Neponset, IL: Wooden Grain Elevator and CB&Q Depot

Elevator: (Satellite)

Depot: (Satellite)

Street View

 

Andy Zukowski posted
CB&Q Railroad Depot and Elevator in Neponset, Illinois.(C)1910

A different colorization or printing.

Andy Zukowski posted
C. B. & Q. Railroad Depot & Elevator in Neponset, Illinois. 1907
Thomas Whitt shared
Richard Fiedler shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
The depot was just west of 2nd Street. The grain elevator is extant, https://maps.app.goo.gl/3qJpowhDXrfQo1pf9.

 

1941 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Neponset Historical Society posted
Neponset, IL. 1969.
Zach Malcolm shared

The grain elevator in Neponset, IL, has quite a bit of storage capacity, but Neponset does not have a downtown. It has just a gas station.

I have to admit that Google's street side view above is a better overview than any of my pictures. But my track side photo indicates that the BNSF/CB&Q siding is currently broken. However, it looks like they may be repairing it.

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The concrete foundation for a rectangular building also caught my attention. And this view indicates that the regular building to expand the capacity is quite long and wide.

I took a picture of this disk parked near the elevator for use in a posting I'm planning to write.

This Maintenance-of-Way equipment is more evidence that they are repairing the siding to the grain elevator. Close by someone had dumped a lot of old spikes and a tie-plate.

This is a view of the grain elevator complex from the west side where I saw the disc and MoW equipment.

Street View
The checkerboard painting we see in the 1969 photo has disappeared. But we can still see the letters of the name PURINA.

While adding the depot information to these notes, I noticed that this elevator has an augur over the BNSF mainline. A structure over a Class I railroad is rare.

Street View, Jun 2023

Ray Peacock commented on a post

Sheffield, IL: Rock Island Depot, Grain Elevator and Italianate Buildings

Depot: (Satellite, north of the mainline and offset from Main Street.)

Grain Elevator: (Satellite)

Water Tower: (Satellite)

Mike Breski posted
TRAIN TIME AT SHEFFIELD, ILLINOIS
On August 2, 1911, the small town of Sheffield, Ill., 22 miles west of Bureau on the Rock Island’s main line, comes to life for the midday arrival of a passenger train bound for Chicago. Roy Campbell collection
http://ctr.trains.com/photo-of-the-day/2019/03/train-time-at-sheffield-illinois
Dennis DeBruler: Judging from the water standpipe, the Rock Island decided they needed to add water to the tenders here so they built a water tower and depot. An entrepreneur probably soon built a grain elevator and a new town was born. It is hard to imagine how important the depot, trains and newspapers were for a town back in the horse & buggy days. Not only was there no internet and smart phones, there was no radio!
Jan Rodgers: Dennis DeBruler you are correct. The base of the water tower is still in existence. The grain elevator was added. I will find out more. I currently work at the museum in Sheffield, Illinois. I am researching the town's beginning starting with the Sheffield Transportation and Mining Company. Hopefully I will put together an interesting presentation and display.

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Sheffield is a town that still has a railroad, but it does not have a viable grain elevator. There are a lot of abandoned grain elevators in northern Illinois, but that is normally because they lost rail service.

About half of the buildings on one side of their downtown block are Italianate. The railroad is the Iowa Interstate, IAIS, which means that it used to be the Rock Island & Pacific.

Some of the buildings in the middle of the block have been nicely restored.

It looks like the far building now has three different owners and two of them did a nice job of restoring the windows.

Jan Rodgers commented on Dennis' comment on the post at the top of these notes
This is the stone foundation of the water tower. 

The foundation is now under a canopy of trees and bruss.

Jan Rodgers commented on Dennis' comment on the post at the top of these notes

Dennis DeBruler commented on his comment
I used this 1941 aerial photo to find the tower. Wow, that was a tall water tower. Judging by the shadows, it was about as tall as the two grain elevators.
 https://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/webdocs/ilhap/county/data/bureau/flight8/00rr2b197.jpg

The water tower was not just tall, it was a big tank. Or maybe two tanks, it is hard to tell.

Jan Rodgers commented on Dennis' comment on the post at the top of these notes

Princeton, IL: Wind Chime Grain Elevator, Caboose Display and Depot

I took US-34 west from I-39 to avoid some of the boredom of I-80. It turns out US-34 goes under I-80, but does not intersect with it. You have to go back North on IL-26 in Princeton, IL. There are quite a few Italianate buildings at the intersection of US-34 and IL-26. And it nice to see that they are actively working on restoration.

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A block north on IL-26, just south of the BNSF/CB&Q tracks, is the old grain elevator. As with many of the buildings in this town, it is now an antique dealer. Below are views of the southwest and northwest corners. We decided the tall metal thing in the southwest view is a wind chime.

So a fairly large town in corn and soybean country doesn't seem to have any grain elevators. This is in stark contrast with the CN/IC mainline where every town I visited not only had an elevator, most have grown quite large over the years.

Looking West from the IL-26 track crossing is the depot.

And the caboose that they have on static display is not in bad shape, yet.

Evidently it was going downhill because some comments indicated that this restoration done in 2021 was needed.

George Casford posted
Looks like the CB&Q Caboose by the depot in Princeton is getting a makeover; so far so good...!

Roger Kujawa posted
RP: Princeton , Illinois , 1908 ; Trains meeting at C.B.&Q. Railroad Depot
Roger Kujawa
[Note the horse and wagon on the left by the freight house. Those horses and the team track in the middle is why I added the "just horses" label to this post.]

 

Larry Foht posted

Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad Depot

Princeton Illinois

Larry Foht collection :

 

Andy Zukowski posted
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Depot in Princeton, Illinois, 1908
Andy Zukowski posted again

Mike Goff: Still an old wooden boxcar on its side next to where the stockyard was at

David Johnson posted
Princeton , Ill freight house

Lisa Kassabaum posted two images with the comment: "My uncle Bart Kassabaum did this print of the railway station in Princeton Illinois he was the artist in our family.Craig"

Thomas Whitt shared

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Brian Elias >> Grain Elevators of North America

(Added the windchime photo to his posting.)

Jerry Krug posted
Repurposed elevator at Princeton, IL along the BNSF(ex-CB&Q). Photo taken February 9, 2017.

Matthew Vickinovac posted two photos with the comment: "Along the highway through town. Definitely appears to have other uses now. If anyone can shed some light on the device hanging down from the top of the bin level, it would be appreciated."
Bob Summers This build is unique and intriguing to me. I recall a few months ago a similiar early concrete elevator. "Slip form" is a continuous 24/7 pour as the forms are raised, resulting in a smooth surface. "Jump form" works only on single round silos where they use 3 sets of forms - the top one is where they are pouring the concrete; the middle form is holding the concrete as it cures enough to be self supporting; and the bottom form is "jumped" over the other two to prepare to pour the next ring. The pour does not need to be continuous so usually they work a shift, then close down over night, over weekend, or if bad weather. "Jump form" construction results in definite "rings" at each level with a similar look to this one. However I believe this elevator was poured using one set of forms - moving the form up when the wall cured, probably one level per day. Would take a long time, and be an expensive way to build a concrete elevator, which is why few would have been built this way. If anyone has experience and additional ideas, please comment.
Dennis DeBruler We went in and asked about the device. They called it a wind chime.
Dennis DeBruler I just discovered that the locals call it the "windchimer."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/398907990548719/permalink/819499875156193/
Bob Summers shared.
Bob Summers This is a unique build for an early concrete elevator. Definitely not slipform, as the sides of this one has definite levels as the structure was poured. Jump form is only done for stand alone silos. It looks like on this elevator they built a form, then did a pour. After the concrete set they removed the form, built it again on top of the previously poured set concrete, then poured again. This would be a slow expensive process, which is probably why few elevators were built this way. Some elevators were built of brick or tile, but I am not aware they had a concrete structure behind the tile.

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Jarron Chance posted two photos with the comment: "Anyone got good pics of the inside of the Windchimer in Princeton? I lived there for a year or so, but it was like. ‘09."

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Jerry Krug posted

Christine Carlson Fues posted

Al Kara posted
Interior of the Amtrak depot in Princeton, IL.

Downers Grove, IL: Block Party

A tradition in Downers Grove is block parties. Many blocks, once a year, petition the village to have traffic blocked off from their block so that the neighbors can have a party. It is basically a tailgate party without the cars (and traffic jams) and the interruption of having to go to a game. Some blocks rent bouncy houses, etc. Since we live on Main Street, for years we assumed we could not have one. And then some neighbors came up with the idea of using the side street. So we just had our third block party. I don't want to include pictures of kids so a lot of the action such as an egg race, a Pinata smashing, etc. will have to go unrecorded. I will note that kids can still make a mess with eggs even if they are hard boiled.

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When I saw a fire truck arriving, I went back home to get the camera. Soon after I got back the kids were done looking at it, and I could take pictures. It was chilly so we not only had tents, the great organizers rented a space heater. And the grill easily cooked a lot of food.

Speaking of a lot of food, the view at the right is just part of the desert table. Someone brought a very special cake.