New York, NY: 1900-2005 163mw and steam Waterside (39th Street) Power Station, first AC in NYC

(Satellite, it is still brownland.)

The building on the left was the 1900 Station I, the first AC power plant in NYC. And the one on the right was the 1905 Station II.

TudorCityConfidential

TudorCityConfidential, 1926
Coal was replaced with natural gas in 1958.

Michael Bara posted nine images with the comment: "Waterside Power Station I & II 1910 New York City"

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MichaelMinn, this webpage has several demolition photos
"The Waterside Generating Plant was a majestic Beaux-Arts industrial structure designed by C. Wellesley Smith and built between 1896 and 1900. It was the first generating facility in New York City to produce alternating current. In 2001 it produced 2.4 million pounds of steam and 163 megawatts of electricity. Up through the middle of the 20th century, this portion of the East Side waterfront was devoted to industrial concerns, but the deindustrialization of the city after WWII coupled with the arrival of the United Nations and the work of numerous developers transformed the area into an upscale residential neighborhood."

The demolition of the site was completed in 2008. [trccompanies]

The 2008 Great Recession must have scrapped the redevelopment plans because the site is still vacant. Too bad the demolition wasn't delayed for some reason until after the recession. The buildings would have made a terrific event space and/or museum.

Satellite

Google Earth, Sep 2005

ltvsquad, this webpage has a lot of interior "urban explorer" photos

"Completed in 1900, the Waterside Generating Station produced both electricity and steam. Steam was, and continues to be, a vital energy source within NYC’s older buildings. Grand Central Terminal, for example, is heated with Steam provided by Con Ed, and also cooled by this steam via a chemical reaction between the steam and lithium bromide within a conversion plant located under the main floor of the terminal.

"During a typical year, the Waterside Generating Station could produce over 2.4 million pounds of steam and 160 megawatts of electricity."

It had to get its coal from barges because the east side did not have a railroad.

1956/58 Brooklyn @ 24,000

The United Nations Buildings make it easy to identify the location.

Feb 18, 1954 @ 20,000; AR1VBV000110135

Macon, IL: IC Depot

(Satellite)

It is not clear what the building is used for today.

Street View, Aug 2024

Facebook Reel

The elevator is pretty big, but it looks like it doesn't get any rail service.

Street View, Aug 2024

Street View, Aug 2024

This track is a remnant of the original IC charter route. Does a shortline make more money by filling up their tracks with storage cars than by hauling grain? If so, that is a mockery of the original charter of the railroad as a common carrier. Refusing to service grain elevators explains why it runs just a couple of trains each year. What are those Decatur Junction Railway locomotives doing the rest of the year?

Map via PatriotRail

Cornland, IL: Lost/IC Depot and CN/IC/C&S Railroad

(Satellite, according to the aerial photo below, it was a little west of Locust St.)

Roger Kujawa posted
M.A. Leach Elevators And Illinois Central Railroad Depot In Cornland Illinois
Roger Kujawa shared

Charlene Bedolli: The small building on the right side of the RR tracts is the train depot. This is the only known photo of the depot still in place. I have one other photo where only the peak of the roof is visible because a train is in front of the depot. I do have a photo of the depot up on wheels being moved to a different location.

I’m excited to see your photo!!

Cornland is on the C&S RR. I don't know what C&S stands for. It was built during 1867-71 and acquired by IC in 1877.

Predecessors

I was shocked to determine that this route is owned by CN. ICG dumped most of the IC branches. So I looked up the CN route. It goes from Taylorville through Springfield, Mt. Pulaski and Clinton to the mainline at Gibson City. Mt. Pulaski is where it crosses Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Branch.

CN

North Aurora, IL: Lost/C&NW Depot

(Satellite)

Jimmy Fiedler posted
North Aurora IL Chicago & Northwestern depot? Photo circ 1910 photographer unknown

Mark Egebrecht: When did C&NW invade Aurora?

Bill Edrington: The branch from Geneva to Batavia opened in 1872 and was extended to Aurora in 1883. It was still in service when I worked for the North Western and lived in Batavia in the late ‘70s.

Joseph Peter: Does anyone know where the location of this depot was?

Dennis DeBruler commented on Joseph's comment
Based on this 1939 aerial photo and the depot's photo, I'm guessing it was on this embankment: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9NvUtAQcHrsYtyha7.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Joseph's comment
The C&NW was close to the river. The CB&Q was further inland. And the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River did street running on today's IL-31. 1932/32 Geneva Quad @ 62,500

Clarence, IL: Lost/NKP/LE&W Depot

(Satellite, based on the aerial photo below, it was in the northwest quadrant of Main Road and the tracks.)

Richard Fiedler posted
Richard Fiedler shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on Richard's post
When I looked up the railroad on a topo map, it was NKP. I wondered what NKP was doing down here, then I remembered that NKP bought LE&W, https://www.railsandtrails.com/clo.../1954LineDesc/index.htm.

1940 Aerial Photo via ILHAP

Hamlet, IN: Junction (HA) Tower: CFW&E/Pennsy vs. Aban/NYC/Kankakee Belt/II&I and Wood Feed Mill

Tower: (Satellite, according to the track diagram below, it was in the southeast quadrant of the crossing.)

Feed Mill: (Satellite)

CFW&E = Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern

Kankakee Belt

II&I = Indiana, Illinois & Iowa

US-30 (Lincoln Highway) Overview

Most of US-30 across Indiana was not part of the Lincoln Highway because the Lincoln Highway went northwest from Fort Wayne to Elkhart and through the northern Indiana towns to the south suburbs of Chicagoland.

Darren posted five images with the comment:

Conrails "Hamlet" (HA) tower (Ex-PRR/NYC)

Hamlet, Indiana

Aaron Combs: Believe the Kankakee line was abandoned 1980.

Daniel C Carroll Jr. shared

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1958/60 Hamlet Quad @ 24,000

Feed Mill

The feed mill was along the former NYC tracks.

Jessi Danford, Oct 2024

Ryan Fontanez, Apr 2024

Farm Fertilizers & Seeds Inc

The town has a large ag support business.

Satellite

The grain elevator not only has a fall projector, but it also has its own locomotive.

Street View, Aug 2025

The locomotive used to belong to Wisconsin & Southern. 

Street View, Jun 2023

In addition to the original silos, the elevagtor now has some big bins. And we can see in the satellite image that it has some big round piles.

Street View, Aug 2025

This was the original US-30 cutoff between Fort Wayne and Chicagoland.

Street View, Jun 2023

This is the view from the current US-30 route. It goes well north of town.

Street View, May 2022

Parker, SD: Wood Feed Mills and Grain Elevator

Feed Mill: (Satellite) 

Wandermore in South Dakota posted
Steve Smith shared

From a guy travelling around south dakota taking photos of many different buildings.

To get the grain to top of the elevator did they use some sort of small buckets attached to a belt ?

Monte Ferbee Rodacker: Yes. It's called a leg.

Sam Walter: This is a wonderful video if you have a few minutes. Shows all the inner workings and whatnot.

https://youtu.be/VGqZn5s_q_Y?si=hege8DNSJeF-NJV_

The Chicago & North Western used to pass north of the wood feed mill. This looks like a more modern feed mill that is a couple blocks west of the wood one.

Street View, Oct 2024

And Nutrien Ag Solutions also sells a lot of chemicals.

Satellite

Grain storage is handled by an elevator that still operates along the former Milwaukee Road tracks. This elevator has a fall protector.

Street View, Jul 2021

BNSF now owns this Milwaukee Road route.

sddot