Towns and Nature: September 2018

(see below for satellite)

The C&EI also had the Brewer Yard southeast of this town.

Ken Haughton posted

Aerial view of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Oaklawn Shops at Danville, Illinois. Date & Photographer not listed. (1940's?)

Scanned using a Epson V750.

Collection of Houghton's RailImage

Kevan Davis shared
Kent Bankhead: Impressive transfer table!
Dennis DeBruler

Kent Bankhead Since this post is in the same group, its contents should be visible.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2136025179943537&id=1604245826454811

Rick Shilling posted
1937 Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Roundhouse, Turntable, Shops and Yard, Danville, Illinois. C&EI Historical Society Photo.
Tim Sharr posted
Aerial view of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad shops and terminal at Oaklawn (Danville) IL. (National Archives)

Michael G Walker commented on a post
Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR at Oaklawn shops in Danville Illinois had a 355 degree round house ,give or take a degree ,lol.

Tim Starr posted
Layout of the 56-stall roundhouse terminal and shops of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR at Danville IL in 1903, just after the old ones were decommissioned. (Railway and Engineering Review)

What does Google do with a link after the name is no longer valid?

Freight Car Svc Inc, Satellite

Mike Breski posted

C&EI, Danville, Illinois, 1959

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad diesel locomotives resting beneath a coaling tower, now an obsolete symbol of the steam era, at Danville, Illinois, in November 1959. Photograph by J. Parker Lamb, © 2015, Center for Railroad Photography and Art. Lamb-01-041-01
Ken Morrison speaking of obsolete, looks like there's a BL2 and a caboose in the picture...
[They have already dismantled the unloading pit.]

And this photo allows us to see most of the top.

Evie N Bob Bruns posted
CEI 1608 at Danville in 1963. Photo by Bill Kuba.

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted two photos with the comment:

This C&EI HS archive photo shows the massive Oaklawn Shops at Danville, IL. before the November, 1937 fire that destroyed the coach shops. A new coach shops building opened in late 1939 in the same location south of the transfer table. The photo is looking northwest with the C&EI mainline tracks at the north side of the shops. Notice the old coaling tower and the large roundhouse. Many of the buildings are still standing today on the east side of Danville.

C&EIRHS posted
C&EI Historical Society archive photo taken in 1958 by Bowman Studio in the Oaklawn backshop at Danville.
Jeffrey Owen My grandfather, Laurence Mast, operated a crane there for more than 40 years.
Larry Case Right outside the old dispatcher's office where my dad worked and I started as chief dispatcher's clerk in 1967.
James Myers Pre-OSHA, no hardhats.

Tim Starr posted
Floor plan of the new diesel repair shop at Oaklawn (Danville) IL of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR in 1950, just as most of the roster was being converted to diesels. (Railway Age)

Railway Age
The Andersons Inc. on Aug. 1 [2018] signed a $2.2 million agreement to purchase FreightCar America Inc.’s Danville Railcar Facility, Danville, Ill. The company intends to turn the now-shuttered freight car manufacturing plant into a full-service freight and tank railcar repair shop.

"Danville will be the Rail Group’s 21st shop in the U.S., strategically located in the high-volume Midwest rail transportation corridor." [Railway Age]

1940 Aerial Photo from ILHAP
Tim Starr posted a larger excerpt
Aerial view of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois main shops and roundhouse terminal at Danville IL around 1940.

The engine servicing facilities were in this yard. The classification was done in Brewer Yard. CSX still owns that yard.

1950 Danville NE and SE Quads @ 24,000

C&EIRHS posted
C&EI was an innovator in trailer on flat car TOFC service. This 1955 photo shows a flat car being fitted for TOFC service at their Oaklawn Shops in Danville, Illinois.
C&EIRHS posted
Photo 5036-O showing a flat car being converted to a TOFC (trailer-on-flat-car) at C&EI's Oaklawn Shops in Danville, Illinois c1955.

C&EIRHS posted
Photo 5036-H from the C&EI Historical Society archives showing the piggyback ramp at Chicago c1956.
Eric Sibul shared

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted two photos with the comment:

On April 16, 1988 the C&EI Historical Society held its annual meeting in Danville, IL. The agenda included a tour of the Oaklawn Shops where Robert Gibson took these photos of the Oaklawn transfer table.

Paul Jaenicke What's there now?
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society Most recently it was Freight Car American that built coal hopper cars, but early this year they sold to Anderson Corporation which will start a freight car repair business there. It is expected to employ about 15 by the end of the year and some 100 next year. Presently repair cars have been arriving in the 400 car storage yard in preparation of the startup of the company. The west one-half of the former C&EI shops is owned by Mervis Corporation, a steel and scrap dealer that cuts up various freight cars.

[These are the rails for the transfer table. The yellow thing in the background would be the cab for the transfer table.]

Michael Schwiebert shared two photos that have the comment: "Before and after pictures of the first car completed at our new railcar blast and paint shop in Danville, Illinois. The Andersons Rail Group continues to be excited about the opportunities in Danville."

I put this photo here instead of Evansville because it catches a view of the backshop.

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted
A new Dodge maintenance of way truck photographed at Oaklawn Shops in Danville. The truck will be assigned to Evansville as indicated on the door.
[According to the comments, it was painted orange and blue.]

Depot: (Satellite)

Steam Locomotive: (Satellite, 9 photos)

Roundhouse: (Satellite, long gone)

Backshop: (Satellite, "(West)" was added to the title because this shop is in West Burlington, IA.)

Trent Briggs posted

Jim Arvites posted
Postcard view of the CB&Q passenger station and yards at Burlington, Iowa circa 1900.

Norman Schafer posted

West Burlington, Iowa

Single story wooden depot with sign for West Burlington. Several sets of railroad tracks in front of depot. Railroad signals. Freight transfer crane behind depot.

Collection: John P. Vander Maas Railroadiana

Gary Richards shared

Interesting. Different than when I 1st saw the WB depot.

Thomas Whitt shared

Comments on Norman's post

According to a 1948 photo below, the old depot was replaced by then. (Update: this depot was built in 1944 after the original burnt down. [11:20 video @ 0:33, source])

Street View, Sep 2019

Dan Wagner posted three photos with the comment: "The Burlington Iowa Raul yard today May 2 [2019]"
Dan Wagner Back in 2014 they raised the main lines to be out of the water up to a river level of 26 feet or 11 feet above flood stage. The level when these pictures were taken was about 23 feet.

River Gauge

David Sebben posted
The riverfront railyard in Burlington, Iowa, as seen in 1948. A steam locomotive has just cleared the bridge heading toward downtown. The roundhouse can still be seen just above the new modern depot.

Dennis DeBruler commented on David's post
At least the turntable still shows in 1964. 1964/77 Burlington Quad @ 24,000

Locomotive Service Facility and Depot in West Burlington

Timothy D. Sievern posted

BN SD40-2 7860 Burlington Northern Railroad SD40-2 7860 at West Burlington, lowa on

October 22, 1983 Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler.

This locomotive was built in October 1978 (c/n 786001-5) on EMD Order 786001 for

13 SD40-2's for the Colorado & Southern(#s 7856-7868 ).

Five years later, 7860 was in the shops for some major work..

Street View, Sep 2019

Noah Haggerty posted two photos with the comment: "Burlington Northern's West Burlington, Iowa depot taken on October 22, 1983 during a tour of the shops from The Burlington Route Historical Society. John & Roger Kujawa Photo, Thomas Dyrek Collection."

Noah Haggerty posted four photos with the comment: "A westbound(?) Burlington Northern train passes the depot at West Burlington, Iowa on October 22, 1983 during a tour of the shops from The Burlington Route Historical Society. Fittingly, a CB&Q caboose is on the rear. Lots of Burlington's being thrown around here! John & Roger Kujawa Photo, Thomas Dyrek Collection."

Caden Adams posted

Gary Richards: In the late 1970's the Burlington Northern opened a huge apprenticeship program for all shop craftsman. The company was at that time, of the understanding the need of skilled men and women to fill those job opportunities and progress through a 3 year / 4 year apprenticeship. In the West Burlington shops it was standing room only in every department. The young or new, apprentices were deep in on the job training and they were learning from the best in the business. Stripping a locomotive, any model of service, to repair or replace any and all components then reassembled by skilled tradesmen ready for simulation where final tweaks were done. When that locomotive went out with federal blue cards signed, it was ready for service.

It was a great job to have, no matter which trade craft you were in.

Greg Beat: Taking the California Zephyr on Saturday, Nov. 29 passed by the old CB&Q / BN West Burlington facility.

Sad to see, there were two (2) EMD E9? stripped to skeletal frame outdoors, next to one building.

Some items went to Galesburg.

===

ALL of the 1990s railroad mergers finished off the Mississippi River railroad shops and facilities (C&NW - Clinton, IA; BN - Burlington, IA; SantaFe - Ft. Madison; BN - Hannibal/Quincy)

Gary Richards provided eight photos on Greg's comment. If I understand correctly, these locomotives were built in this shop.