Colwich, KS: Andale Farmers Co-op Grain Elevator

(Satellite)

Previous Bob Summers' comment

It appears the town also has a test plant for ICM, an ethanol plant equipment company.

The railroad was a Missouri Pacific branch. It is now part of the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad.

Bob Summers posted
Following up on my July 24 post and a historical review of our grain handling industry here in the hard red winter wheat belt, the Colwich branch of the former Andale Farmers Co-op is about 10 miles or so from Andale Kansas. Being a branch location, it is about half the capacity of the main location with the two working houses built about the same time as those at Andale, but they did not need the space here the annexes provided at the main location. As mentioned previously, harvest in the early days was slow and drawn out. It was prudent to ship the grain as it was received so the local elevator would be able to sell the grain as their customers sold it to the elevator. Typically, since some wheat is sold as harvested to meet harvesting expenses, the market is a little lower then, so most producers will sell only what they have to, then wait for higher prices later in the season. The railroads in the very early days put a "transit provision" in the freight rates whereas they collected a significant portion of the thru rate to final destination, either to domestic mills or export, on the first leg of the haul to a "terminal" market. Then when the grain was marketed and shipped to the final destination they would collect the balance, which would vary depending on the actual final destination. The railroads, most of which had invested heavily in building branch lines, were operating on the premise that once they had the first leg of the shipment on the books, they had locked in the business. In upcoming posts I plan to discuss what has changed in the last 30 or so years, and how that has influenced what we now see as we are photographing the "prairie castles" we have today.

South Amboy, NJ: Pennsy Coaling Tower and Coal Docks

(Satellite)

Shane Blische posted
PRR South Amboy engine terminal around 1957 with ALCo switchers and Baldwin DR-6-4-2000 sharknoses #5783 and #5781. The engine terminal was by the old coal dock slips just east of the current Radford Ferry Rd. overpass. The sign on the engine shed behind the sharknoses read Safety First. As late as 1987, the engine shed and coaling tower remained standing but sadly they were demolished not too long after. Some abandoned track is all that remains here today. An Al Chione duplicate slide from my collection.
Bob Sherwood Most likely after 1957. Note the E-7 in enginehouse.
Shane Blische There isn’t a year written on the slide actually, that was just an estimation on my part.
Patrick Updike Forgive my ignorance. Are the sharks tuscan or brunswick. I did not know the single whisker was applied to tuscan paint.
Mike Salvatore the dip paint scheme was the last for them that I am aware of.
Dennis DeBruler It is also a good view of the skip hoist on the coaling tower.

Shane Scanlon posted
A view of the long gone PRR engine shop facility at South Amboy in the 1960s. Unknown photographer, my collection.

The coal docks still existed in this Global Earth image.

April 1995 Global Earth

In fact, in the middle of that image the coaling tower and engine house still stand.

April 1995 Global Earth

1954 South Amboy Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

Neil Becker shared Jack Bobby Lou Mulreavy's post of three photos with the comment: "People often ask what was in South Amboy during the PRR's heyday, so I present these aerial shots that show the size and scope of the facilities there, including the coal dumpers, thawing sheds, engine house, storage yards and more."

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Andale, KS: Kanza/Andale Co-op Grain Elevator

(Satellite)

Next Bob Summer's comment

Bob Summers posted
The former Andale Co-op locations are now branch locations of the Kanza Co-op. This location at Andale Kansas offers another view of the additions over time, starting with their small early build slip form working house on the right, then an annex probably circa 1950. Then they built a larger working house which gave them both significantly more capacity, and just as important an additional place to unload trucks. Two more annexes were built to this facility, probably in the late '50's, making the total capacity here about a million and a half bushels. Also note the outside leg, which may have been added 25 or 30 years after the last annex was built in order to add another higher capacity receiving pit to handle the large tandems and even semi trucks used to deliver grain from the field to the elevator by the 1990's. Located on a former significant branch line of the Missouri Pacific this location is on the K & O. To explain the reason for the upgrades over time we need to look at the changes in farming over the same time period. A hundred years ago harvesting was done in multiple phases of cutting the wheat plants and stacking the cut plants, mostly by hand, then having a threshing crew and machine come to remove the grain from the straw. Early on, the grain was bagged in this step, but with the introduction of elevators to handle the grain in bulk, it would be delivered by horse drawn wagons. Early country elevators were the small wood, iron clad facilities we like to photograph today when we can find them. Because of limitations in transporting the grain to the elevator the railroads, in our area at least, would build rail sidings typically every 10 miles or so, and lease the ground and siding for building elevators operated by co-ops, independent elevator owners, mills and terminals needing linehouses to supply their larger elevators in the terminal markets. Then the major improvement in grain harvesting was the advent of the combine that cut and threshed the grain in one step. Originally pulled by horses or a tractor, combines eventually became self propelled. Over time, especially after WWII, farm methods and equipment enabled greater production, so the grain handling industry built larger more efficient facilities that did not need to be so close together. By the '60's and '70's the farmers were using larger combines requiring larger and larger trucks to deliver the grain to the elevator. So what we are seeing and photographing are the improvements at the elevators made over decades to serve their customers or patrons.

Sterling, IL: National Manufacturing Company

(Satellite)

Street View

Street View

History of National Manufacturing Company, Sterling, Illinois: A Record of Seventy Years, 1901-1971  The book ends in 1971 because that is when it was published. Their web site is written in the present tense. I remember buying National hinges in the hardware store. Not surprisingly because it is negative information, their history does not mention when they abandoned these buildings.

I have not been able to reconcile Deb's view with the street views. But the architecture does not match Lawrence Brothers or Sterling Steel.

Deb Fultz posted
This old factory is also in Sterling. It looks empty but not positive if it is being worked on or not. I find the old factories in Sterling and Rock Falls fascinating!
Estel Keefer Old good yr building getting tore down soon they condemned it last week.
Deon Clevenger Last I knew, part of this building is being used as commercial storage. This is the back half of the building facing the train tracks. This was Frantz Manufacturing when I was a kid. They made garage doors and hardware. The company still exists but I think they only make hardware now. They have a facility on the west end by Self Help and I believe they bought Steel Ball which produces ball bearings.
Deb Fultz Deon Clevenger We were in the back area of the building and the sun was starting to set so it had good lighting! It’s nice to learn about some of these old buildings, thank you!
Sean M. Banks Enjoy them while they're around both towns are on a mission to get rid of all of it to make riverfront parks (good thing) and cheap nowhere jobs and hotels (bad thing) lol

Was Fort Wayne, IN: Valbruna/Slater/Joslyn Stainless Steel

This was a duplicate. The contents has been moved to the original post.

Wenonah, IL: Peabody Coal Mine

(Satellite, it has been replaced by a rock quarry)

Roger Kujawa posted
EARLY PEABODY COAL MINE IN [near] NOKOMIS ILLINOIS IL POSTCARD

194 PEABODY COAL CO. NOKOMIS 1 SHAFT RPP 1906-1915 HERRIN 10N 2W 10
194 C. & E. I. COAL PROPERTIES C. & E. I. 10 SHAFT 1915-1918 HERRIN 10N 2W 10
194 ILLINOIS COAL PROPERTIES ILLINOIS 10 SHAFT 1918-1919 HERRIN 10N 2W 10
194 INDIANA & ILLINOIS INDIANA & ILLINOIS 10 SHAFT 1919-1939 HERRIN 10N 2W 10

195 NOKOMIS COAL CO. RELIANCE 1 SHAFT RPP 1913-1922 HERRIN 10N 2W 27
195 ILLINOIS COAL CORP. ILLINOIS COAL 9 SHAFT 1922-1925 HERRIN 10N 2W 27
195 idle RELIANCE 1 SHAFT RPP 1925-1935 HERRIN 10N 2W 27
195 NOKOMIS C C RELIANCE 1 SHAFT RPP 1936-1952 HERRIN 10N 2W 27

[Directory] 

Map

Index 194:

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Index 195:

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

The oldest topo map is 1946. Since both of these mines were abandoned by then, they are not marked on the map.

Andy Zukowski posted
"Birds Eye View of Wenona, Illinois" Great show of the town taken from the coal mine dump, showing most of the mine top works. C1910

Roger Kujawa posted four photos concerning the coal mining heritage of this town.

Norris City, IL: WWII Oil Pipeline Terminal, NYC/Big Four Depot and Junction with B&O

(Satellite, I don't know where the yard was)

David Cantrell posted

New York Central Locomotive No. 2245 leaves the Norris City, Illinois War Emergency Pipeline Terminal in February, 1943 with first shipment of oil on 96 tank cars.

The "Big-Inch" pipeline extended 531 miles from Longview, Texas to Norris City. Sixteen to eighteen trains left per day. Empty cars were staged at Mt. Carmel.

The NYC moved 33,561,770 barrels of oil via 154,291 tanks cars over the next six months fueling the war effort until 857 more miles of pipeline was completed to the east coast later that year.

--Norris City Library photo and article

Looking at the satellite image, it looks like the Big Four had a route through the middle of the town. And then they built a bypass route along US-45 that left the old route just south of North Fork Saline River. The piers for the bridge for the new route are still standing. It looks like both routes were in use in 1938. They must have built the tank car yard between 1938 and 1943.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Obviously, the far end of the depot acted as the junction tower for Big Four vs. B&O.

David Cantrell posted
Norris City, Illinois New York Central Depot from New York Central System Historical Society located on the line between Cairo and Vincennes, Indiana.
 https://nycshs.omeka.net/items/show/127534

Dennis DeBruler commented on David's post
This map shows that the depot was at the junction of the new NYC route and the B&O. The above view would be looking south.
1963 Norris City Quad @ 24,000
[Note the "OIL FIELD" marked below the "I N" of the Indian Creek label.]
David Cantrell: A new depot was built south of town during the 1905 straightening and incline reduction project. Norris City was also the War Emergency Pipeline Oil Transfer terminal that was northeast of the station.

Dennis DeBruler commented on David's post
This map shows how the old route went through town.
1906 Eldorado Quad @ 62,500

David Cantrell commented on the above comment
This was the Norris City depot in 1890 when the rails went through the middle of town.

Percy, IL: Streamline Mine

(Satellite)

Roger Kujawa posted
Vintage Photo Postcard Shovel Southwestern Coal Company Mine Steeleville / Percy, Illinois

The index is 872, and the years of production were 1936-83. [Directory]

Map

William Oldani commented on Roger's post
‘A’ Field South of Percy!

William Oldani commented on Roger's post
Pretty sure that’s the machine that became to 5560WX
Jerry Louis Karr William Oldani I am not sure where I read it but supposedly SWICC bought a 5560 in OH that became the base of the wheel.???
William Oldani Jerry Louis Karr I was thinking Ronnie Jenkle the operator of the wheel for years told me that that was the 5560 Shovel, the boom fell on it and they used the house and lower frame for the wheel!
Claude Husband Bill, I think Jerry is right I believe that it came from Ohio.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Roger's post
GM&O used to have a spur across the north side of the mine that also connected to Missouri Pacific.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...
Myron Dudenbostel The load yard tracks and lead to the MP is marked GM&O I don't believe that is correct. I believe the yard tracks belonged to coal co. and the lead off the MP belonged to the MP. Now just where the one started and the other stopped I do not know.
Dennis DeBruler Myron Dudenbostel I agree that the topo map is probably wrong. It would make sense that the mine would have tracks that used a MP spur to the MP mainline and a GM&O spur to the GM&O mainline.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Roger's post
This is from four 1:24,000 quadrangles from 1965 or 1968. I see that the "lakes" were quite a bit different back then.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Roger's post
The years of production were 1936-1983. I'm surprised they covered so much ground by this 1940 aerial.
https://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/.../00sm8A066.jpg

Christian C: Pana, IL: Penwell and Pana #1 Coal Mines

Penwell: (Satellite)

Pana #1: (Satellite) I added Pana #1 at the bottom of these notes because I saw that photo later.

Roger Kujawa posted
Penwell Coal Mine Pana Illinois. Railroad Tracks For Loading Coal Postcard. Three railroads were in Pana, so I don’t know which one served this mine.
Dave Huffman The Pana mine had a hard go of it. It was so deep that hoisting costs made it hard to make money & money was hard to come by.

John W. Meachum posted
Penwell Mine, Pana Illinois, in 1893.
Steven Kent I wonder if the corral was for the “pit ponies”?
John W. Meachum I believe, but am not certain, that the mule barn was on the west (left) side of the mine. I think the corral on the right side of the picture was used to load livestock and not part of the mine property.
John W. Meachum posted
Penwell Mine in Pana, 1893. The yards and the IC mainline are in the foreground. The four mines in Pana had a dedicated switch engine and that might be the engine pictured.
Tom Wilson My Grandfather was an engineer on the IC for 60 years and it was my understanding from my father also an IC employee that Grandpa had a coal drag from Clinton to Vandialia for many years.

Jacob Hortenstine shared

371 PENWELL COAL MNG. CO. PENWELL 1 SHAFT RPP 1888-1941 HERRIN  11N 1E 21
371 VICTORY COAL MNG. CO. PENWELL SHAFT RPP 1942-1944 HERRIN  11N 1E 21
371 OLDROYD COAL CO. PENWELL SHAFT RPP 1944-1945 HERRIN  11N 1E 21
[Directory]

Map

It is at the bottom of this aerial. The mine at the top, index 729, was the Pana Coal Mine.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Pana #1

Andy Zukowski posted
Coal Shaft NO 1. Pana, Illinois. 1909 Postcard
Justin West: Operated from 1884 to 1948.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
It is index 729. 
https://wikiimage.isgs.illinois.edu/ilmines/webfiles/topo-mines/pana.pdf

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
It is the mine in the northwest quadrant of the railroad junction. The mine south of the junction was Penwell Coal Mine, which operated 1888-1945. 
https://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/webdocs/ilhap/county/data/christian/flight13/0bgb01076.jpg

Another mine that used mules underground.

Louis Smith posted
ILLINOIS, Coal Mine, Man & Beast Toiling in Darkness--Wasson Stereoview E43
Dave Crociani: My grandfather, my dad and my uncle were miners in Illinois. My dad could tell stories about mules. Being a small guy he carried a stick just wider than himself and sharpened on both ends. When a mule tried to rub him out against the shaft walls he'd place the stick between the mule and wall and he got the point! That was tough work. My dad went into the mines at 14.

Dilles Bottom, OH: Thailand and South Korea owned ethylene plant

(Satellite)

(Jul 2020 Update: the South Korean company has withdrawn from this project. [AdvertiserTribune] So far, $270m has been spent on planning, engineering and site preparation.)

Bechtel, who is already doing Shell's plant in Monaca, PA, has been selected to build a $10b plant on a former coal power plant site. [TheIntelligencer (source: Lukas Irons post)]

The FirstEnergy R. E. Burger power station has already been removed from the land.

IndependenceDemolition

We have seen the euphemisms of "controlled demolition" and "energetic felling" to avoid the terminology of "blowing up." Now we learn of "explosive felling."
(new window @ 0:30)



"PTT, based in Thailand, has been studying and assessing the local market since at least late 2015, when it announced it would tap into the region’s large concentration of wet gas from Marcellus and Utica shale drilling....PTT has yet to make a final investment decision on the local project. If built, PTT has said they anticipate the plant would produce 1.5 million metric tons of ethylene annually. " Unlike the Shell plant, they evidently plan to market ethylene instead of polyethylene. [TheIntelligencer]

These companies making more feedstock for plastic better hope that better plastic recycling solutions are developed or a backlash against plastics may shrink their market. I was wondering if these Asian companies plan to barge feedstocks down to Baton Rouge and then ship it to Asian markets. As with coal, the Asian markets probably won't dry up as fast as the American market. (E.g. paper straws are already making a comeback.) And since the Asian countries don't have oil or gas, shipping feedstocks from the wet gas area of America may be the cheapest way to feed their plastics industries. But the article explicitly says "local market" instead of "Asian market."

I sure hope these plants are being built to avoid polluting the air and water independent of current EPA regulations. As we have learned with the black lung disease in coal mining and cancer in asbestos processing, jobs that kill you are not good jobs. And jobs that harm people in the area are even worse.

Update: The Arabs are thinking of building a polyethelene plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast. (post)
Dennis DeBruler Shell is doing several $billion in PA, a couple of Asian companies are doing several $billion in OH, and now a several $billion plant in TX. Given that there could be a backlash against plastics, I would be worried about oversupply and poor ROI. Is this Texas plant also tapping "wet gas" like the PA and OH plants plan to do? I see in the article they plan to make polyethylene. That should be easy to export. But the article explicitly states they expect a US market to grow.
Lukas Irons People find a reason to bitch about anything.
Dennis DeBruler At the risk of being perceived as bitching, I've learned that a lot of the plastic resin is exported:
https://www.joc.com/.../global-market-diversification...
Tariffs have reduced the amount exported to China. But the exporters have found replacement markets.
It turns out the two new plants on the Ohio River are just a couple of big drops in a bucket.
"Since shale gas production began to ramp up in 2016, a dozen plants have opened in the US, Mexico, and Canada, according to Joel Morales, senior director of polyolefins for North America at IHS Markit. Another 16 plants are scheduled or likely to come online between this year’s [2019] third quarter and 2024, resulting in a total increased capacity from North America of 3.5 million metric tons, he said. "

safe_image for post by Lukas Irons for: Report: Bechtel Selected to Build PTT Ethane Cracker in Belmont County
Well as many hurdles as they've cleared, I'm surprised the Dilles Bottom Project has come this far. Can it clear more hurdles?

Kankakee, IL: Abandoned General Foods (Quaker Oats) Plant

3D Satellite

Joshua Sheehan posted

From the comments on this posting, it was evidently a General Foods Plant that made dog food.
Troy Trost Thank you for share the picture of our building. We at Acere are working really hard to make this great building into a training facility for our local emergency services, military and K9 trainers. We have lots of work to do but it's been a fun adventure. We are always looking for volunteers to help us out.
Lesley Elston Great place for a zombie movie.
Troy Trost Lesley Elston we do a haunted factory there in October to help raise money to fix the place up and to build training props for our local emergency services, military and K9 trainers.
Orlando Gonzales Anyone wanna explore this building? I have spots available for june 16th and july 20th you get to explore 7 floors free roam. If interested contact me.

Or it made human food:

Evie N Bob Bruns posted
Conrail 1668 with 1673 switching the yard in Kankakee at Hobbie St. by the Quaker Oats factory on 9/4/1982.

Moriah Brent posted two photos with the comment: "Not sure what it used to be but it's obviously an old warehouse/factory of some sort 
Located off rt. 50 in kankakee"
Joshua Conover Being turned into an airsoft site not paintball.
Dalton James Verway It’s really cool. They ran paid tours these last several months.

Orlando Gonzales Yes i do urbex/photography events there. I got one july 20th from 2-8pm if interested pm me.
Troy Trost The place in question is currently being used as a training facility for our local emergency services k9 and military. The photo shoots by Orlando Gonzales, the airsoft and the haunted factory are all ways to help fix the place up.

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Keith Yearman posted
At the old Quaker Oats facility in Kankakee
Aaron Combs: I do remember talk that they wanted to run a conveyor over the Kankakee secondary to the Short Milling facility but the RR wouldn't let them. Not sure if that was part of the demise. We used to put box cars in about every day in the old warehouse at that time it was Space Center. Lots of canned tuna from the west coast.

Fort Wayne, IN: Wabash Depot

(Satellite)

Howard Pletcher commented on a post
Rebecca Bogner This one? The Wabash RR Depot on Grand Ave. (Grandiose name for a one block-long street.)

Bobbie Lee posted
Tim Shanahan shared

 

Dennis DeBruler commented on Tim's share
Wabash Depot. The steps are extant,
 https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0711411,-85.1386121,44m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

ACPL
Norfolk and Western Railroad station, Fort Wayne IN: formerly Wabash Railway depot.

Tommy Lee Fitzwater posted

April 19, 1913

Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel

Nancy Parker steps still there across from St Vincent Depaul

Dennis DeBruler commented on Tommy's post
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0710346,-85.1384571,3a,37.7y,318.87h,89.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scVbeGlyt_KeTOBCx6q-TMg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192