Detroit, MI: 1915 628mw DTE Conners Creek (7 Sisters and 2 Brothers) Power Plant

(Satellite, it is now a parking lot.)

Eleanor Grow Gravel posted

BETTER KNOIWN AS THE SEVEN SISTERS!

Designed by Horace H. Esselstyn for the Detroit Edison Company. Connor Creek Powerhouse, 100 Lycaste built 1914-1921 Conner Creek Industrial, Detroit, MI.

Demolished: 1996

Image of the structure from the Burton Historical Collection circa 1920.

Tony Cilluffo commented on Elenor's post
I worked there twice

The Seven Sisters were built between 1915 and 1921. The Two Brothers were added in 1951. The Seven Sisters produced 180mw, and the Two Brothers produced 548mw. A modern single generator can generate the 628mw of this "giant plant." That is why power plants become obsolete.

Ron Haberstroh commented on Elenor's post

Ron Haberstroh commented on Elenor's post

Edison Boat Club commented on Eleanor's post

This article has a horrible mix up of the photo and the dates.

pgjonline
"A Detroit gas-fired electric generating plant that was more than 100 years old was demolished Friday to accommodate a Jeep factory."

This article has the correct dates.

IndependenceDemolition
"The Conners Creek Power Plant was constructed in 1915 and was later added onto in 1951. It was a vital coal fired power plant for downtown Detroit, Michigan for many years. The originally constructed plant was taken offline in 1988 and later demolished in 1996. The 1951 addition was converted to gas and continued to operate intermittently as necessary until 2008, when DTE officially decommissioned it. In 2019, the property became vital to the expansion of the neighboring Chrysler plant. Demolition of this plant and clearing of this property was a key component in Chrysler’s expansion to bring 5,000 jobs to Detroit, and construct the first new vehicle manufacturing unit in the City of Detroit in 30 years....The project included 17 individual structures and a 180 ft. tall power block building with (2) stacks on top, reaching 350 ft."
Asbestos and environmental remediation was a big part of the project.

The conversion from coal to gas would explain why there are no coal piles in 2002.

Google Earth, Dec 2002

The land is now used to park Jeeps that are made at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant just north of here. Also, there is a Mack Assembly Plant a little further north, but I didn't see any trucks in the huge parking lot.

dennis gill, Jul 2023

1952 Grosse Pointe and Belle Isle Quads @ 24,000

0:25 video @ 0:13
Successful implosion of DTE Energy's Conners Creek Power Plant in Detroit, Michigan

South Bend, IN: NS/NYC Oliver's Yard & Roundhouse and CN/GTW Olivers (Ford Street) Yard

NS Yard Office: (Satellite, extant)

NYC Roundhouse: (Satellite, land has been reused)

GTW Yard Office: (Satellite, lost)

NS/NYC Railyard

The NYC Kankakee Belt Railroad (KBR)  joined the NYC LS&MS a mile east of here at the CP487/Bend/HF Junction Tower. Also, a branch of the NYC Michigan Central came south from Niles, MI, and joined this yard at the east end. So this yard terminated traffic for the KBR and MC. The yard and surviving industrial tracks are now owned by NS.

I wonder if the current yard office used to be a depot for commuters to the Oliver Chilled Plow Co.

Street View, Jun 2025

The yard still exists between Oliver and Ford Streets. It used to extend west of Oliver, but that is mostly trees now.

1958/59 South Bend West Quad @ 24,000 via Dennis DeBruler

CN/GTW Railyard

The GTW tracks ran through this corridor just north of the NYC tracks.

monon
"Grand Trunk's Olivers Yard Office, August 19, 1981. This building was at the Olivers Yard. It was more commonly referred to as the Ford Street Yard Office."

Both

The topo map above does not show a yard for GTW, so I got an aerial photo. Ford Street is in the upper-right corner. (The NJI&I roundhouse is at the bottom of this photo just west of Olive Street.)

Dec 1, 1951 @ 28,400; AR1PK0000040037

Because the lighting was dark in the upper-right corner of the above photo, I got a closeup from another photo. Given the building in the left background of Jeff's photo above, I think the GTW yard office was the rectangle adjacent to Ford Street. It also appears that NYC had at least one roundhouse for this yard. And GTW may have one between Kosciuszko Street and Harris Street.

Dec 1, 1951 @ 28,400; AR1PK0000040039

Looking at the aerial photo, it appears that today's railyard is connected to CN instead of NS. It appears that NS has just one track left by its yard office. I caught a tamper on that track.

Street View, Jun 2025

I hate it when the more you learn, the more you get confused. This shows that NS has just one track, but CN still has some sidings. I did read that NS serves what was originally the New Energy Ethanol Plant and other industries from this yard office. It looks like MoW crews also use it given the tamper and all of the ties piled beside the track in this view.

Street View, Jun 2025

I found a little NS yard down among the industries.

Satellite

National Rail Network Map

Rosholt, SD: Wood Grain Elevator, Feed Mill and Ethanol Plant

Elevator: (Satellite)

Ethanol: (Satellite)

Obviously, the elevator is rail served. The long, low building is probably fertilizer storage.

Street View, Jul 2024

I think this is a feed mill.

Street View, Jul 2024

Wesley Peters posted two photos with the comment:

Grain Elevator Photography Trip 2, South Dakota.

Rosholt, Roberts County, SD.

Early history unknown.

Photographed on 7/19/2025.

Photos courtesy of Wesley Peters.

1

2

Most of the storage capacity for the elevator is behind what I can see from the street.

Satellite

Photo, Oct 2020

This is just a fraction of the tank cars that are at the ethanol plant.

Street View, Jul 2024

The railroad was the SOO Line.

1958/58 Milbank Quad @ 250,000

CPKC has retained access to Rosholt because of the grain elevator and ethanol plant.

National Rail Network Map

New Effington, SD: Wood Grain Elevator

(Satellite)

Street View, Sep 2025

Street View, Sep 2025

=

Street View, Sep 2025

The railroad was the SOO Line.

1953/58 Milbank Quad @ 250,000

CPKC retains ownership down to Rosholt because that town has a big grain elevator and an ethanol plant. This map has some mistakes. First of all, the shortline should not be isolated. When I studied Rosholt, I noticed that the track did not stop west of the town as implied by this map. So now I followed the track west of Rosholt, and it goes to here, which is a little west of Claire City. So a second mistake is that the railroad does not go to Dahlberg and Veblen.

National Rail Network Map

The map identifies the owner of the shortline as SNR. But when I Googled "SNR railroad", the results for that reporting mark was Sierra Northern Railway, which is in California. So I'm calling SNR a third mistake.

National Rail Network Map

I noticed a crane parked west of town.

Satellite

When I checked it out with a street view, I found some more MoW equipment. So they must be providing rail service to the towns along the route or they would not be maintaining the tracks.

Street View, Sep 2025

Beardsley, MN: Wood Grain Elevator

(Satellite)

Street View, Jul 2024

Wesley Peters posted three photos with the comment:

Grain Elevator Photography Trip 2, North Dakota/South Dakota/Minnesota.

Beardsley, Big Stone County, MN.

Beardsley Farmers Elevator Co. False-front combination headhouse/annex built in 1971. Bushel capacity unknown. False-front annex built in 1978. Bushel capacity unknown. Both by Hogenson Construction Co.

Photographed on 7/20/2025.

Photos courtesy of Wesley Peters.

1

2

3

The big bin on the right of the street view at the top of these notes is on the left in this view. 

Street View, Jul 2024

Both bins on the left in the above view were built recently because we can see the foundation for them on the right side of this satellite image.

Satellite

beardsleyfe

The railroad was built by the Great Northern.

1918/18 Beardsley Quad @ 62,500

BNSF still owns the route to this town.

National Rail Network Map

But I don't know why they still own it because the elevator does not look like it can fill covered hoppers. But the siding on the right does look much better than the "mainline" on the left. Does BNSF provide carload service for something?

Street View, Jul 2024

Milbank, SD: Wood Grain Elevator and 1929 Valley Queen Cheese Factory

Elevator: (Satellite)

Cheese: (Satellite)

Street View, Nov 2023

Wesley Peters posted

Grain Elevator Photography Trip 2, North Dakota/South Dakota/Minnesota.

Milbank, Grant County, SD.

Farmers Union Grain Terminal Association. False-front combination headhouse/annex built in 1975, Hogenson Construction Co. Bushel capacity unknown.

Features Hogenson's signature mint green office and driveway.

Photographed on 7/20/2025.

Photo courtesy of Wesley Peters.

John Harker: Now Farmer owned

Milwaukee built the railroad. BNSF now owns the mainline, and Sisseton Milbank Railroad (SMRR) owns the branch to the north.

1973/76 Milbank West Quad @ 24,000

SMRR is a subsidiary of Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company (TC&W).

tcwr

The cheese plant is big, but I don't see any rail service. They have 12 docks and so much truck traffic that there is a building in the lower-left corner to handle the red tape for the drivers.

Satellite

ValleyQueen
“Two Swiss immigrants and an unexpected stop for gas.”
82,000 cows produce 1.8 billion pounds of milk to produce 200 million pounds of cheese each year.

ValleyQueen_about-us
"Today, we remain privately owned. We proudly employ more than 370 people in our small community. And we’ve become a key partner for national and global food processors looking for quality cheese and whey products to bring their own products to life."

It looks like they use Jersey cows instead of Holsteins because they want the higher fat content.

ValleyQueen_producers