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| Eastern Rails Photography posted On the final day of Winter, a dirty AC44C6M rebuild ducks under the former N&W coal tower at Vicker as it leads a late running 201. A few miles past here, the train will swing on to the Pulaski District and head toward Bristol, TN. Taken on 3/19/21 Christopher Esposito shared Here's a shot of mine with an old NW coaling tower and whistle post that have stood the test of time just outside of Christiansburg, VA. That is one I haven't seen so far. 37°09'47.2"N 80°29'25.7"W 37.163097, -80.490475 (Facebook has been declaring my comments that contain a Google Maps URL a violation of Community Standards and deleting them. So now you have to copy&paste the GPS coordinates into the search field of Google Maps.) |
Friday, April 30, 2021
Christainsburg, VA: N&W Coaling Tower
(Satellite)
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Sidney, OH: Lost ADM Grain Elevator and Cargill Bean Processing
ADM: (Satellite, has been torn down)
Cargill: (Satellite, has bought the ADM land)
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| Jon Baker posted Last of the old Landmark in Sidney, OH imploded this morning. Now owned by Cargill making room for expansion of their bean plant. 4/10/21 |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Jon's post It appears that they bought the ADM elevator that was east of Cargill along a CSX/Big Four industrial spur. They tore down two generations of silos as well. I included the shadows because they indicate the relative height of the structures. Molly Van Wagner-Petersen: That was a tall guy! Jon Baker: Molly Van Wagner-Petersen bin deck 120’ so prolly bout 200’. |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Jon's post The existing bean plant. |
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| Jon Baker commented on Dennis' comment Yes The ADM facility. I’m old school and still call it Landmark! Hell we still call our 50 year old High School the NEW SCHOOL! The tanks were knocked down over the last few weeks with a huge excavator. |
While Cargill is investing across seven states, the largest projects will take place in:
- Sidney, Ohio – Cargill is expanding its soybean crush site, which will significantly increase production levels while providing state-of-the-art receiving and loading capabilities, and ultimately more value for customers.
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Cargill is increasing production capacity at its soybean processing facility and is more than halfway complete on this project.
- Wichita, Kan. - Cargill will soon more than double soybean unload capacity per hour, and offer additional automation and safety upgrades.
- Kansas City, Mo. - Cargill will make on-site automation enhancements that will triple per-hour truck load out capacity, translating to more efficient time management for drivers.
All facilities will continue to operate while construction and expansion projects are underway.
Cargill is a global leader in oilseed processing. These investments are part of the organization’s overall growth strategy in the U.S. and create an opportunity to better serve customers on both ends of the supply chain.
[Cargill]
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Kent, OH: Erie and B&O Depots and Flour Mill
Erie Depot: (3D Satellite)
I couldn't resist including the grain elevator and the "Erie St." street sign.
B&O Depot: (3D Satellite)
Grain Elevator: (3D Satellite)
The upper level was Erie and the lower level was B&O. The river is Cuyahogo, which I recognize as the one that flows through Cleveland, OH.
Erie Depot
Google Maps labels the building Treno Ristorante. I went to their web site because sometimes when a business preserves a building they describe the history of that building. Unfortunately, the hours indicates "Permanently Closed" and the content implies they were a victim of Covid-19.
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| Street View |
The upper level was Erie and the lower level was B&O. The river is Cuyahogo, which I recognize as the one that flows through Cleveland, OH.
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| Jacqueline Crandall Fafrak posted The Trains are Alright. 1985 Jeffrey Camila shared Raymond Shields: This is Kent, Ohio the CSX train is going east. Dennis DeBruler: The building was obviously the Erie depot. I wonder where B&O had their depot. |
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| Richard Wagner posted Erie-Lackawanna Line Kent,Ohio in the 1950s. Brenda Messera: In the 1950's this would have just been the Erie. The merger with the Lackawanna did not take place until 1960. JT Bellino: A man walked into a travel agency in NY and said, “I need to get to Chicago in the worst way.” The travel agent answered, “The Erie ticket office is around the corner.” 😉 Em Schofield: And that E8 is still around and for sale by the company that currently owns it. John Carr: Nice Italianate depot, fairly large and ornate for a small town depot dating probably from the 1880s. The photo looks to be only partly colorized. Wouldn't the Erie E unit have been dark green and yellow in the 1950s? Chuck Killian: This is the worst colorization I have ever seen! |
I couldn't resist including the grain elevator and the "Erie St." street sign.
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| Street View |
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| Jim Francis posted Penthouse view from the new building at Franklin and Erie its a nice view. Thomas Wentzel shared RR DEPOT KENT OHIO 12/10/21 |
B&O Depot
The B&O depot is still standing, but barely. The square hole near the chimney was made April 19, 2016, by firefighters to help fight a fire. "Built in 1905, the Kent station last saw passenger service on April 30, 1971. Kent was a flag stop for B&O Nos. 7 and 8, the Shenandoah, which ran on a daytime schedule between Akron and Washington, D.C. The Chicago-Washington Capitol Limited passed by but did not stop." [Craig Sanders via akronrrclub] |
| Street View, Oct 2020 |
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| Street View |
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| Portage County Ohio Historical Society posted Last remaining Baltimore & Ohio Railroad train station in Portage County, Ohio, located on the north side of Summit Street in Kent, just east of the Cuyahoga River. It was built December-January 1904-1905, and served as a passenger depot. The Portage County communities of Ravenna, Charlestown, and Wayland also had B&O stations that are now gone. Rod Davis shared [The comments have a 1907 photo of the Freedom, OH, depot. It had the same design as this one.] |
Grain Elevator
It looks like the "grain elevator" is a flour mill because there is a pneumatic trailer parked on the north side. It must still active be because there are covered hoppers parked at the mill.
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| Street View |
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| Street View |
At least at one time the name was "Star of the West Milling Co."
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| Street View |
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Midland, ON: Grain Elevators and Flour Plant
(Satellite)
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| Tales of RG30 and other railway collections posted From the John Boyd photo collection at LAC, here we have a spectacular shot of the Tiffin No. 2 Elevator dated September 1915! Where is this you might ask? It once was operated by the Grand Trunk Railway and was located in Midland, Ontario! Tiffin Grain Elevator, commonly known as Tiffin No.2 was constructed in 1907-08 by John S. Metcalf Company, Engineers and Constructors of Grain Elevators, Chicago and Montreal. It operated until 1990 and was demolished in 1997. Note: A longer piece on the elevator can be found here: http://archive.boatnerd.com/archivec/10-03/0000c925.htm Learn more also here: https://huroniamuseum.com/museum-town/grain-elevators/ Andrew Elliott shared |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Andrew's share It looks like an interesting elevator is still standing. Does ADM Milling use it? The Grand Trunk Railway is now a trail. |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Andrew's share One advantage of grain elevators is that we can see them above the urban clutter. |
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| Barun Bakshi, Aug 2017 |
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| Street View |
It appears the dock is still used for wintering a ship.
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| Roger Mak, Jan 2021 |
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| 1 of 4 photos and of 3 boats posted by Connor Earl [He also provided links to videos of the three boats: CSL Frontenac, CSL Whitefish Bay and CCGS Griffon.] |
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| Fred Miller II posted WILLOWGLEN and OAKGLEN in winter quarters at Midland, Ontario, 1988, the OAKGLEN didn't quite make it all the way up to the dock before getting stuck in the ice, you could follow her frozen track into the harbor. Fred Miller II shared John West: I remember those boats, hauled grain most of the time I believe |
Monday, April 26, 2021
1953 St. Clair and 1984 Belle River Detroit Edison (DTE) Power Plants
St. Clair: (Satellite) 1,547 MW, does not meet EPA regulations for sulfur dioxide [gem-St._Clair]
Belle River: (Satellite) 1,395 MW [gem-Belle_River]
Judging from the conveyor belts in the satellite images, these two plants share a coal handling facility. There is also a 350 MW peaker plant in this complex. [DetroitFreePress]
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| One of nine photos posted by Interlake Steamship Co. Incredible shots of our M/V Paul R. Tregurtha unloading at the St. Clair Power Plant today. #1013feet #thequeen #shippingmatters  : Stark Raving RobertRaymond Szybowicz: Does she ever go the Monroe power plant? Fred Hayes: Raymond Szybowicz yes but usually has to split loads with St Clair because of draft depth. |
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| Greg Mross posted Never forget...... On this day in 1966, the Daniel J. Morrell (built in 1906) sank in a storm on Lake Huron. Although the Morrell sinking is not as well known to the general public as the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald is, it is just as tragic as 28 of 29 crewman lost their lives that day. To remember the Morrell and her crew, here is a beautiful shot of her passing the Detroit Edison St. Clair powerplant in August of 1966, only a few months before her demise. Neat sign on the power plant. John Ingles Kodachrome from my collection. Greg Mross posted with the same comment. |
%20Fans%20of%20the%20Book%20Know%20Your%20Ships%20_%20Never%20forget.....%20_%20Facebook.png) |
| Comments on Greg's second post |
St. Clair had a big fire on Aug 11, 2016.
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| Photo by Amanda Hay via BlackBurnNews |
It took a year to fully restore the plant. [power-eng]
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| BLW and TCLP Belle River was completed in 1984. |
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| William M Bass posted, cropped Belle River Power Plant. St Clair is retired. All of their maintenance personnel have been moved to Belle River. Belle River is scheduled to be converted to natural gas in 23. Quinton Dolsen: William M Bass What caused the 2018 fire at st.clair thar was nuts William M Bass: Quinton Dolsen St Clair fire was a high pressure turbine lube oil line rupture. That was a crazy fire! I was on the turbine deck the next day and it looked like a scene from an apocalypse movie. Quinton Dolsen: William M Bass oh God I figured it was a oil fire. It was hot that day. What was the cause? |
A 2019 article says the closure date for the St. Clair plant has been moved from 2023 to 2022 and that work has started on the $1b, 1,150 MW (850,000 homes) natural gas plant (Blue Water Energy Center). The new plant is supposed to be up and running by March 2022. It can rampup 100 MW per minute, which is nearly 50 times faster than a coal-fired plant. The St. Clair plant has 315 employees whereas the new one needs just 35 employees. The Belle River plant is scheduled to close in 2030, and it has 186 employees. The new plant is being built next to the Beldle River plant. [TheTimesHearld, paycount 3]
A pipeline is being built to supply gas to southeast Michigan from the shale fields in Ohio and Pennsylvania. And the St. Clair County already "has the largest underground natural gas storage capacity in the Midwest." [DetroitFreePress]
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| Provided by DTE Energy |
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| Mike Delaney posted J.R Sensibar unloading cargo at the bottom of the Trenton channel in an oops moment. I heard she ran as a straightdecker for a while doing the best she could. |
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| Comments on Mike's post |
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| Dec 17, 2022: Brian LaFrance posted DTE St. Clair Power Plant. Taken this year from the new Blue Water Energy Center. Robert W. Laeng: Worked there and Belle River in the early 2000s. Looks like it’s idled. How about Belle River? Ron Simons: Robert W. Laeng St. Clair is shutdown. Belle River is converting to gas over the next few years. |
Brennen Williams posted two photos with the comment: "St. Clair Power Plant in St. Clair, Michigan. This plant is slated for closure this year [2022]. I love the dedication piece. Hopefully it is saved before demolition would occur."
Chet Burnside: Does it have a scrubber or why are they closing. One of the reasons Hatfield and Mitchell closed here in pa was we were deregulated and couldn't pass on the cost and gas generation was cheaper, but gas isn't always as reliable, look at texas last winter. Nothing like having a 2 month supply of coal at the site for reliability. Comments welcome I'm sure thats not the only reason why they were deactivated, should have switched to co blend gas.
Brennen Williams: Chet Burnside St. Clair nor the neighboring Belle River are equipped with a flue gas desulfurization system. Monroe is the only plant in the DTE fleet with such equipment. Michigan is a regulated market, but DTE has promised a carbon free generating portfolio by either 2040 or 2050, I can’t remember. Closing of this plant is part of the long range plan to meet their carbon reduction goals. A natural gas plant is being built next to Belle River that will replace lost generation, but it still emits carbon. The original units still operating (1-4) have been shut down or are being shut down since a few years ago due to cracking found in the turbine rotors. I’m not sure which ones of the four are still running. SCPP 6 and 7 are newer units, but still slated for retirement. Trenton is also supposed to be shut down either this year or next year. They only have one unit still operating. Belle River is to close by 2030 and Monroe, the last DTE coal plant is to close by 2040.
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| David Schauer posted The Paul R. Tregurtha loading coal at MERC in Superior - the terminal's first shipment of the season. This is welcome news for the miners in the Powder River Basin, employees at BNSF and MERC, plus the fine folks at Interlake. Big Paul is loading for DTE's St. Clair and Monroe, Michigan generating stations. I had Gus grab a shot out the van window as we crossed the Blatnik Bridge today. 5/27/2020 |
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| David Schauer posted A beautiful calm Friday evening finds ASC's Walter J. McCarthy Jr. departing Duluth with 68,000 tons of coal for St. Clair and Monroe (DTE). |
A bonus for St. Clair
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| Association for Great Lakes Maritime History posted A panoramic map of St. Clair, Mich. circa 1868, published by Eli Sheldon Glover and printed by the Chicago Lithographic Co. of Chicago, Ill. (Image Source: Library of Congress – Geography and Map Division collection). An analysis of a high-resolution copy of the image shows the sidewheel passenger ship Reindeer (left) and a steam tug towing three vessels, including a schooner and two barkentines. [The description has a lot more text providing a history of the ships and town.] |
Sunday, April 25, 2021
Owensboro, KY: Owensboro, Bunge, Gavilon and ADM Grain Elevators
Bunge: (Satellite, it is not clear which of these riverport facilities are used by Bunge)
Nutrien: (Satellite, honorable mention because fertilizer is another important bulk farm product)
Owensboro: (Grain and Crushing: 3D Satellite; Edible Oil: 3D Satellite)Gavilon: (Satellite)
ADM: (Satellite, honorable mention because this is really at Rockport, IN)
Bunge
The bins on the left no longer show up in the satellite view. Where they replaced by the long building? I fired up Google Earth. The bins show up in 3/2016 but are gone in 2/2018. Going further back in time, they built the long building between 10/2008 and 6/2010. So yes, the bins were replaced by the building and some more conveyors.
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| Street View, Jul 2012 |
If I start my street view "trip" from River Road, I'm in a Jun 2019 trip and this is as close as I can get to the river. If the I click the "next" arrow, street view switches to a Jul 2012 trip, and I can get the above view showing the bins.
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| Street View, Jun 2019 |
These are the freight cars on the loop track. I can't figure out what they are and what they carry.
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| Satellite |
Nutrien
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| Bob Johnson, Jul 2016 New mobile crane at the Owensboro, Ky river port |
Owensboro
Tommy Matusz posted three photos with the comment: "How many of you have been to the Owensboro Grain Dock on the Ohio, in Owensboro Kentucky? I’m a deckhand for the Owensboro Grain Company, and I load, and unload barges, and work the boats at our three piers."
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Three of the rotating cover photos on their web site:
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Gavilon
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| Photo, Jun 2020 |
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| Photo, Jun 2020 |
ADM
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| Street View, Jun 2019 |
I saved a satellite image to note how many barges are fleeted in the area. I don't think they are for this elevator because the loaded barges on the north side look like they are loaded with something like rock.
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| Satellite |