Centralia, IL: Lost/MoPac Freight House and Former Hollywood Candy Co.

Freight House: (Satellite, according to the topo and aerial, MoPac came up here and terminated at a building just north of 3rd Street.)

Former Candy Factory: (Satellite, Hollywood Candy had a long and narrow building along the CB&Q tracks.)

Charles Geletzke Jr. posted
Missouri-Illinois Freight House in Centralia, Illinois on March 18, 1973. (C. H. Geletzke, Jr. photo)
Richard Fiedler shared

Comments on Charles' post

When I think of Centralia, I think of the IC. But I see CB&Q and Southern went through the town, and MoPac terminated here.

1969/71 Centralia West Quad @ 24,000

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Note the brick building in the ad below. We can see that building on the above aerial.

pinterest

It looks like the candy factory location has been rebuilt to make cakes (Duncan Hines).

Street View, Nov 2022

Lost Illinois Manufacturing posted five images with the comment: "Does anyone know if the PayDay candy factory in Centralia, Illinois closed?"

Phil McCall: Yep, Michael Moore asked the boss if he would be moving the workers to Mexico also. The problem is technology making the jobs go away, right?

Lost Illinois Manufacturing: No, they moved production to Robinson, Illinois and a non-union factory.

Roberta Mckiski: I worked in wholesale candy in the 60's. Hollywood bars were a huge seller in the summer as they were not coated with chocolate. A lot of the pools and machine vendors bought them, and many stores froze the Milk Shake bars.

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Marseilles, IL: Chicago, Ottawa & Peoria Interurban Depot and Rail Served Industries

Depot: (Satellite)

Steel Pipes: (Satellite)

Bricks: (Satellite)

Steel Distribution: (Satellite)

The preserved Rock Island Depot is noted in my "Walk Through History."

Andy Zukowski posted
Chicago, Ottawa & Peoria Railway Company, Interurban Depot. Marseilles, Illinois
Harold J. Krewer: This was on Broadway St. just east of Main St, right along the mill race to Federal Paper Board and the Northern Illinois Light & Traction hydroelectric plant. The tracks had to curve a bit south and cross Main on an angle to line up with Commercial St.
There is a gas station here today. Pin dropped: https://www.google.com/.../@41.3267121.../data=!3m1!1e3...

Harold J. Krewer commented on his comment
This image was also circulated as a post card...a painstakingly-restored version I did from an original posted by Roger Kujawa.
Ron Johnson: Harold J. Krewer If you're talking about the gas station on the south side, that was torn down when they redid the intersection to line up Broadway and Commercial a few years ago. It looks like Google maps hasn't updated it yet. I lived on Broadway for years and when they ground it down to repave it the tracks were still there.

Ron commented on his comment
Although it has been updated on street view...

The gas station on the south side was gone by Nov 2022. It looks like it was already out of business in 2015.

Street View, Sep 2015

Saving the old satellite image.

Satellite

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
The CO&P was just south of the Rock Island east of town and just south of the I&M Canal west of town. It, of course, did street running through town.
1940 Marseilles Quad @ 62,500

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

I could not find the CO&P bridge. In fact, the bridge was gone by 1939.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Digitally Zoomed

While looking for the remnants of the CO&P bridge that crossed the canal, I noticed that there are other bridges across the canal because there are industries along the river that are still getting rail service. The two industrial spurs and their bridges that serve the Nucor tubular plant are clearly visible. The industrial spur that serves the brick and steel distributor is covered by the tree canopy. In fact, the trees are so close to the spur that I wondered if it was active.

Satellite

But I spotted not only a freight car, but a locomotive, south of the canal.

Satellite

And Google Earth caught three freight cars south of the canal.

Google Earth, Sep 2017

NucorTubular_marseilles

• Opened in 1997 along the banks of the Illinois River
• 700.000 sq. ft. facility
• Easily accessible from all major expressways
• Can ship via rail

[I noticed that of their four "bragging points," one of them was rail service.]

I changed "pipe" to "tubular" because standard pipe is just one of the five tubular products Nucor produces. [NucorTubular]

Easton, PA: Lost/Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) Depot

(Satellite)

Bob L Worman posted five photos with the comment: "Jersey Central RR Station and Freight Station about 1971. 4th & Washington Sts."

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Russell Montilone commented on Bob's post

Pavon Simmon s commented on Bob's post

Francis McGoo commented on Bob's post
[There are several photos of the building from this photo album included in Francis' comments on this post.]

The cartographer marked the curve in the building.

1953/53 Easton Quad @ 24,000

Apr 10, 1955 @ 24,000; AR1VII000020009

This shows why the track curved around the freight house. It was because the freight house was built on the side of a hill.

HAER PA,48-EATO,12--1 via Dennis DeBruler

Kalamazoo, MI: Grand Elk (GDLK) Gearhart/NS/MC Botsford Yard

(Satellite)

Street View, Aug 2023

Street View, Aug 2023

Charles Geletzke Jr. posted
The roundhouse service tracks at Conrail's (former NYC--PC) Botsford Yard in Kalamazoo, Michigan on June 14, 1977. (C. H. Geletzke, Jr. photo)
Charles Geletzke Jr. also posted with the same comment

Dennis DeBruler commented on Charles' post
We can still see remnants of the MC roundhouse: https://maps.app.goo.gl/mjnjmk4XdGT5cow2A.

Charles Geletzke Jr. posted two photos with the comment: "Two views of the Conrail (former MC-NYC-PC) roundhouse and service tracks at Botsford yard in Kalamazoo, Michigan as photographed on November 11, 1977. (C. H. Geletzke, Jr. photos)"

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The yard hasn't lost any tracks.

1967/69 Kalamazoo Quad @ 24,000

Grand Elk is a WATCO shortline.

WATCO

The "Grand Elk" name makes more sense for the route in the Upper Peninsula.

WATCO

"The railroad leases a 123 miles line from the Norfolk Southern running south from Grand Rapids, Michigan through Kalamazoo, Michigan to Elkhart, Indiana. The main line it leases was a former Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad mainline from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo. From Kalamazoo to Elkhart, IN they use a former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern branch. Under Watco carloads have increased on the line. Operations began on March 8, 2009." [RailroadFan]

So they must lease this railyard from Amtrak. Amtrak would have no use for a freight yard.

Prentice, WI: SOO Depot

(Satellite)

Both routes by the depot were the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste Marie.

The long direction of the depot is along the east/west route.

Street View, Sep 2023

Justin Kreklow posted five photos with the comment: "Prentice WI 4/25/25. Even got the train going by."

[The train was Wisconsin & Southern.]

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1943/50 Phillips Quad @ 48,000