasted 100, 150 years in the ground already. If I take care of them, hopefully they last a long time and other people can appreciate them,” said Lopez.

For years, the only other railroad enthusiast Lopez knew was his brother Josh, but he’s found a larger community through Bianchi’s work, and he’s begun working on videos of his own.

The event attracted the interest of Peyton Temple, the most recent board member of The Kenyon Area Historical Society.

“I just wanted to come out to see all the old stuff. I like old trains. I wanted to see the history,” said Temple, noting he’s also visited the railroad remains outside of town that initially drew Bianchi to Kenyon.