Juliette, GA: 1980s 3.52gw Robert W Scherer Power Plant

(Satellite)

This post was motivated by Roy Risinger's comment on a post: "We have 4 930 mw GE’s where I work all powered by coal." Almost a gigawatt is a big generating unit.

gem
"The plant has four units, each rated at 891 megawatts (MW) and producing 880 MW. It has two 1001-foot [305m] chimneys, the first built in 1982 and the second in 1986. Scherer is the fifth largest electric generating plant in the United States."

 

GeorgiaPower, cropped
They are planning to dewater their ash pond.

Juan Aburto, May 2021, cropped

usgs
"Robert W Scherer Power Plant in Georgia (Plant Scherer) is one of the largest coal-fired thermoelectric power-production facilities in the United States. It is a 3,520,000-kilowatt coal-fired facility that provides electricity for Georgia."
[That agrees with the 880mw/unit figure.]

emcorgroup
It is the largest coal-fired steam plant on the east coast.
[So it should be no surprise that it is a large polluter. There are lots of Google search results headlining that it is a significant polluter. But I don't have the stomach to look at them to see if any of them ranked the plant according to pollution/gw.]

West Bend, WI: Office/C&NW Depot

(Satellite)

Street View, Jul 2019

Larry Foht posted

Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Depot

West Bend

Wisconsin

Larry Foht collection:

Neal Degner commented on Larry's post
West Bend Depot February 1910

Dale Marks commented on Larry's post
Between Washington St and Water St. It's still there, It was located in the old freight yard. Photo from Travel Wisconsin

Neal Degner commented on Larry's post

1964 West Bend Quad @ 24,000

1937 aerial photo

Vicksburg, MI: 1904 Museum/(GTW+Pennsy/GR&I) Union Depot

(Satellite, 177 photos)

GR&I = Grand Rapids & Indiana

Street View, Aug 2023

Nathan Nietering posted two photos with the comment: "Congratulations are in order to the Vicksburg Historical Museum in Michigan, on the occasion that the Vicksburg Union Depot was just listed in the National Register of Historic Places! the 1904-built depot provided first class accommodations for passengers on the Grand Trunk Western and Grand Rapids & Indiana lines where they cross in southwest Michigan. The GR&I route became Penn Central in the 1970s and abandoned, although a caboose and two freight cars still sit on the old alignment beside the depot. The GTW is now CN and is a busy international freight route. The Union Depot now serves as a railroad museum and is the gateway to the nearby Vicksburg Historical Village. Worth a visit!"

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RuthAnn Brunsting, Aug 2018

Paolia, PA: 1896 Pennsy "Paoli" Tower

(Satellite)

This 1896 tower was built during Pennys' transition between wood and brick towers. That is why brick was used for the first story and wood was used for the second story.

Street View, Jul 2022

In the east coast, if you don't have to deal with trees, then you probably have to deal with fences. The tower is near the upper-right corner, and I included a Pennsy positional signal on the left side.

Street View, Jul 2022

Diagram via RedOverYellow

1965:

rrpicturearchive, Photo by Thomas C. Ayers
WIL-ALT-65. Here is an original photo that I took while riding in a Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train from North Philadelphia to Harrisburg during August of 1965. Shown here is the PRR's PAOLI Tower, as well as a yard full of commuter trains of various makes and models.

Another example of the positional signals.

ThePositionLight_1, 1 of many photos of the signaling equipment controlled by the tower.
The tower was built in 1896 on a 4-track mainline, and it was designed to be the terminal for commuter service. "Later, in 1915, the busy line was chosen to be host to an experimental 11kv, 25Hz overhead electrification scheme." It was built as a mechanical interlocking and upgraded to a "state of the art US&S Model 14 Electro-Pneumatic machine" in 1929. The fourth track was removed in the 1960s.

ThePositionLight_2, 1 of many photos of the interior of the tower

Darren Reynold posted nine photos with the comment: "PRRs 'Paoli' tower    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

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The SEPTA yard behind "Paoli" tower is now gone

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Cambridge, OH: Office/(B&O+Pennsy) Union Station and Freight House

Depot: (Satellite)

Freight House: (Satellite)

Pennsy went north/south and B&O went east/west, but they shared tracks through town along the river.

Depot:

Street View, Oct 2013

Freight House:

Street View, Sep 2015

Al Tillotson posted
Union Station, Cambridge Ohio, Monday morning April 22, 2024.  Originally served the Pennsylvania and Baltimore & Ohio railroads.  Now houses businesses; Columbus & Ohio River RR (Ohio Central) uses trackage in the foreground.
Kevin Capurso: You can see freight house in background.

1946 Cambridge Quad @ 62,500

Rockville, IN: 1884 Visitors Center/Pennsy Depot

(Satellite)

Street View, Jul 2022

Holly Hannum Photography posted two photos with the comment:

Oh, the evening was just amazing for these images of the Parke County Visitors Center. I am looking forward to making more soon!

Do you have a favorite view? If so, which one? 

Please feel free to share this post. Thanks!

Holly Hannum Photography shared

Alexander Mitchell shared with the comment: "Rockville, Indiana, ex-PRR, 1884"

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Meadville, PA: Erie Backshops

Backshops+Roundhouse: (Satellite, between the tracks and the river. All of the land has been repurposed.)

Station: (Satellite, the land has been reused by a street.)

Tim Starr posted
The Erie Railroad shops in Meadville PA around 1970. (Library of Congress)
Dennis DeBruler: Three more photos: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Photograph:%20pa0370&fi=number&op=PHRASE&va=exact&co%20=hh&st=gallery&sg%20=%20true

HAER PA,20-MEDVI,4D--5
5. October 1972. GENERAL VIEW LOOKING FROM THE WEST. - Erie Railway, Meadville Roundhouse, West side of U.S. 6/19 opposite West end of North Street, Meadville, Crawford County, PA

HAER PA,20-MEDVI,4D--4
4. October 1972. GENERAL VIEW LOOKING FROM THE SOUTH.

 HAER PA,20-MEDVI,5--2
2. Photocopy taken by Jack E. Boucher, October 1972, from an original photograph belonging to Miss Bessie McCartney, Chief Clerk, Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, Meadville, PA. GENERAL VIEW OF MEADVILLE STATION, DEMOLISHED 7/72. - Erie Railway, Meadville Station, West side of McHenry Street at West end of Chestnut Street, Meadville, Crawford County, PA

1968 Meadville Quad @ 24,000

Tim Starr posted
Talk about a busy turntable! The Erie Railroad had one of the more colorful histories, with railroad barons, huge accidents, financial catastrophes, and design blunders that astound and amaze. Here is a prime example. Very few back shops would place so much responsibility on one turntable! This is Meadville, PA in 1922.

Howard James Holub: 41°38'28.89"N 80° 9'30.25"W original building that still exists.

Tim commented on his post
Attached Sanborn map. I combined 2 maps into 1 for the book I was writing. From 1922.

There are also HAER photos for some of the buildings: 1, 2 and 3.

Sussex, WI: Moved/C&NW Depot

Original: (Satellite)

Current: (Satellite)

Street View, Jul 2023

The depot has been moved twice. This is the second move.

Mel Virrueta posted

David Koehler: The original location was . what was then , the north /west end of Sussex, off of maple. On the old CNW mainline, they the moved it behind the ol sentry store near the old Milwaukee Road Bug line. At one time Sussex had a Soo Line, Milwaukee Road and CNW station , this was the only one left.

SOO was the north/south route, C&NW was the straight east/west route and Milwaukee was the windy east/west route.

1959 Sussex Quad @ 24,000

1937 Aerial Photo from WIHAP

Minier, IL: "Smash Gate" Junction: GM&O vs. Pennsy

(Satellite)

John Woodrow posted
Pennsylvania northbound crossing GM&0 jackline at Minier Illinois may 30 1967 (Edward Wayne Bridges photo)

Winston Dunbar: I wonder which line generally had the clear signal?

Springfield Model Railroad Club posted

Pennsylvania Railroad in central Illinois!? Yes! The PRR was a huge competitor for the IC right here in central IL. If you look at a system map of the IC and PRR for central IL in the 1950s you'll see an interlocking spiderweb of branch lines. Mostly it was the IC trying to keep the Pennsy from encroaching further into their territory. Here we see a PRR freight crossing the GM&O "Jack Line" (line to Jacksonville) at Minier, Illinois.

Roger Kujawa shared

David Jordan: PRR's market was more east-west, and jointly-owned with the Illinois Central Railroad the Hervey City-Decatur Junction portion of the Peoria District. Competition with ICRR was minimal.

Wes Birkey: I remember as a kid in living in Morton, Pennsylvania had some big freights going through town.

David Jordan: Wes Birkey PRR apparently reduced operations c. 1960, eliminating daily freights between East Peoria and Indianapolis, replacing them with Decatur-East Peoria locals operating six-days-a-week (which previously didn't operate west of Morton). Later, a Terre Haute-East Peoria turn handled through business, and performed local work north of Decatur. I imagine that despite half-ownership of the TP&W, which promoted the Effner routing, PRR still handled lots of Peoria-Pekin industrial traffic, and some Peoria Gateway business such as with the CB&Q. Penn Central's freight service brochure dated December 31, 1968 even shows restoration of East Peoria-Indianapolis through freights!

Dennis DeBruler: David Jordan I learned that Pennsy had trackage rights on the IC between Maroa and Decatur.

Harold J. Krewer answered Winston's question
Looks like the gate position was however it was last used....from Penn Central Southern Region Employee Timetable No. 7, effective May 1, 1975:

David Thompson answered Winston's question
The 1954 GM&O Western Division had the GM&O holding the Normal Position. Perhaps legacy from 9-10 still running.

Dennis DeBruler commented on John's post
Pennsylvania Ave. now occupies the RoW of the Pennsy route.
1952 Minier Quad @ 62,500

Dennis DeBruler commented on John's post
I wondered how Pennsy got here, so I accessed a larger scale map. I confirmed that what is labelled Illinois Terminal on this map used to be a Pennsy route. Pennsy had trackage rights on the IC between Maroa and Decatur. When I learned that the old grain elevator in Atlanta, https://maps.app.goo.gl/eyo9VuBzKuKHWJ4K7, was on a Pennsy branch, I wondered how the Pennsy got there. Now I Know. 1958 Peoria Quad @ 250,000