Springfield, IL: Allis-Chalmers then Fiat Allis then nothing

(Satellite)

Springfield Rewind shared
Allis Chalmers looking southwest from above Bunn Park - Aug 3, 1966
Tom Gillespie FYI bottom of photo identifies this as 1953.

I added a yellow line that used to be part of the route of a GM&O/Chicago & Alton industrial spur. Allis-Chalmers main plant in Springfield was bounded by the GM&O route on the north and east, Adlai Stevenson on the south, and a different alignment of 6th Street on the west.

Satellite

Lost Illinois Manufacturing posted
The Springfield, IL Allis-Chalmers plant at 3000 S. 6th St. where in 1962 6,500 employees made tractors (crawlers), graders,bulldozers and snow plows.

3D Satellite

Note the church near the lower-left corner of the photo. It still exists.

It is amazing how much the plant grew since 1939. In 1939 it appears to have been just one long building along 11th Street. Judging from the roof line, that building was replaced as part of building the larger facility. But pollution caused by that building was not removed by the rebuilding because today that land is vacant even though the rest of the property has been developed. Vacant land in the middle of a development normally indicates that it is "brown land." That is, it is too polluted to develop. I noticed in the satellite image that it is also literally brown land.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

American-Rails.com posted
Soo Line caboose #24 brings up the end of a freight north of Schiller Park, Illinois on June 24, 1979. Warren Calloway photo.
Jon Pope: Beautiful brand new AC HD41-B bulldozer.
Ray Weart: Yeah that's not Schiller Park but the north end of the Wheeling, IL passing track. That's Wick's Furniture in the background.
Dave Hawley: A shiftable load next to the caboose.....not good.
Tony Burzio: A bulldozer chained to the deck is immobile. They mean shiftable loads such as pipe or lumber.

Bill Molony shared
Steve Rippeteau: Shiftable load without bulkhead next to the occupied caboose is verboten.

The following are more photos from the Lost Illinois Manufacturing posting that relate to this plant.
Janice Graves-Thompson My Dad retired from there, sure do miss him.......wasn’t the 11th street side where they welded?
Lynn Ford I didn’t realize Allis Chalmers was that big of a company.
Ted Oberhellman Sure was back in the good old days!
John Oberhellman Dad got transferred a lot. St Louis, Milwaukee, St Louis, Appleton, Aurora.

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This photo is not related to this plant, but I could not resist it. A-C made many different products during its prime including farm equipment.

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Springfield Rewind posted
Completed tractors in the Fiat Allis south yard - July 8, 1983
Lisa Woodson Marcure My dad worked there and retired earlier in 1983. He walked into work that day and they said signed this paper and retire or lose half your pension and stay. So my dad retired after 38 years.
Dlr Richards the beginning of the end for fiat allis,in 1985 i was hired by norman leavy auction company,my job to catalog and list 90 years worth of production equipment that sold for pennys on the dollar of its worth,more disheartning the thousands of men i seen whon put in any where from 20 to 60 years ,grown men crying as they watched each piece of tool,equipment get auctioned,the only one who won that day,norman leavy auctions everyone else came out a loser,especially springfield

Springfield Rewind posted
HD-31 crawler-tractors inside the Fiat-Allis building being prepared for shipment on September 24, 1981
Mick Evanich: I worked there until 1985 until they closed.
Bev Surratt Powell: The forklift has the the original AC logo.

Locations video @ 7:10