Sicily, IL: Roofing Shingle Grit & Abrasives/Grain Elevator

(Satellite)

Street View, May 2013

Note that the 2-bay hoppers are short like ore jennys or sand hoppers. That is because grit is dense like ore and sand.

Street View, Apr 2018

Ryan Crawford posted
On Saturday, December 9, 2023 we are looking south (or east) at the Harsco Minerals plant in Sicily, IL. Built in 1986 by Universal Granule & Abrasives, the facility uses the original Sicily grain elevator formerly known as the Snyder Elevator. From left to right the trackage includes Sicily Pass, Main and Elevator Track. This facility has loaded tons and tons of roofing shingle grit and abrasives to a myriad of companies nationwide for nearly 40 years. This facility was sold to Reed Minerals in 1992, but I don’t know when Harsco took over operations. This plant was so important to C&IM’s business that it actually helped the railroad meet the payroll a few times in the early 1990s. It uses the bottom ash or slag from the nearby Kincaid Generating Station which is trucked across the street to this facility for its final transformation. Photo by Ryan Crawford.
Andrew Shafer: It’s a shame to think this will all be done in a few years.
Ryan Crawford: Andrew Shafer all I hope is maybe a resurgence in fossil and nuclear fuel will be needed to fill the grid gaps - if and when this happens.
Andrew Shafer: Ryan Crawford I hope so too. But from what I know about vistra, I don’t see it happening. They make sure the plant will never be used again. They drilled holes in the furnace walls at Coffeen, filled the basements with concrete at Joppa. They make sure it’s done.
[Does Vistra destroy the plants because of property tax laws? Or is that Texas company simply evil?]

I knew that fly ash is used to help make cement. And the above post explains that slag is used to make grit. What will cement and grit manufactures use for raw material after all of the coal-fired power plants have been closed?