Naperville, IL: 1946 Wreck of Two Zephyrs

(Satellite)

A relatively short description

A longer description

DecidedlyGrim

The Great Naperville Train Disaster

safe_image for Two trains, one tragedy: Remembering the deadly wreck that shook Naperville 75 years ago

Jim Arvites posted
View of the Naperville Train Disaster that occurred on April 25, 1946 when the CB&Q's "Exposition Flyer" rammed into the rear of the "Advanced Flyer", which was making an unscheduled stop at Naperville, Illinois to check a running gear. Forty-five people were killed and 125 more injured in the accident.
Lawrence Smith running the yellows at 85, comes around a curve.....ouch. This hastened the ICC's rule on speed limits in non-ATC territory. [Which it set at less than 80mph. That is why Amtrak trains generally go just 79mph.]

Michael Riha commented on Jim's post
There is a small memorial sculpture to the east of the station, with a list of the victims.

(new window)


This is the type of accident that PTC should prevent.

Trenton, KY: Several Grain Elevators

(Satellite)

What caught my eye, after wondering what a Metra engine was doing so far away from Chicago, was the number of elevators in this town. I count seven legs in this photo and there is another one behind the drone.

Jim Pearson Photography posted

Emergency, Emergency, Emergency

CSX Q648, with Metra rebuilt unit 213, went into emergency about 7 miles after I captured this scene at Trenton, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision.

I first caught this train at Guthrie and got ahead of it for this shot at Trenton. I was hoping to get another shot at Casky Yard, but unfortunately the train went into emergency under stormy skies and after the conductor walked the train he found a broken air hose that caused the problem.

I had hoped to catch it at the north end of Casky when it got underway, but I left them searching for a replacement hose in the yard as I figured it was going to be dark before they got moving again! It's the way it goes sometime, but I'm very pleased how this shot turned out! A big shout out to fellow railfans down the line for the heads up on this move!

#trainphotography #railroadphotography #trains #railways #dronephotography

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 100.

Dennis DeBruler: I also like the "forest" of grain elevator legs. I did some research and this elevator handles food grade corn as well as commercial corn and soybeans.

The elevator behind the drone is rather new because it does not show up in the street view.

Street View
[I could not find a date on this image. But other images further Southeast on this road are dated 2013.]

These four bins were also built after the street view car visited this town.

When I saw that the complex had several smaller bins, I wondered if they handled food grade grains. Their web site confirms that. Handling non-GMO, as well as GMO, corn would require even more bins. But they don't seem to handle edible beans, just soybeans.

Satellite

According to the satellite images, this complex can't load unit grain trains. Fortunately, the web site has a good "about" description. It explains that they take advantage of the Cumberland River and ship grain with barges. It also explains that they started out processing popcorn. But it doesn't mention popcorn as part of its current operation.

They do load carload freight.

Street View

That would be the food quality corn. In fact, they ship quite a few hopper of specialty grains.

Street View

And the boxcars are probably for the 1500-2500 lb. supersack totes. They also offer 50 lb paper bags.

Street View

food-grade-corn

This view confirms that they load the small bins with portable augurs.

Street View

And sometimes they load multiple bins at the same time. They do have some old tractors to provide augur power. In general, powering an augur is one of the jobs that old tractors still have on a modern farm.

Street View

Manitowoc, WI: Broadwind Towers and Heavy Industries

Towers: (Satellite)

Heavy: (Satellite)

The peninsula in Manitowoc, WI, initially was used by Manitowoc Shipbuilding. Then Manitowoc moved their shipbuilding operations to Sturgeon Bay. That operation is now owned by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. Manitowoc's operation on the peninsula became Manitowoc Engineering and had transitioned to building cranes and other products such as debarkers. When Manitowoc built a bigger factor south of town, Broadwind acquired the peninsula location to build wind turbine towers. It takes advantage of the river to ship some of the towers by barge.

Jeffrey Wagner, Sep 2020

It turns out that this is just one location for Broadwind. In fact, Brad Foote Gear Works Inc. in Cidero, IL is part of this company.

Locations

I presume this is the inside of a wind turbine tower so it appears Broadwind Towers is part of Broadwind even though their web site doesn't mention it.

bwen

Konecranes is using Broadwind's fabrication expertise and Manitowocs access to the St. Lawrence Seaway to building eight shipyard cranes over 10 year period for $410m for the US Navy.

Ben Stalvey commented on a post: https://www.seehafernews.com/.../details-on-big-navy.../

Bill Pohlmann posted
A pair of 888s working on a massive Konecranes dock crane on the old Manitowoc peninsula.
[Actually, it is across the river from the peninsula.]

Dennis DeBruler

Judging by the buildings in the background of Bill's photo, they are using the land of the Burger Boat Company for the erection site.

https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...

Bill Pohlmann

Author

Wrong on both counts, I'm afraid. The river makes a horseshoe around the "peninsula" and Burger and St. Mary's cement are on the same side of the river I was standing on, behind and across the river from the Broadwind/ex-Manitowoc Company site.

Dennis DeBruler

Bill Pohlmann

 The hanger-like building in the background, the trees on the hill and the boat gantry in the lower right corner sure looks like Burger Boat Co. to me. It looks to me that you were standing on the peninsula. But you say you were taking a photo of the peninsula. So I'll stand confused.

Dennis DeBruler

And judging by the photo in the article [see below], they are also using a slip for the St. Marys Cement Terminal.

https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...

It looks like they are building one of these:

seehafernews

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bill's post

It looks like the base for one of these,

https://www.konecranes.com/.../double-boom-shipyard-cranes

Ben Stalvey

Dennis DeBruler

 the boom is lattice.

[We can see the yellow boom in the foreground of Bill's photo.]

I published this today because I just learned that Konecranes also makes container cranes.

Update:

Ben Stalvey shared
A 170 ton Port Crane going to a naval yard.

Broadwind Heavy Fabrications posted
Welcome to the next installment of how we “Think Big” at Broadwind! We are proud to say our Manitowoc team has completed another large, fabricated crane component.  This portal structure tops the scale at over 200,000 lbs. and can make anyone look small.  The next task is to transport this single component to the crane pad on our campus, which is no small task.
Tune in next week to see our progress, as we will share the event.
Connor Siemers shared

I passed up how they moved that portal structure out to their assembly area because it was just another example of using SPMTs. And it left me with the question of how were they going to get it on top of the four "wheeled legs." Fortunately, I came across an answer to that question.

ALL Erection and Crane Rental posted two photos with the comment: "Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental, a member of the ALL Family of Companies, had not one, but TWO Liebherr LTM1450 all-terrains working together on a dual pick. What you see here being lifted is a "crane portal," a heavy framework for pedestal or track mounted crane, similar to the carbody on a conventional crawler crane. This one piece weighed in at about 350,000 lbs."

[This confirms that those cranes have 8 axles. They are rated for 550 US tons (450 metric tons).]

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Nov 10, 2022: AJ Berkout posted
From this past Thursday (11-10-22) morning: I hadn't been down to see the changes along the river at the end of Chicago and North 11th Streets. It's open again and a great place to watch the cement barges as they make their way up the river. Also, got a photo of the crane under construction across the river.

I wonder how many cranes they have built so far.

Aug 28, 2023: 1 of 4 photos posted by Paul Solin

safe_image for 4:29 video

Hello Everyone,

Lots of excitement coming soon for " Big Things" on our "Cool Coast"line. Also, work has been progressing on the River Point boat slip/waterfront area just west of 10th Street Bridge! 

Broadwind Heavy Fabrications 

Trans-Link Services 

City of Manitowoc 

https://youtu.be/h4GrO0e7buU?si=Gks0ygdSd_hqhyUm

https://www.seehafernews.com/.../improvements-continue.../

[This crane is for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Another example of a video with different talking heads repeating some platitudes.]

Oct 3, 2023: 1 of 8 photos posted by Paul Solin

Paul Solin posted two photos with the comment: "1-6-24 Cranes #3 #4 and #5."

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2

Helen Cooper

ON GUARD!!!

Remember this one???

Kone crane 

June 2021

Patti Kingswood commented on Helen's post
My photo is far away but we raced out to see it

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.]

East Molene, IL: John Deere Combine Plant

(Harvester Works Satellite, 60+ photos; Pavilion Satellite, 195+ photos)

Brian Bell posted
Rocks right of way in foreground, East Moline Illinois just west of Silvis yard. Burlington northern cuts thru mid pic, at least it became BN.

Judging from the water tower and the roof lines, the photo looks the same as this 1938 aerial.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

John Deere Information Systems uses the land that was across 13th Street from the original Union Mallable Iron Plant and the land for that plant has been sold for other uses.

Satellite

John Deere's current combine plant is north of the original plant. And we can see the vacant land on which the information center was built.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Unlike International Harvester, John Deere built new assembly buildings with high ceilings.

Satellite

Byron, IL: Junction Tower: Milwaukee vs. CGW and CGW Depot

Tower: (Satellite, the tower was in the southeast quadrant)

Depot: (Satellite, south of the tracks and a little west of Union St. The land is now part of Quality Metal Finishing.)

After six years, I'm still finding photos of new junctions. This junction has gone from four diamonds to one turnout. The turnout exists only because the segment of the CGW that goes over the bridge to the nuclear power plant still exists. And since ComEd got caught bribing state officials to help finance their nuclear power plants, the state decided  to quit supporting them. I think Byron was one of the nuclear power plants that they announced they would shutdown because the lack of support. So the turnout should disappear and Illinois will have another "bridge to nowhere."

YardGoatImages shared

1922 Oregon and 1918 Kings Quadrangles @ 1:62,500

Marty Bernard posted
1. CGW agency station at Byron, Illinois on the Chicago District on April 6, 1963. Byron is a radio-based station. [I'm not sure what Roger meant by "radio-based".] (The [] comment is by Marty.)
[A Roger Puta photo]
Robert Chitwood: I visited Byron from Kansas in June and found a small bit of the branch surviving in town. The track is a spur served by CP ( originally Milwaukee) to a fertilizer facility and a few miles out to a nuclear power plant.
[This is one of the nuclear power plants that Exelon keeps threatening to close unless taxpayers give them more money. When it closes, the CGW bridge over the Rock River will be another bridge to nowhere.]

Rory Peterson posted
Chicago Great Western E-6s 503, Baldwin Locomotive 12-1909, scrapped 1931, waits for departure from Byron, IL depot. Blower darkens the sky for the Rock River valley grade just ahead.
[Note the old grain elevator and water tower in the background. This would be looking Northwest.]

Dennis DeBruler commented on Rory's post
It was south of the tracks and a little west of Union St. The land is now part of Quality Metal Finishing.
1939 Aerial Photo

 

1  of 2 photos posted by Rory Peterson
Chicago Great Western G-3s 357, Baldwin Locomotive 9-1910. Sold for scrap 4-1930. East Stockton, Illinois engine facility.