Look Who it Was Random video

Abandoned Railroad Station in Joplin, Missouri 3/24/18

4,625 views · Published 2 April 2018 · 4:16 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: Bobby Harvey Video Productions · 2018 · Travel & Events

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While on a road trip down Route 66 last week, I stumbled across an amazing find just outside downtown Joplin, Missouri. Driving towards downtown, I looked to my left and saw what appeared to be a huge abandoned structure behind the post office. Knowing there were railroad tracks nearby, I wondered if it was a train station. Sure enough, I was right! The building is Joplin's "Union Depot", completed in 1911, and served trains on the Kansas City Southern and Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroads. When the last passenger train left Joplin in 1969, the station closed and has been empty ever since. For the last 20 years, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has owned the building, looking for a buyer. As things stand today, the DNR won't sell the building to anyone who would tear it down - they'd like to have someone restore and revitalize it - providing the group purchasing it has the funds to follow through. So far, that hasn't happened, but hopefully it does soon, otherwise the building will be too far gone to save.

My video begins at what looks to be one of the original entrances to the station, at street level just off Route 66. The overgrown driveway curves down and around to the station. I believe there was another driveway that led away from the north side as well. I walked around the station, and stood on one of the old station platforms where the tracks once ran. Today just one track remains, Kansas City Southern's mainline between Kansas City to the south, and is far away from the station complex itself.

I hope you enjoyed this video. I have many more train-related videos, including railfanning compilations from other Midwest towns, available to watch on my YouTube channel. Subscribe here:
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