St Charles, IL: C&NW Branch, Depot and Freight House

(Satellite, southwest quadrant of Walnut and 1st)

A lot of industries were established along the Fox River because of the water power. The C&NW had a branch line that went North along the river and terminated at a depot and freight house in St. Charles. The C&NW also had two branches that went south along the Fox River.

The following maps and photos were provided as comments on a post.

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This 1983 map shows how the industrial spur served Geneva.

Comment on a post

This topo map provides an overview of the C&NW branch line through Geneva and St. Charles.

1949 Geneva Quad @ 24,000

Dennis DeBruler commented on "map a."
The building that was built on the former railroad property has a façade that makes it look like a series of old buildings.
 https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...

Baraboo, WI: Badger Army Ammunition Plant was the World's Largest in 1942

(Satellite, I had to keep zooming out because I kept seeing more remnants. It covered a lot of land.)

I knew that Baraboo, WI, had the Circus World Museum, but I was unaware that a little south of town there is the Museum of Badger Army Ammunition.

BadgerOrdanceHistory
Telling the story of the World's Largest Ammunition Plant in 1942.
[The photo is of just the north half of the plant.]
It cost $65m ($1.24b in 2021). The farmers were cleared off the land and construction began by Mar 1, 1942.

Bob Koch posted
Badger Army Ammunition Plant Powerhouse, Baraboo, Wisconsin. Served during WWII, Korea, Vietnam. US of A's biggest ammo plant in the 40's. Maintained in ready status until 1997. Fuel oil powered boilers. Toured in middle school in 1990. Would drive by as a kid and one stack would be belching. Majority of the plant including this building demolished in 2012 and remains public land today. Photo copyright Skillet Creek Media.
Dennis DeBruler: http://www.badgerordnancehistory.org/

 

Bob Koch posted
Badger Ordinance Works, Army Ammunition Plant, 1940s to 1997. Baraboo, Wisconsin. Fuel oil powered, power plant below.

As I expected with an ammunition plant, a lot of the buildings are small and uniformly spaced from each other to avoid a chain reaction of exploding ammunition storage buildings. The buildings are small to reduce the amount of ammo lost and reduce the size of an explosion if a building were to explode. We already saw rows of ammo storage bunkers in the Joliet Arsenal.

USGS: May 22, 1956 @ 23,600, AR1VKG000010025

1958 North Freedom and 1959 Baraboo Quads @ 24,000

C&NW had a short spur from the east and Milwaukee had a longer spur from the south at Mazomanie.

1957 Madison Quad @ 250,000

East Pittsburgh, PA: and Wilmerding, PA: Westinghouse Electric and Air Brake Companies

Holtec/Electric: (Satellite)

Wabtec/Air Brake: (Satellite)

Westinghouse Electric

3D Satellite

onview

The plant was just Northeast of the George Westinghouse Bridge.

1933 Photo from U of Michigan Lincoln Highway Collection via BridgeHunter via Dennis DeBruler

 

Jackson-Township historical preservation posted

Westinghouse Works located at Trafford Park in East Pittsburgh, Allegheny County.

(Photo from Linda Dacierno)

Michael Andrew Odorisio: Trafford Park is in the UK, not Allegheny County. Westinghouse had identical office buildings in East Pittsburgh and Trafford Park. Interesting enough for that fact, though.

Jeff Yinzer Wood posted three photos with the comment: "Inside the old Westinghouse air brake mill that is now Holtec. That's the original crane from its start."

Andrew Stewart: Actually that was Westinghouse Electric in East Pittsburgh, Westinghouse Air Brake is still in operation in Wilmerding.

Bill Aguilera: Riveted fish belly. Ours in the department were installed in 1912 and running also.

Linda Hudson: We used to load MPC units (tanks) that went to nuclear power plants out of there Holtec ...the power plants put the nuclear waste in them.

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Jackson-Township historical preservation posted
Electric locomotives under construction at the Westinghouse Electric Works Corporation at East Pittsburgh, Allegheny County around 1920. After introducing the alternating current locomotive, first demonstrated in the East Pittsburgh Railway Yards in 1905, Westinghouse manufactured electric locomotives in Pittsburgh and set up a division for the electrification of the nation's railroad lines. (Photo from http://explorepahistory.com/)
History's Mirror posted a different exposure
Electric locomotives under construction at the Westinghouse Electric Works Corporation in East Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, circa 1920. Following the groundbreaking introduction of the alternating current (AC) locomotive, demonstrated in the East Pittsburgh Railway Yards in 1905, Westinghouse became a pioneer in rail electrification. The facility not only produced state-of-the-art electric locomotives but also played a key role in modernizing the nation's railroad infrastructure. This image captures the scale and innovation of the factory floor, where skilled workers assembled locomotives that would revolutionize rail transport across the United States.

 

History's Mirror posted
The Main Works of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company in East Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, stood as a testament to American industrial ingenuity between 1918 and 1939. This aisle view captures the heart of locomotive production, where massive electric engines were meticulously assembled. Rows of heavy machinery and towering components underscore the scale of operations, while workers focused on their tasks highlight the human element driving this innovation. These locomotives were vital to the electrification of railroads, symbolizing progress and efficiency during a transformative era in transportation history.

Jackson-Township historical preservation posted
View of aisle in the main works of Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company in East Pittsburgh, Allegheny County around 1918-1939. This is where rotary converters, turbo generators and large motors are machined and assembled.
Jack Davis shared
Where some of the steel ended up.

Jennifer Onaitis Legler: After World War II, my dad worked there that was when they created generators for large electrical generating dams. They were so big you could walk through them. We would see them on family day. They were called LRA or large rotating apparatus.

Jackson-Township historical preservation posted
Women operating machines in Section E at the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company in East Pittsburgh, Allegheny County around 1900s-1920s.
[Note the line shafts that ran along the front of the operating stations.]

Westinghouse Air Brake

3D Satellite

Jackson-Township historical preservation posted

View of the Westinghouse Air Brake Works in Wilmerding, Allegheny County in 1891. In 1890, George Westinghouse built a plant at Wilmerding, thirteen miles east of Pittsburgh along the Pennsylvania Railroad's Philadelphia-Pittsburgh main line. Soon, the Wilmerding plant sprawled across thirty acres. By 1905, it employed about 3,000 workers who produced 1,000 sets of brakes every day. William Rau took this photograph of the Westinghouse Air-brake works plant in 1891.

(Photo and text from http://explorepahistory.com/)

Jackson-Township historical preservation posted again with the same comment

Derrick Parfitt: Wilmerding Station at the left. [Pennsy]

Daniel C Carroll Jr. shared

Wilderding

Two different people colorized the second posting of the above photo.

Mark Griffith commented on the second post of the above photo.

Brandon Peck commented on the second post of the above photo.

Fort Frick Photography posted

The current day Wabtec (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies) plant in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania.  

Wilmerding was one of the countries first planned towns as it was established to house workers after George Westinghouse moved his Air Brake plant to the area in 1889.  

Late last year I heard the announcement the plant was set to close by July (it may have already as I haven't heard update), and have been meaning to get back out there since I read the announcement.    I've photographed the historic Machine Shop before (far left), but the last time I was in Wilmerding a few years ago, the General Office Building "Westinghouse Castle' was under construction and couldn't get a photo of it without the scaffolding etc.  I'll hopefully get to those photos soon, and might even go again to redo one angle that I know didn't come out how I wanted.  

Out of all of the "Captains of Industry' of that age, George Westinghouse is one of my favorites the more I read about him.  He was a pioneer in many fields, and generally treated his workers well by all accounts.

Google Maps offered this as the signature photo for the town. I presume that is a likeness of George Westinghouse on the sign.

I.E Xam, Jun 2016

Independence, IA: 1854 Wapsipinicon Mill and Rock Island Depot

Mill: (Satellite)

Depot: (Satellite, it was east of 2nd Ave and south of the tracks)

Street View

Dave Durham commented on his post
CRI&P Depot, Independence, Iowa, 1909

1973 Independence Quad @ 24,000

 

IndependenceIA
"The Wapsipinicon Feed Mill and Dam became operational in 1854. The 5-story structure is 122 feet long, by 62 feet wide and was used at first as a flouring mill. As wheat production slowed down, it became more economical to produce 'Wapsi' brand poultry and stock feed."

SilosAndSmokeStacks
"The Wapsipinicon Mill is one of Iowa’s largest grist mills, towering six stories above the Wapsipinicon River. This museum interprets the grist milling process from 1870 to the 1940s and features original buhr stones, milling equipment, early agricultural artifacts and hands-on exhibits."

 

TripAdvisor

The fourth paragraph says this mill was run with a turbine that used a 2' pipe with a 7' head and that generated 140 horsepower.

Darrin Ochsner, Jul 2022

The river was running high in July 2017.

Roger Fischels, Jul 2017

In 2008 and 2010 there was flooding that caused damage.

MillPictures
"*Update: Again in 2008 and 2010 there was major flooding on the Wapsipinicon River which caused damage. FEMA, through the historic branch, was able to help with the meal floor and foundation - which is still an ongoing project. The historical society is now looking for additional grants for the roof. Updated picture shows the mill during the flood of July 2010. Photographer-Mark Blaker, Independence, Iowa. Leanne Harrison 03/12/2011*"

Cosmos Mariner, Aug 2017

1:58 @ 0:25

Cleveland, OH: Aquarium/Power Plant

(3D Satellite, 22,482 photos!)

The aquarium is a repurposed power plant, which explains the smokestacks. It is nice that they have preserved them. I could not find a history of the building on their web site. Between the two stacks we see the abandoned B&O Bridge #463.

Street View

Jeremy Schenker posted 16 photos with the comment: "We went to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium today! I did not know it was an old Power Plant. It is pretty neat how they incorporated some of the old plant into the aquarium."

David Adkins: 20 some yrs ago they had bars and comedy clubs in there. It was a pretty popular place. One of the bars was “The howling at the moon saloon.”

Jack Haney: The power plant was for the lakeshore railway. There was another plant in Avon Lake by the presently decommissioned Genon Power Plant.

Chris Snyder: The maritime museum in Erie PA did the same thing except they left one of the steam turbines in place. It was also an old power plant. It has more of a powerplant feel to it than the cleveland aquarium

Sam McFarland: I had my wedding there!

Max Kaminski: There's no way that PVC firemain meets code.

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