Bushton, KS: Eight bolted steel tanks with a headhouse

(Satellite)

This is the first time that I've seen a headhouse over boltted tanks. And this is the most tanks I have seen in an elevator.

Bob Summers posted
Bushton Kansas, a well maintained old bolted steel elevator.
Jim Hufford Seen a few but never worked on one! I think you could put one up pretty fast compared to slipping one !
Bob Summers Galvanized corrugaterd go up faster than the bolted steel, no crane needed to lift the heavier guage steel plates as they are "jacked up" and assembled from the bottom.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bob's post
Central Prairie Co-op also has concrete silos.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...
The railroad was MoPac and is now Kansas & Oklahoma.

Bureau C: Marquette, IL: Third Vein Coal

(Satellite, Marquette is just a legal entity now)

There are 1893 and 1911 topo maps, but neither marked the tipple. Since it was abandoned in 1914, I found just land scars in a 1941 aerial photo.

Roger Kujawa posted
Marquette Third Vein Coal Mining Company Bureau County. I think this was about halfway between Springvalley and DePue. That would be the Rock Island Railroad. Likely the DePue railroad bridge to the right crossing the river. The Illinois Valley Interurban might be in that mix too.
Steven Holding Yes the IVD did get coal from here. I was down in there ???? and some one was hauling off the stones. All overgrown and channelization changed the river and lay of the land.
Kevin Brock The mine was about a mile East of where the NYC* crossed the Rock Island, just East of Depue. (*It was NYC when I was growing up, Indiana, Illinois & Iowa before that.) When I was growing up in the '60s, portions of the East And North walls of the 2 story stone building, to the right of the tipple, were still standing.
George Zibert Heard from a Depuein that mine #3 also used to be called Lucyville or looseyville ??? Not sure why???
Andy Zukowski posted

Dennis DeBruler commented on George's comment
Because it was Locey and Loceyvile before it was Marquette.
LW means longwall. I didn't know they did longwall in the 19th Century.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Roger's post

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
 https://wikiimage.isgs.illinois.edu/.../topo-mines/depue.pdf

Fort Wayne, IN: Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. Headquarters

(Satellite)

This is one of those topics that I can't believe I haven't written about yet because I worked here in the Data Processing (actually, card tabulating) Department during the summers of 1967&68. I worked on the top floor of the new building that was on the Calhoun side of the block. I see that Google Maps now labels that building as Lincoln Financial Group. I can't find a label for the Lincoln Museum. I wonder if it is no longer there in the old building.

Silva Lining Photography posted four photos.

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MISSING "U"

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BALANCE 

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STREAKS

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HIGHLIGHT

Tommy Lee Fitzwater posted

Lincoln Life Insurance Company

Building started in 1921

Occupied it in 1923

9 Hole Putting Golf Course on the top of the Building

Tommy Lee Fitzwater posted
When did they put the putting green on the roof?

Fort Wayne Memories posted
Ft Wayne IN Lincoln Museum National Life Ins Co 1958
Tonya Allen Nix I worked there for 12 years. Sad when Ian Rolland retired. Lots changed after that.
Kathryn Neddeff I worked there for many years 👍🏻They employed many people in Fort Wayne sad when they moved their headquarters

Heather Lynn shared
Randy Carr I remember doing a "Lincoln Pilgrimage Hike" on Lincolns Birthday a number of times. From Scout House, N on Ardmore, to E & N on Sandpoint, N on Bluffton, N on Broadway, E on Berry, to Statue for a celebration. circa 1965.
Rachel Oglesby Paul Manship also created the gold sculpture at the center of the Rockefeller in NYC. Manship did the sculpture in for Lincoln Life because the founder of LL was a huge fan and avid collector of his work. He donated a lot of his collection to what is now FortWayne Museum of Art, where they are occasionally on display. Many wondered why the statue wasn’t more of a presidential portrait, but the commission was to portray Lincoln as he looked when he lived in Indiana. So this is Lincoln the young man.

Columbus, KS: 1902+1968-1981 A triple-cross diamond and 8 railroad "spokes" became 4

(Satellite, the former location of the triple crossing)

Chris Aldrighetti posted

The world famous St. Louis-San Francisco Railway and Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad crossing and switch tower/station, also known as the Columbus triple crossing.

Built in 1902 it quickly gained recognition around the world. When built it was using 90 pound rail. As diesel engines came onto the scene in 1958 the rail was changed to 115 pound rail to handle the additional weight. The original crossing survived up until 1968 when it was replaced with an exact replica. The new replica crossing was in use until 1981, when it was replaced by the current two-way crossing. It was located approximately 150 feet northwest of the turn where N Railroad Avenue turns east and becomes E Buckeye Street in Columbus, Kansas.

According to a March 14th issue of The Columbus Daily Advocate from 1902, the triple crossing was one of six tri-crossings in the United States. The Columbus triple crossing being the only one in the state, or west of the Mississippi River.

Contradictory to the newspaper article, the historical marker erected by the Columbus Lions Club located outside of the Columbus Museum and Genealogy Library states: "The crossing, formerly located in the northern part of Columbus, was donated to the City of Columbus by the Burlington Northern Railroad. At the time, the switch was constructed, it was one of the three built; one in Hamburg, Germany, destroyed during the war, and one in Pennsylvania which was removed within a short time. The crossing before you is the only one remaining."

 

Chris commented on his post
Tony, same location in 1968.

 

Chris Aldrighetti posted another image with the same comment.

One of four images shared by Richard Crabtree
The famous triple crossing & interlocking plant in Columbus Ks 1910s

 

Raymond Storey posted
Jim Kelling shared

JC Walker posted five photos with the comment: "Columbus KS. Only 3-way existing. What were they thinking?!?! The location was just north of town."

John W Chamberlain Triple Diamond takes up way less land and is easy control. 1 interlocking instead of 3.
Patrick J Laronde I think there would have been more cross ties when the thing was in service.
Bucky Blankenship Looks like a nightmare for pulling tamper Operator.

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[This display is down by the Columbus Museum.]

I've extracted a closeup and an overview from a topo map. The overview captures the railroad names and the closeup shows where the triple crossing was.

1958 Columbus Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

Before the railroad merger mania in the 1980s, each railroad would have its own tracks through town. There were three railroads with four routes through Columbus. (Frisco had two routes.) The Columbus Wye was the crossing of the Light Purple, Orange and Dark Green.

• Blue: Abandoned/Northeast Oklahoma
• Orange: BNSF/Frisco
• Dark Purple: SKOL/Frisco (SKOL = Southern Kansas & Oklahoma)
• Light Purple: BNSF(o/s)/Frisco (o/s means out-of-service)  Actually, it is now more than o/s. The track has been removed.
• Light Green: BNSF/MKT (MKT = Missouri, Kansas & Texas)
• Dark Green: Abandoned/MKT

Satellite plus Paint

This extract shows why the Northeast Oklahoma went north into Kansas and through Columbus. Specifically, there was a lot of coal mining northwest of Columbus.

1959 Joplin Quadrangle @ 1:250,000

Update: I commented on a post. And another post.

Melvin Myers posted
This rail was called a triple crossing it is located in Columbus ks. and used to have a sign telling about it but i guess it is long gone..
[It's a public group so I'm just going to recommend that you peruse the comments.]

Chicago, IL: City Hall

(Satellite, both of these lost buildings occupied Block 39)

In 1830 the federal government gave Block 39, bounded by Clark & LaSalle and Randolph & Washington, to Cook County for public use. The city did not get any federal land. The city used three different buildings for their city hall until, in 1953 when Cook County needed to build a bigger courthouse, the county offered the western half of their block to the city to pay off a $30,000 debt to the city for services rendered. [ChicagoArchitecture] This is what the joint building that contained City Hall #4 looked like after a couple of expansions]

BDBRCPC posted
City Hall, LaSalle and Washington, 1870, Chicago.

Raymond Kunst shared
[Some comments indicate that Lincoln's funeral stopped here.]
Neil Gale Raymond Kunst - This is a picture of the Chicago City Hall and Courthouse with the county wings just added in 1870.

Below is what that joint building looked like when first built. As the population of Chicago exploded in the 1800s, they added a third floor, a large dome, and the county wings mentioned by Neil in the above caption. Note the wings were added just a year before everything would be destroyed by the 1871 fire.

Chicago History Museum via WTTW

City Hall #5 was a temporary building called the "Rookery." It had the first public library in a big water tank! "For $50,000 and other considerations" the county granted the City half the block and the county and city did another joint development. [ChicagoArchitecture] The Facebook caption for the photo below is wrong for two reason. Not only was this not a federal building, it was the destruction, rather than the construction, of City Hall #6. You don't have big rubble piles against the sides of the building during construction. They have already torn down half of City Hall #6 and built the new county half in the background. The foreground half is now being torn down to make way for City Hall #7. City Hall #7 and its mirror county building are still in use today for their intended function.

Lawrence Shoop posted
Federal Building in the block bounded by Adams and Clark and Dearborn streets and Jackson Boulevard. Construction between 1898 and 1905.
Stanley Niziolek 219 South Dearborn.
Michael Bose NOT the Federal Building at all. It's the old City Hall under construction, that was demolished in a short time because it was sinking into the ground. The current City and County Buildings replaced it. The photo actually has a caption on it telling you it's CITY HALL under construction.

City Hall #6 was bad in about every possible way. The interior had several design issues, and it took a long time to build it. Ground was broke in 1875. The county moved in to their half in 1882, but it took three more years to finish the city half. Construction took so long that by the time the city could use it, the city had outgrown it! So it was almost a relief that the architect James Egan's experimental mat-and-pile foundation was a failure. The building sank 6" in 24 hours in 1905, which caused a gas pipe to rupture near the roof. The resulting explosion blew the roof off the building. This allowed the city and county to save face with the decision to build a replacement. [ChicagoArchitecture, Chicagology]

Chicagology

Fort Worth, TX: Tower 55

(3D Satellite, the building still stands)

The east/west Texas & Pacific crossed the north/south Katy + Santa Fe + Southern Pacific. [txrrhistory]

Steven J. Brown posted from Union Pacific Tower 55

Twenty-six years ago today:

An unusual consist at Tower 55! Is is a Union Pacific train? Is it Santa Fe? I dunno? I am pretty sure its not a Great Canadian Railtours train! Fort Worth, Texas - January 13, 1993.
Dennis DeBruler This place is now surrounded by expressway piers: https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...

Mark Hinsdale posted

"Deep in the Heart of Texas..."

Thirty years ago today, an eastbound Union Pacific intermodal train passes the imposing, three story Tower 55 structure in Fort Worth, on the former Texas & Pacific main line. Tower 55 was always one of the busiest rail junctions in Texas, and was keeping up with its reputation on this day, as there was non stop action the entire morning I visited. Today, the whole area is in the shadow of a maze of numerous freeway interchange ramps and bridges. April 27, 1991 photo by Mark Hinsdale

Mark Hinsdale shared
Dennis DeBruler: One of the few towers in this country that is still standing. Is it still staffed?
 https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...

Nov 17, 2022: Mark Hinsdale posted
"R.I.P. Tower 55"
With the recent demolition of the three story brick interlocking tower at Fort Worth TX known as "Tower 55," I thought I would offer this view of an eastbound Union Pacific intermodal train passing the edifice during May, 1991. The tower, which was the largest such installation in Texas, became surrounded within a maze of expressway overpasses and ramps in its later years, but operators continued to preside over train movements until 1995, when a computerized system was put into place by UP to control the busy junction. Critical electronics housed within the tower itself meant the structure would remain in place well into the 21st Century, until further advances in technology finally hastened its demise over the past week. May, 1991 photo by Mark Hinsdale
Mark Hinsdale shared

Mark Hinsdale posted four photos with the comment: "Referencing a photo I posted last week taken at freshly demolished Tower 55 in Fort Worth TX, a couple fellows asked if I might have any other views.  I dug out these 4 from a visit in February, 2000 of the three primary railroads involved in the junction, Union Pacific, BNSF and Amtrak.  If I'm not mistaken Trinity Rail's TEXrail Dallas-Fort Worth commuter trains may also be seen here today as well.  February, 2000 photos by Mark Hinsdale"

Mark Hinsdale shared

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William Brown posted
An Auto Train is waiting at Benny Keith in Fort Worth, Texas for Traffic at Tower 55 to clear this afternoon.
Mark Nicholson Loved sitting at Tower 55. Just doesn’t get the rail traffic of the old days.

William A. Shaffer posted
Tower 55 - Fort Worth, TX. (10.20.19)
(Photo by William A. Shaffer)
Tower 55 is probably the most important and well-known railroad address in Fort Worth, TX. Almost all rail traffic passing through Fort Worth goes through Tower 55. This is the actual Tower 55 Building; however, the tower is no longer occupied by Operators. That is all handled through the joint BNSF-UP Facility.

In 2014, the $104m project to increase capacity through the crossing was completed. I've read about this project before, but I can't find any notes about it. I hope this is not a redundant post. They added a third north/south (BNSF) track and staging sidings. That way, when BNSF gets a green light for the junction, they can run more freights (and Amtrak) through during their access window. "Also, several pedestrian and car crossings near downtown were revamped, including crossings near Nash Elementary School. Just a few years ago, children on their way to class had to climb between rail cars blocking their neighborhood streets." [StarTelegram] The junction handles about 100 trains a day. Junction congestion is one of the problems caused by management running longer trains to improve their operating ratio. CSX has also forced school children to climb through trains on the south side of Chicagoland in order to get to their school.

UP
[This site was accessed in 2019. It shows how corporations allow their web sites to get out of date because it talks about the project just getting funded. So it has not been updated since before 2014. Note that there are only two north/south tracks in the diagram.]

Randy Ahrens shared three photos with the comment: "Tower 55 Ft Worth Tx   Recently torn down."

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Howard Johnson posted on Nov 8, 2022
Tower 55. They are getting ready to tear it down. They say now Monday November 14th. I ran trains through that interlocker for 33 years. Some friends ask me what I think about it coming down. The last day I worked in Tower 55 was May 14,1995[, when they shut the door]. To me that's when they tore it down. When I left that day I turned and looked at that old building and said goodbye Tower 55 I'll never see you again. I have never been back to that building since that day. They moved us to JA telegraph office at Lancaster Yard pushing buttons to run trains at the tower. I had to do that for five years before I retired. No more, poping levers or waving at the hog heads as they passed. It was not the same. It was a long five years. Much longer than the years at the Tower. I have more memories of that Tower than there are bricks in that building. I hate to see it come down but the memories I have will always be there.
Jeff Cornelius shared
Dale Conway: Why does everything old and cool need to be torn down?
Dennis DeBruler: Dale Conway Attractive nuisance lawsuits, vandalism, bad apple railfans, etc.

 

William A. Shaffer posted
Tower 55 (7.13.15).   Fort Worth, TX    (Photo by William A. Shaffer)

Hans Petersen posted
Tower 55 February 2014

Shikhar Parjan posted four photos with the comment:

Pics from a visit to downtown Ft Worth, TX's Tower 55 Interlocking, and its 6 diamond crossings.

Tower 55 is one of the nation’s busiest and most congested rail intersections with over 100 trains crossing it daily.. Located just south of downtown Fort Worth, Texas, Tower 55 holds vital national and international significance, connecting freight and passenger travel between the West Coast, Southeast, Midwest, Gulf Coast, Mexico and Canada.

James Quisenberry: Just like when, you have best run to home terminal, and that where you sit and die trip after trip after trip....

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Comments on Shikhar's post