Tuesday, December 25, 2018

La Salle, IL: Lost/IC Depot

(Satellite, the depot is long gone)

I already have some notes on the railyard.

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook posted
An IC company photographer took this photo of the IC's depot at LaSalle, IL, on June 10, 1915. The depot was in the process of being enlarged. The walls for the new addition appear to be about half completed. Meanwhile, part of the wall between the old and new parts of the depot has been taken down.
Despite the construction work, it appears the depot was still in daily use (note the baggage wagon in front of the depot).
IC photo, Cliff Downey collection.

Marty Bernard posted
4. IC Station, LaSalle, IL in May 1962. A Rick Burn photo
Harry D. LaBar When did passenger service end on the Gruber line?Jim French Harry D. LaBar 1939Harry D. LaBar Jim French Thanks Jim. I would’ve thought it would’ve lasted through WW2.
I believe the red rectangle is where the depot was and the yellow rectangle was the freight house. The I&M Canal runs along the bottom. You can see the freight house in the background of Rick Burn's photo.
1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central Railroad Depot in LaSalle, Illinois. 1920’s
[Note the water tower on the right.]
John Richmond: What an off-beat design. All that glass. No bay window. Etc. But I've seen various IC depots that were not-your-average depot.

Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central Railroad, Passenger Depot, LaSalle Illinois before remodeling in 1915.

This must have been a predecessor depot.
Christie Pasieka posted
I was looking for the depot that was in Ticona,IL. ( which I did find)  A little more looking and found the depot below.
1896 Passenger and freight house LaSalle 
3rd Div I.C.R.R. March 30,1896
Bruce Liebe: Notice the Carus mansion directly above the freight house (later to be the engine house)..

Pam Broviak commented on Christie's post
I drew the direction of the shot on this Sanborn map of LaSalle from 1898. I was curious about that house so wanted to see how the map fit this photo. The map notes that barn looking structure behind the house is an ice house?
Bruce Liebe: Pam Broviak as I'm sure you know from your interest in history, ice houses were common in that time period. There were 3 different beer distributors in the area of the old CB&Q depot in LaSalle that were listed as "ice houses." For beer, I guess the ice house was important before pasteurization. There certainly had to be plenty more ice suppliers for other refrigeration needs.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Port Huron, MI: Roundhouses

(A blog posting about the C&O roundhouse)

While looking for the 6-stall round house talked about in this article: CSX readies Michigan roundhouse for donation (source), I discovered the land scar of a big roundhouse (below). (Caution: TheTimesHearld has an absolute pay count.) Another article about CSX donating instead of destroying (source) And another article   
David Cofield, CSX project monitor-inspector for asbestos abatement removal projects, says crews started working in Port Huron Township this month. The Times Herald reports that they soon heard from concerned railroad history buffs worried about losing the historic structure. Plans initially called for clearing the site about 55 miles (88 kilometers) northeast of Detroit, but Cofield says the project has changed to environmental cleanup and salvage. [USnews]
So the cost of  asbestos containment during demolition was probably high enough that just removing the asbestos might be cheaper. Or maybe CSX has had enough derailments that they feel the need to get some good PR. Or maybe some of that corporate tax cut is actually trickling down rather than just buying back shares.


I believe this was GTW's roundhouse. You can see that some of the stalls were longer than the others to accommodate larger steam locomotives.
Satellite
Fortunately, the second article gave an address for the existing roundhouse. It is too bad CSX didn't donate it before the roof fell in.
Satellite

David Combs, May 2018
David Combs, May 2018
Link Banner
The C&O roundhouse was originally Pere Marquette. This page (source) has several photos. It claims it is by 16th Street. But I couldn't find one over there. The photos look similar to this Street View.
Street View

CSX has agreed to give the roundhouse to the Port Huron and Detroit Railroad Historical Society. 


Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Superior, WI: Dec 2018: Burning of 1888 world's largest grain elevator (Peavy Globe)

(HAER3D Satellite)

This was one of several big grain elevators in Superior, WI.

This Peavey Globe Elevator been abandoned for decades and three men were salvaging wood. They escaped without harm. Wood that had already been sold for $450,000 and two hydro cranes were lost. I saw damage estimates of $2.5 million and $10 million. This was part of the huge harbor facilities on the west end of Lake Superior.

Some "before" photos.

Photo from WDIO  (source)
[The linked WDIO article contains an informative four minute video.]
The fire chief implied that a spark could ignite the wood. I don't think a spark is going to set a timber on fire. In fact, I wonder how long you would have to hold a blow torch next to a timber so that it would continue to burn after you remove the torch. But if the workers disturbed some grain dust hidden between timbers, a spark could ignite a dust cloud.

A silent, long video of the fire burning.

Kyle Day from WDIO
Satellite, saving an image because this view will change
It shows that a lot of the wood has already been removed.

mprnews
"The site featured two storage buildings and a head house. Built in 1887, the Globe Elevators were at one time the largest elevators in the world, according to an online historical record kept by the Old Globe Wood Company and confirmed by the Duluth port authority. The Globe Elevators featured the first integrated elevator system — able to convey grain between structures."

OldGlobeWood
SubStreet, please follow the link for a nice history of the elevator
Photo from HAER WI-107-A-4 from wc0582

4. GLOBE ELEVATOR COMPANY, SUPERIOR WISCONSIN 1887; NO. 3 ANNEX FOREGROUND. NO. 2 ANNEX WORKHOUSE [NO. 1] TIMBER CRIB CONSTRUCTION, J.T. MOULTON AND SONS, CHICAGO [ARCHITECT]. - Peavey Globe Elevator, No. 1 House, West Gate Basin & Howard's Bay, east side of slip, Superior, Douglas County, WI

The workhouse that is in the background of the above photo:
Photo from HAER WI-107-A-3 from wc0582

David Schauer posted
A Sunday flashback...shows the Lake Manitoba loading at the Globe Elevator in Superior on August 14, 1976. The GN elevator is in the lower left and Harvest States is in the upper right. Basgen Photography


HAER WI-107
Peavey Globe Elevator, West Gate Basin & Howard's Bay, east side of slip, Superior, Douglas County, WI
[Demolished 2000]

3D Satellite

HAER WI-107
Peavey Globe Elevator, West Gate Basin & Howard's Bay, east side of slip, Superior, Douglas County, WI

HAER WI-107-A, first of fourteen photos including several interior shots
Peavey Globe Elevator, No. 1 House, West Gate Basin & Howard's Bay, east side of slip, Superior, Douglas County, WI

Christie MacDonald commented on a post
For our restoration in sturgeon bay, to fix our rot bin areas, we bought lumber from the globe elevator months before it burned down.


David Schauer posted
An image from 1976 of the Globe Elevator in Superior as a Canadian laker loads. I can't read the name but maybe Lake Manitoba? There is a green maple leaf logo on its stack. Basgen Photography
Alain M. Gindroz: No question Lake Manitoba
Dennis DeBruler: Thanks for keeping this group Public so that the great photos of the grain elevators can be shared.
Dennis DeBruler shared
This Peavy Globe Elevator was the world's largest in 1888. It was abandoned decades ago and a company was dismantling it to salvage the wood. Unfortunately, it caught fire in 2018.
 
Dennis DeBruler commented on his share
When built, it had a steam boiler house on the north side. What is the proper name for the concrete structure that replaced it? Headhouse?
"Globe from the side of Great Northern. Sawyer Unloader (Gallagher, Duluth Public Library)" via substreet: https://substreet.org/globe-elevator/
Bob Summers: Dennis DeBruler I was brought up calling top part of the tall portion of an elevator the “headhouse” because that is where the top of the elevator legs (vertical conveyors) and the associated machinery, scales, distributors and sometimes some grain cleaning equipment. The lower portion may have some grain bins. For a concrete country elevator we referred to the initial structure, including the upper portion or headhouse as the “working house” to differentiate it and any grain storage annexes which have grain bins and horizontal conveyors on top in what were sometimes called “galleries” or “Texas house” and the tunnels under the bins we just called the “basement.” Not sure these are proper names as offen referred to differently in different parts of the country.

Al Miller posted
Views of a glass plate print of the Soo Line whaleback Washburn loading. Although the elevator says Duluth, I believe this actually is in Superior, Wis.
[Al's posting includes three closeups of the whaleback boat.]
Tim Pranke Al, I don't think I have seen this one before. And you are correct, this is Superior, the elevator that burn a couple years ago.
Al Miller Tim Pranke This is a 1980s print made off a glass plate neg that I believe was shot by D.F. Barry, who set up shop in Superior for a time and apparently did some work for McDougall in the early days to help publicize the whaleback design.

Mike Harlan shared
Greg Sumser I believe that elevator is STILL standing near BARCO in Superior.

Dennis DeBruler shared
The first photo is of interest. According to Google Earth images, it burned between Sep 2006 and Sep 2008. It appears it has been disassembled for the wood.
https://www.google.com/…/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x52ae53fa…
It looks like these elevators are also being "mined" for wood.
https://www.google.com/…/@46.7388935,-92.1018…/data=!3m1!1e3
Rick Aylsworth Yes, it was being salvaged for timber at the time of the fire.
Bob Summers Estimated date for this photo? Looks like a steam engine room on the left, so likely before they had electric motors?
Dennis DeBruler The first whaleback was built in 1887, so this could be before electricity became popular. Or they may have converted it to electricity but they hadn't bothered to tear down the steam plant. I think it is safe to say that it is old enough that it originally operated with steam instead of electricity.
I just noticed the wires in the foreground. But I don't think those are electric power wires.
We are also left with the question of what did the conveyor on the right go to.
Bob Summers Dennis DeBruler based on my research the mills and elevators here in central Kansas converted to powering with electric motors mostly in the second decade of the 20rh century, may have had electric light a little earlier. When our first concrete terminal was built in Hutchinson in 1913 they used electric motors, and the mills and older wooden elevators were starting to change over from the coal fired steam power plants. Lots of fires in those days. I suppose the conveyor you mentioned when to another laker loading pier to the right.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Greg's comment on Mike's post
It looks like it got disassembled for the wood.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...

Judging from images from Google Earth, it burned between Sep 2006 and Sep 2008. I include a Dec 2005 image because it is better.
200512

200609

200809

Or is it these elevators that are being "mined" for wood.
3D Satellite

Jacob Wickman posted 12 photos with the comment: "Headed over to Superior to catch the Miedwie loading grain at CHS 1. Right across the road is what remains of the former globe elevator. It’s sad to see what was the largest grain elevator in the world when built being torn down, but at least they’re trying to preserve much of the wood from the insides. 9/9/23"
Mick Sertich: The Globe was a work horse facility, employed many people , but was too labor intensive . Many of the bins leaked together or next to each other. Had to put the same grain next to each other, so it didn’t get mixed. She served the port well in her day! Lots of overtime.
Ken Olson: Some of the Glove Elevator burned down in 2018. https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/.../video-and-photos...
Dennis DeBruler shared
Because the freighter has cranes, I believe it is a salty.
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Dennis DeBruler commented on his share
The elevator loading the freighter is on the right and the wood elevator that is being dismantled is on the left.
 https://www.google.com/maps/@46.7402484,-92.1058595,980m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu



East Syracuse, NY: NYC/LS&MS Coaling Tower, Roundhouse and Yard

(3D Satellite)

cnymod, 1950  (source)

Raymond Storey posted
Rick J Brandenburg Sr. Big Mohawk, with smoke lifter elephant ears ..
Dennis DeBruler It looks like there is a water tower, pump house and standpipe on the left side of the photo. The NYC did have some huge coaling towers. The guts are still standing.
https://www.google.com/.../@43.0624623,-76.../data=!3m1!1e3


Richard L Vanderbilt shared James Torgeson's post of Greg Johnson's post
A fossil record of the period when America moved with coal, steel, and boiling water.
New York Central Railroad steam locomotive coaling tower still standing in East Syracuse.
Andy Rezsnyak Four little ones for passenger engines... Big one for freight engines... They washed the coal for the passenger engines to keep them clean from coal dust, thats what I was told anyhow...
Philip A. Edwards Andy Rezsnyak is right. The coal for passenger trains was more refined egg-sized for a cleaner more efficient burn consumption. This modern concrete tower replaced a large wooden structure that was built originally on that site.
Greg Johnson commented on his post
Here's how the East Syracuse coaling tower looked in life. (Click photo for enlargement)
Thanks to the New York Central Historical Association.

Two Hudsons, J-lb 5204 and J-lc 5270, rest at the 1937-built East Syracuse fueling station. High-speed passenger mains 1 and 2 are in the foreground; an Automatic Train Stop sender is visible on track 2. The recording tapes generated by the ATS system were read originally by a thirty-man force headquartered in Buffalo Central Terminal, but by the 1960s, only three of them remained; their primary function was furnishing defensive testimony in lawsuits brought after crossing accidents. (Jeremy Taylor Photo, NYCSHS Collection)
Greg Johnson commented on his post
Mike Noble commented on James' post
When it was in use
Phillip Winchester collection CNYNRHS
Mike Noble commented on James' post
Another view

You can still see the land scars of some of the roundhouse stalls:
Satellite
Mike Noble commented on James' post

Mike Noble commented on James' post

Mike Noble commented on James' post


It is a big railyard. They have a long intermodal yard and still have a hump. Hunter may have closed this hump yard, but it looked like it was still active when the satellite image was captured. Although the hump tracks are stub-ended.
Satellite