Weldon, IL: Lost/IC Depot and Grain Elevator

Depot: (Satellite, looking northwest from Walnut Street.)

Original Elevator: (Satellite)

Today's Elevator: (Satellite, I'm surprised that ADM is operating such an isolated elevator in terms of Interstate highways and railroads. I wonder to where they haul the grain.)

Larry Foht posted

Illinois Central Railroad Depot

Weldon Illinois

On The Route from Champaign to Havana [CH&W/Havana, Lincoln & Champaign Railroad]

Larry Foht collection :

[Complete with milk cans and grain elevator.]

Brad Craig: See the Way Bills box by the door? It's been in my "collection" for over 50 years.

Family friends lived in Monticello. Glad now during a visit in 1974-75 my friend and I drove around the area taking pictures of depots and everything else that was laying around rusting and rotting.

A few of those depots were being manned by a traveling agent. I respected that and only took pictures of them. Most, were already abandoned and inside ransacked.So, I went in and helped myself to what ever "goodies" the" vandals" hadn't destroyed. If I wouldn't have, someone else would or it would have been trashed when they demolished them a few years later.

Jim Kelling shared

Weldon Illinois (Illinois Central station)

The Milk Train Journal posted

Further evidence of milk traffic on The Illinois Central, in a town a few miles north of Decatur, IL. There is about twelve milk cans in view. 

The IC was one of the few railroads that we know of no current listing of historical milk station and platform pickups (and drop-offs in Chicago), other than the few from Illinois and Wisconsin. The number of milk can cars that the IC had is also still presently unknown. Lastly, we have seen NO reports whatsoever as to how much milk the IC hauled into Chicago at any time, in milk cans or milk tank car, and how long it lasted.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Larry's post
I'm glad the grain elevator is in the frame. That gives me some confidence that the depot was north of the tracks and a little west of Walnut Street. The expansion of the grain elevator has reused the depot's land. 1941 aerial photo

Earl Tuson commented on the above post
The IC was never among the largest haulers of milk, but roughly speaking, within the top 20 earners. Year ending Jun 1911, the IC earned $215,772 in milk revenue, or about 2.8% of the national total. While their total revenues would climb initially, that percentage never reached as high in subsequent decades: 1.8% by 1920, 1.1% in 1930, 1.2% in 1940, and 1.4% in 1950. As for milk tank cars, I'm aware of Wieland Dairy operating 2 cars between Plato Center, IL, and Chicago over the IC, while 2 more were in service with Brookhaven Creamery, shipping milk from receiving stations at Wesson and Brookhaven, MS, to New Orleans. These latter cars had a long service life, remaining in the ORER's until at least 1947. However, with the Wieland cars getting subsumed into the Borden fleet, I have no idea how long Plato Center may have continued with tank cars shipments.

The Milk Train Journal: Earl Tuson Also two Pfaudler (GPEX?) cars for the Cloverland Dairy to New Orleans.

Earl Tuson commented on The Milk Train Journal's comment
Yes. Cloverland had purchased their two cars direct from Pfaudler in two separate orders 4 mos apart in 1926. Those cars also ran until at least 1947 (and it appears Cloverland had acquired Brookhaven about 1939.)

Three street view drivers went on IL-48, but none of them went into the town. Judging from a satellite image, the expansions of the elevator used several different grain storage technologies.

Street View, Dec 2018