GM&O 2618 - Union City, TN

Union City is near the northwest corner of Tennessee and the rail lines that run through town go into Memphis. This caboose is located behind the old GM&O Depot which is today used as the Chamber of Commerce.

Capitol Theater - Union City, TN

The Capitol Theater opened in 1927 in the central business district in Union City. As on 1999, the Theater is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1994, the theater was used for live action productions under the name Masquerade Theater. The Marquee can still light up at night.

Fiberglass Crappie at Reelfoot Lake

Located at Kirby Pocket at Reelfoot Lake in Obion County is this large fiberglass Crappie. Dating back to the 1970s, it could use a fresh coat of paint.

Parks Covered Bridge - Trimble, TN

Obion County farmer Emerson E. Parks built this bridge, the Parks or Trimble Covered Bridge, in 1904 to span a drainage ditch dividing two of his fields on his farm. Although the bridge’s original purpose was agricultural, local traffic also used it until 1928, when the state built a state route with a modern bridge nearby. The bridge remained in use on Trimble's farm until 1997. At that time, due to erosion at the original site that had endangered the historic bridge, the community salvaged as much material as possible and rebuilt the bridge in a city park in Trimble, which resulted in the bridge being delisted from the National Register of Historic Places.

This is what it looked like in 1993: bridgehunter.com/photos/24/68/246838-L.jpg

The wooden bridge is 59 ft. long, 11.4 feet wide, and has 10 ft. of vertical clearance. A gable roof originally covered the bridge, but a tornado destroyed the original roof in 1914. After the tornado, Parks replaced the gable roof with a flat shed roof.

It is one of a small number of Covered bridges in Tennessee. There are also ones in Elizabethton, Sevierville, Lawrenceburg, Red Boiling Springs and Greene County.

Fading Pepsi Wall ad - Trimble, TN

Painted on the side of a building that used to be Jenkins Food Market in the small commercial area of Trimble, which is a small city in Obion County.

Kickapoo Joy Juice faded wall ad

This is painted on the side of a building that used to be Jenkins Food Market in the small commercial area of Trimble, TN which is a small city in Obion County. Kickapoo Joy Juice is a citrus-flavored soft drink brand owned by The Monarch Beverage Company. Perhaps more people are familiar with the name, which was taken from the Ll'l Abner comic strip (although in the cartoon, the beverage was alcoholic, but the drink you can buy is a soda.)

The real world drink was introduced in 1965 under NuGrape, a former brand of The Monarch Beverage Company. That year, Nugrape worked out a deal with Al Capp, the owner of the Kickapoo Joy Juice rights, to produce the beverage as a carbonated soft drink. Capp, however, would have the last word on all advertising and promotion. Kickapoo Joy Juice's early advertising campaign was very similar to Mountain Dew's of the time – using characters from Li'l Abner to create and market a hillbilly feeling. Although the product is currently distributed largely in Asian markets, the can still comes decorated with a vintage Li'l Abner drawing.
www.kickapoojoy.com.my/product.html

Capitol Theater - Union City, TN

The Capitol Theater opened in 1927 in the central business district in Union City. As on 1999, the Theater is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1994, the theater was used for live action productions under the name Masquerade Theater. The Marquee can still light up at night.

Union City, TN Depot and GT Locomotive

The train station in Union city was built in 1922 by Gulf, Mobile & Ohio (GM&O) and also serviced NCStL. The design is a mixture of Mission/Spanish Revival and Bungalow/Craftsman. Today, the building is restored and serves as the Obion County Chamber of Commerce. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On the day that I took this photo, I started by parking at the Depot, as I was walking to the GT 5848 crossing the street. I went over to the town square and an hour after I had started, I was back where I started and the same locomotive was crossing at the depot where I started. GM&O eventually merged with Illinois Central, who along with Grand Trunk & Western are all owned today by CN.

First Christian Church - Union City, TN

The congregation was organized in 1848 about 4 miles away. The city was formed in 1854 and this lot was given to them in 1856. Union troops destroyed their church in the Civil War and a cholera epidemic killed many members in 1873. This building is their third here and it was built in 1912.

GT 5848 Locomotive crosses 1st St.

1st St. is the main road through the heart of town in Union City, TN. Grand Trunk Western was bought out by CN, but you still see their trains in various places. Union City for many years was served by Illinois Central, (which is the second locomotive here) and they are now also run by CN.

On this particular day, I saw this pair of GT and IC pull various train cars back and forth through town during the hour I was walking around. Then by the time I was driving south, I passed the same crew.