Thursday, August 31, 2017

Elkhart, IN: NYC Roundhouses, Water Towers and Standpipes

(Update: more information is in  NYC Railyard and NYC Depots)

The oldest aerial photo I can find for Elkhart, IN, is 1967 and the yards have already been converted from steam to diesel. So I could not find where this facility was on a satellite image. But the photo is too neat to pass up.

Tim Shanahan updated
Tim Shanahan updated a group photo
Edward Peters Photo taken by John Inbody about 1910. Give or take a few years.
Taken from the coal dock.
Tim JT White posted
[Tim's comment had some errors, so you need to read all of the comments for details. The essence is that the route to the left was the old road and the route curving more dramatically to the right is the Chicago to New York Main Line.]
Update:

Terry Wisel Heintz posted
 Loving those lower quadrant semaphores!!

Terry Wisel Heintz posted

Tim JT White posted
Another oldie, but a goodie. Elkhart Roundhouse. Don't have much info on this other then it was supposed to be in Elkhart.
Tim JT White After digging some more I find that this one was a Elkhart photos mostly taken by John Inbody in the 1900-1917 time frame.

Tim JT White posted
Was cleaning out some stuff in my basement and come across this " Looking Back" article in our local paper from, I think it was 1975. Elkhart Roundhouse and area 1930.
[This must have been north of the mainline between Avalon and Oakland, Satellite]

Edward Peters posted
2 of the Roundhouses in Elkhart Indiana about 1900.
Orion Forbes Taylor Jay Caroline Anderson I would have to dig out an essay I wrote to be certain, but this pair was built around 1910-1915. It was located on the south side of the tracks, right across from the old Lake Shore & Michigan Southern locomotive shops and roundhouses built around 1868. The original roundhouses left service when the new pair was built, but the shops remained active until the 30s. Not much is left of them, but the old pattern room and, I believe, the boiler shop are still standing. For now.
Edward Peters Orion Forbes Taylor you are correct the were built 1910-1915.
It took me a while to figure out where the power plant was located. I have pictures of it. I found it in one of the Sanborn fire maps.
There’s not many of the old buildings left.
Orion Forbes Taylor Edward Peters I’ve only ever seen a few pictures of the large power plant. As I recall, that was built a few years prior to the newer roundhouses. Originally, it was intended for a giant new shop complex for the NYC’s west end of the system that was cancelled around 1907. There was a small recession and Elkhart also decided to raise property taxes. When the economy improved, the NYC built the new shops in Cleveland instead (Collinwood).

Rick Shilling posted
c1940's New York Central Railroad Roundhouse, Elkhart, Indiana.
Brian A Morgan: First inspection stop East Bound to NYC.

Wayne Koch posted two photos with the comment: "Elkhart IN."
Edward Peters Having grown up there I still am amazed that at one time Elkhart had 3 roundhouses. 
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Edward Peters commented on a post
This picture shows the original Elkhart roundhouse that was built in 1874 I believe. Also shown is a building that is today used as a recycling plant. Also shown is the old tender shop.

Edward Peters commented on a post

Dennis DeBruler commented on a post
The southern roundhouse is easy to find on Google Map. At first, I thought the northern roundhouse was the bare circle to the northeast. But a 1952 aerial shows the second roundhouse was north of the southern one. But it was already torn down in 1952 to make room for more tracks. Detailed topo maps go back to just 1961, and it doesn't show the roundhouses.
https://www.google.com/.../@41.6763876,-85.../data=!3m1!1e3




Logan C: Lincoln, IL: El-Ben Coal Mine

(Satellite)

William A. Shaffer posted
Coal Mine Tipple .(September, 1972)
Lincoln, IL
(Photo by William A. Shaffer)
I would drive by this abandoned coal mine at Lincoln, IL every time I drove from Troy to Galesburg. On the way home this particular day, I stopped and took a series of photographs. The property was surrounded by waist-high weeds so I tip-toed cautiously, watching for "No Trespassing" Signs and Snakes. (I was much more afraid of Snakes!). I encountered none of either so I went about taking photographs. This is one of the color shots I did!
Dennis DeBruler commented on William's post
Do you remember where it was in Lincoln?

Dennis DeBruler commented on William's post
Based on the date of 1972, I would guess it was index 639. But that was a ways off the beaten path.
William A. Shaffer: As I recall, I could see it from Highway 121. It was a ways off from the highway because I had to walk quite a ways through waist-high weeds. I hope this helps you.
Dennis DeBruler
William A. Shaffer Thanks. If you took Highway 121, then the 639 location is probably where this was at.

William A. Shaffer posted
Coal Mine Tipple (Circa 1972)
Lincoln, IL
(Photo by William A. Shaffer)
At one time, Illinois was dotted with structures like this one!  Today, they are just a thing of the past!

 
William A. Shaffer posted
Coal Mine at Lincoln, IL
On one of many trips between Troy, IL and Galesburg, IL, I decided to stop at Lincoln and photograph this coal mine. The mine was no longer in operation and since I encountered no "No Trespassing" Signs, I stepped on the property. Herd ie one of the photos I shot. (Photo by William A. Shaffer)

He sent four more photos to the Lincoln Daily News.

FindingLincolnIllinois
 The Deer Creek, or Bennis, Coal Mine was the last functional coal mine in the immediate Lincoln area.  Bennis had "decided to develop a mine which would produce coal for the area as well as aid the local economy by providing jobs," and most of the coal "was used within a 50-mile radius of Lincoln" (Gleason, Lincoln:  A Pictorial History, p. 32). 
     Because the Bennis Mine was developed in recent history, its story is well documented in "Deer Creek Mine Begun by Steve Bennis in 1936; Many Improvements Made Since (Lincoln Evening Courier, August 26, 1953, section 5, p. 15).  In the 1940s and early 1950s, demand for stoker coal was high, and the owners continued to invest in new methods and innovative technology.  "The price of the coal has been held below that of shipped-in coal of equal quality and during the life of the mine the payroll has totaled $1,7653,686.66; 21 former miners and one miner's widow are drawing pensions from the miners' welfare fund; thus one can easily see that the Deer Creek Mine has been and is an asset to this community.  The mine represents a total investment of approximately $400,000 and seventeen years of effort."  This account in the 1953 centennial edition of the Courier offers no hint that the mine would close in the following year.
From hinton-gen:
El-Ben Coal Mine
The legal description lists this as :    Logan County - Township 19 North, 2 West, Section 5, SE SW SE
Underground Mine, at a depth of 273 feet, and an average coal seam of 5.1 feet in thickness.

Mine NameOperated ByYears
Deer Creek Coal MineDeer Creek Coal Company1937 - 1947
Deer Creek Coal MineSteve Bennis1948 - 1953
Deer Creek Coal MineDeer Creek Coal Company1954 - 1956
Lincoln Coal Mine No. 1Lincoln Coal Mining Company1956 - 1963
Logan County Coal MineLogan County Coal Mining Company1963 - 1965
El-Ben Coal Mine No. 2El-Ben Coal Company1965 - 1968
Last reported production was in 1968
[Source - No. 1, Index 639]

In the comments on the posting, William mentioned he took the photos about 40 years ago and that the mine was off Rt. 121. I suspect that it was here because it would have rail access.

Update:
William Shaffer posted
Hoisting Engineer's Station
Every Coal Mine had a tipple and a cage. The tipple was used to hoist up the coal from underground and the cage was used to take the miners down to the mine and then back up at the end of their shift. This would have been the Hoisting Engineer's Station. I shot this photo inside a coal mine in Lincoln, IL, but I imagine the mine in Troy would have been similar. My grandfather, James P. Shaffer, Sr., was the hoisting engineer out at the Troy Coal Company on what is now Illinois 162. (Photo by William A. Shaffer)

William A. Shaffer posted
Abandoned Coal Mine (September, 1972)
Lincoln, IL
(Photo by William A. Shaffer)
I shot this photo from the top of a slag pile.  I was fascinated by the mine structure and had passed it many times. This time, I stopped to take photographs and I'm glad I did.  I'm sure this is gone by now!

Was Stubenville, IN: Junction Tower: IN/Wabash vs IN/NYC/LS&MS/FWJ&S

The contents of these notes was moved to the notes with a correct spelling of Steubenville.


Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Berne, IN: GR&I Bridge over the Wabash River

(Street View)
Ken Draus posted
South bound on the GR&I in 1971 with F-7's Just crossing the Wabash River near Berne Indiana. Remains of the bridge are still intact. This is my favorite segment of The GR&I between Decatur, and Portland, Indiana. US-27 runs adjacent to the line here, and we used to travel it often going to visit my uncle in Portland in the 70's.

I normally put bridges in the main blog, but I put this picture in this blog because I keep track of abandoned branches such as the GR&I in this blog. When I looked at the street view, I was surprised how skinny the truss members were. The weight restriction of this bridge must have been a significant limitation in 1971. That could be why they were still running cab units rather than more modern road engines for freight.

I'm used to the Wabash River on the west side of Indiana, which is wide. The skinny river here made me curious as to where the headwaters of the Wabash is. Google traces it back to basically a farmer's drainage ditch. I didn't find water under a bridge until T-72.

Wolcottville, IN: Junction Tower: GR&I vs. Wabash

(Satellite)     GR&I = Grand Rapids & Indiana

Greg Bunce posted three photos with the comment: "GR&I/Wabash Interlocking Tower, Walcottville, IN June 20, 1984. First view is looking east, then west."

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Update: Greg Bunce posted two photos with the comment:
I ran across a couple more slides I took of the GR&I/Wabash crossing at Wolcottville, Indiana on March 12, 1977. Both are looking west on the Wabash/N&W.
Matthew Ditton Didn’t know the tower was already closed by then

Eric Zerkle Pretty dead by then with the GR&I and the Wabash shut down as through lines.

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Stroh, IN: Grain Company

(Satellite) The Wabash branch from Helmer, IN used to run along the east side of town.

Rural American History Captured posted
Stroh Grain Company Advertisement
1970 PHCS yearbook.

It has been completely rebuilt as just a feed mill. They buy and store just the 100,000 bushels of corn they need to make feed for a year.

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Chenoa, IL: Joint Depot: GM&O and TP&W

(Satellite)
Bill Molony posted
The Toledo, Peoria & Eastern - Illinois Central Gulf (ex-Gulf, Mobile & Ohio) joint station at Chenoa, Illinois, looking west on the TP&W in 1975.
The GM&O is now owned by UP. This town is on both the old and new TP&W. The old one went from Keokuk, IL to the eastern Illinois boarder where it continued as a Pennsy line to Logansport, IN. The new one goes from Peoria to Logansport. The segment from Keokuk to Peoria is now owned by Keokuk Junction Railway.
Goerge W Lane posted a RailPictures photo without a link that includes the tower that was east of the GM&O tracks.
Bill Edrington Great photo. That's a very unusual train order signal for the GM&O. I'm guessing it replaced a standard Chicago & Alton semaphore-type order board at some point.
[One copy of the photo was dated Mary 1, 1963 and another was dated Aug 1966.]

Update:
One of several photos posted by Eric Bergn case some people haven't seen these...photos from 1935 and by John W. Barriger III.

Bill Molony posted
The Chicago & Alton and Toledo, Peoria & Western depot at Chenoa, Illinois - circa 1920.

Jeff Carlson posted
Well, after his beloved Rock Island shut down in 1980, it seems as if my dad was forced into foaming other lines instead. On an April, 1981 trip to Peoria with some friends from the Little Q model railroad club in Aurora, they stumbled upon this TP&W train pounding the old GM&O diamonds at Chenoa, IL. TP&W no. 900, one of their three GP35s was leading the 102 and 400.
Unfortunately, this depot was demolished in 2009: https://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/…/20091027/NEWS/310279950
Ken Carlson, photo
Brandon McShane The depot was a pigeon roost in later years.
Jeff Carlson Interestingly, I think that all three of these engines survive. The Alco is at IRM, the Geep was working some industry as recently as 2012, and the GP35 is at BNSF!

Brian Austin posted
Chenoa, IL (1997).