Sunday, September 30, 2018

Danville, IL: Andersons/Freight Car Svc./C&EI Oaklawn Shops

(see below for satellite)

Ken Haughton posted
Aerial view of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Oaklawn Shops at Danville, Illinois. Date & Photographer not listed. (1940's?)
Scanned using a Epson V750.
Collection of Houghton's RailImage
Kevan Davis shared
Kent Bankhead: Impressive transfer table!
Dennis DeBruler
Kent Bankhead Since this post is in the same group, its contents should be visible.

Tim Starr posted
Layout of the 56-stall roundhouse terminal and shops of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR at Danville IL in 1903, just after the old ones were decommissioned. (Railway and Engineering Review)

What does Google do with a link after the name is no longer valid?
Freight Car Svc Inc, Satellite

Mike Breski posted
C&EI, Danville, Illinois, 1959
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad diesel locomotives resting beneath a coaling tower, now an obsolete symbol of the steam era, at Danville, Illinois, in November 1959. Photograph by J. Parker Lamb, © 2015, Center for Railroad Photography and Art. Lamb-01-041-01
Ken Morrison speaking of obsolete, looks like there's a BL2 and a caboose in the picture...
[They have already dismantled the unloading pit.]
And this photo allows us to see most of the top.
Evie N Bob Bruns posted
CEI 1608 at Danville in 1963. Photo by Bill Kuba.



Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted two photos with the comment:
This C&EI HS archive photo shows the massive Oaklawn Shops at Danville, IL. before the November, 1937 fire that destroyed the coach shops. A new coach shops building opened in late 1939 in the same location south of the transfer table. The photo is looking northwest with the C&EI mainline tracks at the north side of the shops. Notice the old coaling tower and the large roundhouse. Many of the buildings are still standing today on the east side of Danville.
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C&EIRHS posted
C&EI Historical Society archive photo taken in 1958 by Bowman Studio in the Oaklawn backshop at Danville.
Jeffrey Owen My grandfather, Laurence Mast, operated a crane there for more than 40 years.
Larry Case Right outside the old dispatcher's office where my dad worked and I started as chief dispatcher's clerk in 1967.
James Myers Pre-OSHA, no hardhats.

Tim Starr posted
Floor plan of the new diesel repair shop at Oaklawn (Danville) IL of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR in 1950, just as most of the roster was being converted to diesels. (Railway Age)

Railway Age
The Andersons Inc. on Aug. 1 [2018] signed a $2.2 million agreement to purchase FreightCar America Inc.’s Danville Railcar Facility, Danville, Ill. The company intends to turn the now-shuttered freight car manufacturing plant into a full-service freight and tank railcar repair shop.
"Danville will be the Rail Group’s 21st shop in the U.S., strategically located in the high-volume Midwest rail transportation corridor." [Railway Age]

1940 Aerial Photo from ILHAP
Tim Starr posted a larger excerpt
Aerial view of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois main shops and roundhouse terminal at Danville IL around 1940.

The engine servicing facilities were in this yard. The classification was done in Brewer Yard. CSX still owns that yard.
1950 Danville NE and SE Quads @ 24,000

C&EIRHS posted
C&EI was an innovator in trailer on flat car TOFC service. This 1955 photo shows a flat car being fitted for TOFC service at their Oaklawn Shops in Danville, Illinois.
C&EIRHS posted
Photo 5036-O showing a flat car being converted to a TOFC (trailer-on-flat-car) at C&EI's Oaklawn Shops in Danville, Illinois c1955.
 
C&EIRHS posted
Photo 5036-H from the C&EI Historical Society archives showing the piggyback ramp at Chicago c1956.
Eric Sibul shared

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted two photos with the comment:
On April 16, 1988 the C&EI Historical Society held its annual meeting in Danville, IL. The agenda included a tour of the Oaklawn Shops where Robert Gibson took these photos of the Oaklawn transfer table.
Paul Jaenicke What's there now?
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society Most recently it was Freight Car American that built coal hopper cars, but early this year they sold to Anderson Corporation which will start a freight car repair business there. It is expected to employ about 15 by the end of the year and some 100 next year. Presently repair cars have been arriving in the 400 car storage yard in preparation of the startup of the company. The west one-half of the former C&EI shops is owned by Mervis Corporation, a steel and scrap dealer that cuts up various freight cars.
[These are the rails for the transfer table. The yellow thing in the background would be the cab for the transfer table.]
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Michael Schwiebert shared two photos that have the comment: "Before and after pictures of the first car completed at our new railcar blast and paint shop in Danville, Illinois. The Andersons Rail Group continues to be excited about the opportunities in Danville."

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I put this photo here instead of Evansville because it catches a view of the backshop.
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted
A new Dodge maintenance of way truck photographed at Oaklawn Shops in Danville. The truck will be assigned to Evansville as indicated on the door.
[According to the comments, it was painted orange and blue.]

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