East Moline, IL: IH: Combines

(Satellite, it is still mostly brown land. John Deere's combine plant is just to the east of here, and it is still operating.)

IH bought the 83-acre tract from the Moline Plow Co. in 1926. It started in 1927 as a storage building for Farmall tractors made in Rock Island. It grew into a manufacturing center and made its first combines in 1934. CNH was formed in 1999 and closed this plant in 2004 in favor of the New Holland combine plant in Grand Island, NE, which was newer and non-union. This plant was inefficient because the low ceilings had just 14' of clearance. That did not allow overhead conveyor systems to be installed. A manufacturing engineer observed that IH should have built a new assembly plant decades earlier like John Deere's combine plant did. "At its peak, the plant employed 4,300 workers on three shifts, producing 40 to 50 combines a day. Corn pickers, grain headers, farm elevators, corn heads, corn shellers, field choppers, blowers, forage harvesters and mowers were among other products made there." [QConline] CNH also closed the tractor plant in Racine, WI because of age and union labor. When formed, CNH planned to close at least 10 of its 46 major factories and cut the work force by 20%.  [bizjournals]

Lost Illinois Manufacturing posted a more complete history and several images. Steve O'Connor posted a couple of the same aerial views.

Quad Cities Buildings / Landmarks / History shared Mark Nyenhuis' post
This is the Case IH combine line when I worked there in 2000. Now its just retail and apartment's.

So this must have been a model change rather than a plant closure since the plant did not close until 2004.

QCtimes
J.I. Case Co. -- Last 1600 Series Combine Produced, East Moline Plant -- Monday, Nov. 7, 1994.
[That same article also has a photo of the last 2055 cotton picker.]

Jim A. Fuhrmann posted
Two International Harvester 615 combines are seen eastbound carried on one of six rebuilt flat-car sets paired permanently coupled with a draw bar for implement loading on the Rock Island at Joliet, Illinois prior to when production ceased in 1976.
Chris Henderson 715s I believe.
Tom Wells 715 mate, l built them E. Moline ❤️😁🇺🇸
Joe Hoagland 615’s. I can read it right on em. Plus w the tire size and unloading auger length and rear dog house width it’s for sure 615’s.

1975 Silvis Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

This larger topo excerpt shows that the Milwaukee Railroad serviced this plant.

1975 Silvis Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

Ann Haymaker posted
Harvest Month…A friend who worked for CSX gave me this photo several years ago showing combines leaving the Harvester Works factory in East Moline.  (Joe Haymaker)
Michael Schwiebert: I believe those were all for export to Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics. I’d guess with the current Ukraine situation those have been halted for the time being.
Probably run through power as the trains were taken via CSX (east of Chicago) to Baltimore for loading on the ships.
Ann Haymaker: Michael Schwiebert You are right! Absolutely these were exported to the Soviet republics (Russia).
[As the comments explain, it is CSX foreign power on a Rock Island route.
Another comment says this is on the CB&Q route.
These unit trains of combines stopped about 6 or 7 years ago because John Deere built a plant in Ukraine.]

End of the line for CNH East Moline combine plant.