Earlier this week, the wife and I visited the Dennison Depot Railroad Museum in Dennison, OH. This depot was the headquarters for the Panhandle Division. In addition, it served as a major engine and car maintenance facility. Before we get to the photos and descriptions of facilities, I want to tell you about something that really got to me.
I was moved by the story of a woman named Lucille Nussdorser. On the last day of 1941, she watched thousands of young boys moving to war by rail. They were scared, anxious, far from home, and heading towards an uncertain future. The next day she approached the Salvation Army and the Pennsylvania Railroad with her idea. From the website (https://dennisondepot.org/):
"During WWII, 1.3 Million service members were served free food by 4,000 working volunteers at the Dennison Depot Salvation Army Servicemen’s Canteen. These service men and women traveled by troop train along the National Defense Strategic Railway and stopped at the Depot as they were going off to fight in the war.
Our Homefront hospitality became so well known, that the nickname Dreamsville, USA was given to us by the soldiers themselves. Today, the beautifully restored 1873 Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, which served as the Panhandle Division Headquarters, offers plenty of family entertainment."
Who knows how much good was accomplished by that simple act of kindness?
A comprehensive, thoroughly detailed description of the buildings, activities, and history of the facility can be found in two issues of The Keystone, the publication of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society (PRRT&HS). One issue even contains a fold out map and drawings of the facilities, which included a roundhouse. Authors Ed Swain and Gary Rauch did a great job.
- PRR Shops and Yards at Dennison, Ohio, Part 1, Volume 48, No. 4 - Winter 2015, pages 54-79
- PRR Shops and Yards at Dennison, Ohio, Part 2, Volume 49, No. 2 - Summer 2016, pages 41-68
By the way, Volume 48 noted above also includes a great article called Molly Pitcher and the PRR, written by our own Tom Panettiere. 
Now, some of the photos we took. As the depot looked back in the day.
And modern-day appearance as a museum.
A few views from the trackside (where the yard used to be). Those are the former Panhandle tracks.
And some of the passenger cars on display as well.
It's a beautiful drive along rural Ohio roads. I highly recommend both the journey and the destination.
George
